Bernard Osher grew up in Biddeford and became a highly successful businessman and noted philanthropist. A $1 million grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation supports undergraduate students from Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.
The Bernard Osher Foundation Endowed Scholarship pays 1/3 of the student's tuition at UNE. Criteria for the award include strong academic and leadership skills, and financial need. Preference for new Osher Scholars is given to students from the three local communities of Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach. If scholarship slots remain, the geographic area expands to include students from anywhere in York County, then Maine, then out of state. Osher Scholars are also eligible for additional $5,000 travel scholarships for summer study abroad programs.
Bernard Osher is well known in the area as “the quiet philanthropist.” Osher went into business after graduating from Bowdoin College and owned the popular Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach. He later moved to northern California, where he ran Butterfield and Butterfield Auctioneers, which was sold to eBay in 1999. He is married to Barbro Osher, the Consul General for Sweden in San Francisco, who also chairs The Bernard Osher Foundation. The Oshers live in the San Francisco area and visit Maine regularly. Mr. Osher received a Doctor of Law Honorary Degree from the University of New England in May 2007.
The Bernard Osher Foundation seeks to improve quality of life through support of higher education and the arts by providing postsecondary scholarship funding to colleges and universities across the nation.
