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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Billy Mills, Native American gold medalist, to speak at Campus Center

On September 17, 2014, as part of its Diversity Lecture Series, the University of New England will host a presentation by Billy Mills, a Native American athlete who was the first—and is still the only—American to ever win the gold medal in the 10,000 meter Olympic race.

In his talk, titled “The Pursuit of Excellence—Global Unity Through Global Diversity,” Mills, a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe, will share his powerful life journey from impoverished orphan on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Olympic champion.  The presentation will take place at 7:00pm in the Multipurpose Room of Biddeford’s Campus Center.

Mills competed in the 10,000 meter run in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, as a relatively low-profile athlete.  With media focused on the two runners—one from Australia and one from Tunisia—who had the best qualifying times in preliminary races, Mills’ unexpected win, the result of a burst of energy that propelled him past the two top competitors in the last 100 meters of the race, still stands as one of the most shocking upsets in modern sports and earned Mills a new Olympic record.

Mills was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1976 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of fame in 1984. 

He is the subject of the 1984 film Running Brave, starring Robby Benson, and co-authored Wokini, now titled Lessons of a Lakota, with Nicholas Sparks.

Currently, Mills serves as the spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, an organization that supports projects benefitting young Native Americans.  He was awarded the Presidential Medal by President Barack Obama in 2012 for his work with the organization. 

This year, the 50th anniversary of his historic Olympic win, Mills received the highest honor bestowed upon an athlete by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—the Theodore Roosevelt Award.

UNE’s Campus Center is located at 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford, Maine.  The presentation is free and open to the public and is sponsored by UNE’s Office of Student Affairs, Office of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity, Westbrook College of Health Professions, College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Research and Scholarship, and the Nonantum Resort.

For more information, contact Lara Carlson at 602-2810 or lcarlson@une.edu

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.