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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE Hosts 8th Annual Paul D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture featuring Kevin Hancock, president of Hancock Lumber

The eighth annual Paul D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture, hosted by the University of New England’s Department of Business, featured Kevin Hancock, president of Hancock Lumber Company. His lecture “Rethinking the Grindstone” was held Thursday, March 26, 2015 in the Eleanor DeWolfe Ludcke Auditorium on UNE’s Portland Campus. A reception took place afterward at the UNE Art Gallery.

As president of Hancock Lumber Company, Hancock leads a sixth-generation family business that has operated in Maine since 1848. Headquartered in Casco, the company operates 10 retail stores and three sawmills, employing 425 people. The company also owns and manages 12,000 acres of timberland in Cumberland and Oxford counties. 

With “Rethinking the Grindstone” Hancock shared his vision for creating an organization where everyone leads and has aligned financial interests. He also discussed strategies for making work take less time and emotional energy, allowing employees to lead fuller, more balanced lives. 

Hancock also talked about his travels to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, which is one of the poorest places in America today. There, Hancock has connected with residents and key organizations to create a nonprofit called “The Seventh Power” to support initiatives on the reservation. He is currently writing a book, titled Not for Sale: Finding Myself in the Land of Crazy Horse, about the history and modern day life of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. 

In 2014, Timber Processing Magazine recognized Hancock as its Forest Products Industry Person of the Year. He is past chairman of the Northeast Retail Lumber Association, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association and the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. Under his leadership, Hancock Lumber has been recognized as the Maine International Trade Center’s Exporter of the Year and the Maine Family Business of the Year. Additionally, the company received the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence and recently became a 2014 Best Places to Work recipient. 

The lecture series honors the late Paul D. (P.D.) Merrill, a Portland-area business leader and longtime UNE trustee, supporter and friend. The annual event creates an opportunity for future business leaders from UNE and the broader community to learn about and reflect upon the important role that ethical considerations play in our daily choices, and the impact these choices have on our communities. For more information, visit www.une.edu/events/2015/rethinking-grindstone.

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.