University News

A Tree in Her Honor Becomes a Major Event for Pamela Higgins

April 25, 2023 • By Matt Kelly, mkelly@virginia.edu Matt Kelly, mkelly@virginia.edu

Pamela Higgins places a shovelful of dirt on the base of a tree planted in her honor between pavilions VII and IX. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

The University of Virginia honored Pamela Higgins, the retired director of the Office of Major Events, on Tuesday by planting a tree on the Lawn in her name.

About 100 people gathered yesterday between pavilions VII and IX to help Higgins celebrate the planting of a “Legacy” sugar maple, a recommendation of the Arboretum and Landscape Committee.

University President Jim Ryan praised Higgins’ efforts as director of the Office of Major Events, which included overseeing 44 Final Exercises for hundreds of thousands of graduates and their families. He noted that last year, the graduation stage was dedicated to Higgins.

“But a tree planting, in honor of Founder’s Day, connects Pam with the very life and roots of this place,” Ryan said. “And that’s as it should be, because for more than 30 years, Pam has shaped the life of this University.”

UVA President Jim Ryan recounted many of Higgins’ accomplishments at the University. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Ryan cited Higgins’ accomplishments of organizing activities including events coinciding with NCAA tournaments and bowl games, dozens of Founder’s Days, visits from dignitaries such as former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the emperor and empress of Japan, and an Olympic Torch Relay, among many other events.

Ryan shared stories from a book of memories that the Office of Major Events presented Higgins as a retirement gift.

An colleague in Students Affairs wrote: “I have so many memories of Pam, but the threads that connect them all are her incredible professionalism, kindness, hard work, dedication and expertise. Pam is a friend to everyone – no matter where you sit in the organization. Her seemingly boundless energy, drive and loyalty are to be admired. UVA is a better place because of Pam Higgins and those of us who know her are better people because of her.”

Pamela Higgins, at podium, said she was overwhelmed by the turnout at a ceremony in her honor. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Ryan concluded: “This tree planting honors Pam’s work at UVA, but it also reminds us that the way we work together and care about one another is what will be remembered long after we leave here.”

Higgins said she was overwhelmed by the size of the turnout and, while the Office of Major Events has planned the Founder’s Day tree plantings since 1991, “I never dreamed I would have a tree planted in my name on Grounds, much less on the Lawn.”

Higgins, a Charlottesville native who graduated from UVA in 1978 with a psychology degree, expressed gratitude for rescheduling the ceremony, since she was in Budapest, Hungary, on Founder’s Day. She also thanked everyone for their praise of her work on Final Exercises and said the tree stood in honor of everyone who had worked with her on the graduation events.

“I looked over the list of past tree recipients and I think this is the first time it has been awarded to someone who actually kills the grass on the Lawn every year,” she said.

Bryan Lewis, who chairs the Arboretum and Landscape Committee and is assistant dean for operations at the McIntire School of Commerce, said Higgins was the unanimous choice of the committee for the tree-planting honor. He said the tree selected will grow to about 50 feet tall, with a 30-foot branch span, and will feature yellow and orange leaves in the fall. He said it should have a lifespan of about 100 years.

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“A legacy sugar maple was selected as an appropriate tree that would flourish on the Lawn,” Lewis said in advance of the ceremony. “This variety of tree is fast-growing and includes dense branches that make it a very symmetrical and efficient shade tree.

“In future years it will provide shade for Final Exercises, which is very appropriate for the years of work that Pam has accomplished on the site.”