The University of New England will honor four prominent Maine women with the 2008 Deborah Morton Awards on Sept. 23.

The honorees will be Leigh Ingalls Saufley of Portland, chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court; Martha Tod Dudman of Northeast Harbor, who is an author and community leader; Esther Nettles Rauch of Glenburn, educator and former vice president of Bangor Theological Seminary; and Nancy Thibodeau of Fort Kent, a community activist and winter sports promoter.

In addition, Allyson Hildreth of Standish, a student in UNE's dental hygiene program, will receive the 2008-09 Deborah Morton Endowed Scholarship.

The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. at UNE's Ludcke Auditorium, 716 Stevens Ave., Portland. The college also has a Biddeford campus.

The Deborah Morton Awards are presented each year by UNE trustees to women who have achieved high distinction in their careers and public service.

First presented in 1961, the awards were named for Deborah Morton, a Round Pond resident who was valedictorian of Westbrook Seminary's class of 1879.

The seminary was the forerunner of Westbrook College, which merged with UNE in 1996.

Morton was a teacher, dean, linguist, historian and prominent civic leader in Portland whose service to Westbrook College spanned more than 60 years.

The awards were the first in Maine to honor women's achievements. Since 1961, more than 150 women have received the award.