The University of Maine was awarded the 2020-21 Walter Harrison Academic Cup in recognition of the school’s student-athletes, who earned a grade point average of 3.62, the highest grade point average recorded in league history. The Walter Harrison Academic Cup is awarded annually to the America East institution whose student-athletes post the highest GPA. This…
Steve Orlofsky ’74, the music instructor at George Stevens Academy, retired in June after a 43-year teaching career. He taught for nine years in Fort Fairfield and 34 in Blue Hill. “Mr. O” conducted band, jazz band, and jazz combos, and his students won many jazz performance awards at state and regional jazz festivals. In…
Four UMaine alumni have joined the UMaine Alumni Association’s board of directors following their election at the Association’s annual membership meeting on June 18. Pictured on the top row, left to right, are Sue McKechnie Bernier ’88 of Verona Island, the chief philanthropy and marketing officer for the Rockland-based Island Institute; and Katie Foster ’12 of…
Reunions will once again take place on campus! After the hiatus of 2020, a number of Senior Alumni classes (those that have celebrated 50 years since graduation) as well as the 50th Reunion classes of 1970 and 1971 will meet in Orono on September 17. Some classes are holding off-campus reunions, virtual gatherings, or have…
Dr. Angela Mech, an assistant professor of forest ecology, and her colleagues are conducting research on methods to reduce the population of the browntail moth. The browntail moth population in Maine has increased significantly in the past year and moved inland from the coast. The tiny hairs on the browntail moth in its caterpillar stage…
Black Bear alumni, faculty, staff, and students are among Maine’s most productive innovators and entrepreneurs. This month, Innovators of UMaine showcases Co-Exist, an app-based therapy program that is designed to help separated and divorced parents successfully communicate about their kids. The concept behind the app evolved from research done by Daniel Puhlman, assistant professor of…
UMaine Athletics has posted the fall football schedule. The season opener will take place in Orono on Thursday, September 2 at 7 PM, when the Black Bears take on the Delaware Blue Hens. View the full schedule here.
The Annual Meeting of the membership of the University of Maine Alumni Association is scheduled for Friday, June 18 from noon to 3:00 PM. All UMaine alumni are welcome to join the meeting, which will take place online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining, please contact alumni@maine.edu for more information. Download the agenda here.
The 2021 Alumni Achievement Awards celebration, “Common Threads,” was recently held on May 20th as a produced 60-minute online program to showcase a collection of feature stories about seven individuals and one family in celebration of their achievements. JC Monahan ’94 of WBTS-TV, Boston’s NBC affiliate, hosted the program, which featured prominent Black Bear alumni…
UMaine Athletics caught up with Viktoriya Rybalko ’03, who competed in the 2008 Olympics for her native Ukraine after earning her degree in biochemistry at UMaine. Rybalko had to interrupt her doctoral studies to focus on training. She was a long jumper in track and field events. She also competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics…
Margaret Nagle ’96G, senior director of public relations at the University of Maine, received the 2021 Steve Gould Award for demonstrating superior qualities of unselfishness and compassion in service to the university and its ideals. Nagle generates stories, handles media relations, and edits UMaine Today, a nationally distributed magazine that highlights faculty and student creativity…
Dr. Penny Bishop, a professor of education and former associate dean at the University of Vermont, is the new dean of the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development. Bishop was previously a member of the University of Vermont faculty and served as associate dean in the UVM College of Education and Social…