At a recent University of Maine Foundation virtual Homecoming event, University of Maine benefactors Dan ’63 and Betty Churchill shared their intentions to make estate gifts estimated at up to $6.5 million. Their gifts will endow two $1.5 million School of Policy and International Affairs (SPIA) professorships, one Climate Change Institute (CCI) post-doctoral position or…
A total of twenty-five UMaine alumni were elected or re-elected to the Maine House of Representatives and Maine Senate on election day. Eight state senators and seventeen state representatives will be part of the next legislative session when it convenes on December 2. We congratulate them and wish them success as they work on behalf…
Julia Van Steenberghe ’20, Miss Maine USA, recently traveled to Memphis, TN, to compete in the Miss USA pageant. The graduate student in human development was crowned Miss Maine USA last year, but the Miss USA pageant was postponed until recently due to the coronavirus. Van Steenberghe expressed her gratitude to the University of Maine.…
The university hosted a series of activities honoring veterans last week. Veterans week began with a flag ceremony in front of Fogler Library and included sessions addressing a range of veterans’ issues, a lunch, and an art exhibition. Activities were coordinated by the UMaine Office of Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) and UMaine Veterans…
UMaine music education majors have partnered with middle school students in Old Town to provide free private music lessons online. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the middle school students have been unable to play their instruments together in person. Philip Edelman, assistant professor of music education at UMaine, and Shianne Wheeler Priest ’96, ’08G, director of…
Two prominent UMaine political scientists placed the 2020 elections in historical context as part of “Politics in America,” a 60-minute webinar held as part of the Alumni Association’s virtual Homecoming last week. Dr. Richard Powell, recipient of UMaine’s 2020 Distinguished Maine Professor Award, and Dr. Robert Glover covered a variety of topics related to Maine…
Bucking national trends in higher education, UMaine’s fall enrollment increased to its highest level since 2009, according to university data released on Friday. UMaine reported a total student enrollment of 11,741, a 1.5 percent increase over its fall 2019 total. The growth surprised some observers, given that economic conditions and personal concerns about COVID-19 have…
The University of Maine’s “UMaine UVote” education and outreach initiative has been working to encourage students to vote. The Division of Student Life coordinates the program. Because many college students are first-time voters, UMaine held a campus-wide voter registration drive in September. A web page is dedicated to information, whether students want to register to…
The University of Maine Foundation exceeded its $200 million goal by $8 million, according to UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and University of Maine Foundation President Jeffery N. Mills. The comprehensive campaign that raised a total of $208,586,510 has four major priority areas — Fostering Student Success, Ensuring Access for All of Maine, Catalyzing Maine’s Economy,…
More than 400 people joined the UMaine Alumni Association’s webcast “First Persons: The Wabanaki Peoples of Maine” on October 8. Panelists included Penobscot Ambassador Maulian Dana ’06 (top left), indigenous rights attorney Sherri Mitchell ’08 (bottom right), and nurse practitioner Bridgid Neptune (bottom left). Donna Loring ’86, ’17 L.H.D. (top right), senior policy adviser to…
Alumni from the Class of 1953 to the Class of 2023, including residents of Washington State and California to Maine, participated in this year’s virtual Homecoming. While it wasn’t the traditional celebration, alumni joined an array of activities that campus partners organized. President Joan Ferrini-Mundy kicked off the weekend with a welcome and Q&A session,…
The University of Maine will be a major beneficiary of the Harold Alfond Foundation’s historic $240 million gift to the University of Maine System. UMaine President Ferrini-Mundy noted that the historic gift would “benefit our students for decades.” She added, “With $20 million from the Alfond Foundation, we will develop new programs to support student…