Recent News

June 15, 2020

Former Maine Hockey Player Reflects on Racial Injustice

Black Bear hockey legend Alfie Michaud ’00 was the subject of a recent feature in National Post, Canada’s fourth-largest newspaper, about the racist slurs and treatment he received in Canada as an Indigenous citizen and athlete.  The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent incidents of racial injustice prompted UMaine assistant hockey coach…

June 11, 2020

Introducing the Black Bear Alumni Network!

We are thrilled to offer University of Maine alumni access to the Black Bear Alumni Network, a new way of connecting with the university and with other alums online. As we continue to limit our in-person contact, we hope this will be a valuable resource to help you feel closer to UMaine and to your…

June 11, 2020

Alumni Webinar Features Discussion of Race

“George Floyd, Anti-Black Racism, and #BlackLivesMatter” was the subject of a June 11 Zoom webinar featuring three UMaine alumni.   In the aftermath of the violent death of George Floyd while in police custody, the webinar was intended to help attendees better understand and acknowledge the life experience of being Black in the U.S. Three members…

June 11, 2020

Two New Graduates Take Part in Virtual Internships

Internships for two members of the Class of 2020 became virtual rather than in-person experiences because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor Cray (left) and Liz Theriault, both political science majors, were looking forward to summer internships with the Governor of Maine’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. When the pandemic altered their in-person plans,…

June 9, 2020

UMaine Ranked Among Safest Campuses

The University of Maine ranks 11th in a nationwide survey of colleges and universities conducted by YourLocalSecurity.com. The survey of public and private colleges and universities listed the 25 safest educational institutions. Black Bears can be proud that UMaine has low rates for property crime, overall crime, and hate crime.

June 9, 2020

UMaine Football Images Goes Viral

The action shot of UMaine #69 offensive lineman Liam Dobson has people talking, even though football season is months away. Maine Football tweeted that the image was a runner-up for this year’s poster design. Not all viewers will have the same gut reaction to the image of the exposed athleticism of the 6-foot, 3-inch, 340-pound…

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June 9, 2020

Alumni Association Honors Two Rising Star Awardees

Jennifer Ferguson Desmond ’14 and Jeff Rogers ’16 were recently honored with the Alumni Association’s Rising Star Award. The award recognizes individuals, who, in the years immediately following UMaine graduation, demonstrate outstanding commitment to advancing the strength and success of the Alumni Association, their alumni class, alumni chapter, and/or Alumni Interest Group.  This video honors…

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June 5, 2020

Being Black in America: UMaine Alumni Webinar

Join UMaine alumni and friends for an important panel discussion: “George Floyd, Anti-Black Racism, and #BlackLivesMatter” Thursday, June 11th 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. (Pacific) via Zoom videoconference The violent death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25th continues to roil our nation. As history documents,…

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May 15, 2020

Social Work Alum Receives Outstanding Alumni Award

Chris McLaughlin ’96, ’01G was honored with the 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award from UMaine’s School of Social Work. In an effort to combat rising youth suicide rates, Chris and his colleagues developed, implemented, and distributed a free curriculum, Acadia CARES, to schools and organizations throughout Maine. The curriculum is related to youth mental health and…

May 15, 2020

Alumni Perspectives Sought for MAINE Alumni Magazine

Thanks to underwriting assistance from Bangor Savings Bank, the Alumni Association is producing a special edition of MAINE Alumni Magazine that will chronicle the impact of COVID-19 on alumni, students, and the University of Maine. “Our objective is to capture the diverse ways in which members of the UMaine community reacted, adjusted, and responded to the…

May 15, 2020

UMaine Celebrates Commencement Week Online

With students absent from campus and commencement ceremonies postponed, the University of Maine created a series of videos to celebrate Class of 2020 Recognition Week. Between May 4 and May 9, a series of videos provided congratulatory messages from members of the UMaine community, and recognized the Class of 2020 for their accomplishments. In addition,…