National hazing expert Elizabeth Allan, a UMaine faculty member, was interviewed by the Florida Times Union about the death last week of a Florida A&M student who was a drum major the school’s marching band. Allan, who in 2008 released a national hazing study with fellow UMaine faculty member Mary Madden, told the newspaper many perpetrators know hazing is wrong, but often don’t interpret what they’re doing as hazing.

Sandra Caron, professor of family relations and human sexuality at UMaine, was interviewed for perspectives in a New York Daily News story Monday about older women dating younger men, 42-year-old Jennifer Lopez and a 24-year-old member of her dance troupe, in this case. Caron said the definition of “older” is changing and couples look for vitality and maturity in one another.

Comments from UMaine Professor Elizabeth Allan, a national expert on hazing in college and university environments, were included in a  Washington Post story about hazing at a high school in suburban Maryland. Allan said hazing is, on the surface, about being included, but even seemingly harmless antics can set the stage for other forms of hazing or abuse.

The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the College of Education and Human Development have received $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Education to continue and expand efforts to better prepare current and future teachers of children who speak no English, or limited English, or even Franco-American or Native populations whose culture is embedded in language.  The project also will study the impact of its teacher training efforts and contribute to a growing body of scholarship on STEM and ESL education through a longitudinal study.  A news release has more.

The Huffington Post features a blog entry based on research conducted by UMaine Prof. Sandra Caron and her former student, Nicole Proulx.  In a 2006 study, Caron and Proulx looked at marriages where the wife is at least ten years older than the husband.

Robert Milardo of the UMaine College of Education and Human Development faculty was quoted in a Friday New York Times column examining the role of aunts in contemporary families.  Milardo is the author of a 2010 book, “The Forgotten Kin.”

Robert Milardo, UMaine professor of family relations, was quoted in a Lewiston Sun Journal report about U.S. Census rates that show there are fewer nuclear families living in Maine. Milardo told the newspaper the increasing numbers of single men raising children without spouses is interesting because traditionally, single-parent fathers have had difficulty maintaining involvement with their children.

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Approximately 70 people — including middle school and high school teachers, school administrators, University of Maine faculty members and experts on STEM education, will meet at Point Lookout in Northport Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14.

Organized by the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership (PSP), the summit runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and 8:45 a.m.-noon on Saturday.  A full schedule is available online.

Maine PSP involves the University of Maine, 48 rural Maine schools, three Maine non-profit organizations and state officials working on initiatives aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning of physical sciences in grades 6-9, while also preparing science teachers at UMaine.

The summit will feature a Friday morning presentation by UMaine Prof. Susan McKay, the director of the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center), beginning at 9:15 a.m.  A 9:45-10:30 a.m. panel discussion will focus on the links between STEM education and economic development in Maine.

May 12, 2011
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

Indiana University’s Pratt named Shibles Professor
The UMaine College of Education and Human Development has named Cathy Pratt, director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at Indiana University’s Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, as the Mark R. Shibles Distinguished Visiting Professor for the spring and fall semesters of 2011. Click here for more information about Pratt and her appointment.