Dear
Colleagues,
I am pleased to provide my monthly message detailing some of the
outstanding achievements of the people who make up the UMaine community.
As we move into July and the middle of what will doubtless be another
beautiful Maine summer, I have a number of impressive items to share
with you.
As always, UMaine's outstanding faculty members continue to draw
positive attention to UMaine through awards, honors and advances related
to their scholarly endeavors.
Adriaan van Heiningen from UMaine's Dept. of Chemical and Biological
Engineering was recently inducted, as a fellow, into the Canadian
Academy of Engineering. Adriaan is one of just 421 members of this
prestigious society, which recognizes "distinguished achievements and
career-long service to the engineering profession." Adriaan, who is
UMaine's J. Larcom Ober Professor of Chemical Engineering, is an
outstanding scholar whose scientific innovations are key to the
important R&D work in UMaine's Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative.
Mick Peterson, a UMaine mechanical engineering faculty member, was
recently recognized as co-recipient of the second annual Elastickon
Equine Research Award. Mick is a national leader in working on ways to
make race tracks safer. News reporters from around the U.S. have been in
contact with Mick regularly in the past couple of years, seeking his
perspective on issues related to the safety of thoroughbred race horses,
and it is nice to see his work recognized with this award.
Elizabeth Allan and Mary Madden have updated their landmark report,
"Hazing in View: College Students at Risk." This work got widespread
attention when it was released in preliminary form in March, and it is
certain that it will provide the most reliable data in this important
field of study for years to come. The research is based on the largest
and most diverse survey ever conducted on issues related to hazing, and
it represents an outstanding effort on the part of Elizabeth, Mary and
their colleagues. The updated report is online at
http://www.umaine.edu/hazingstudy/.
UMaine psychology professor Alan Cobo-Lewis has been elected treasurer
of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council. That organization is a
partnership among people with disabilities, family members, and state
and local agencies and organizations that work on issues involving
people with developmental disabilities as they strive for independence
and full involvement in community life. Alan received UMaine's
Presidential Distinguished Public Service Award this spring, and his
outstanding work in this area is making a real difference in families
and communities throughout Maine.
Michael Worboys, chair of UMaine's Dept. of Spatial Information Science
and Engineering, has been selected to receive the 2008 University
Consortium for Geographic Information Science Research Award. The
consortium recognized Michael, in particular, for three research papers
looking at the relationship between computer science and geographic
information. He received the award in June at a Minneapolis meeting of
the consortium, which includes academic institutions and professional
associations that work in geographic information science research.
The American Society for Quality (ASQ) has named UMaine chemical and
biological engineering professor Darrell Donahue a Certified Quality
Engineer, recognizing his commitment to quality engineering practices
and principles. Darrell, who coordinates UMaine's biological engineering
program and serves as a cooperating research professor in the Lobster
Institute, was recognized by ASQ for his understanding of the importance
of product and service quality, evaluation and control.
UMaine School of Marine Sciences Director Peter Jumars has received the
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Distinguished
Service Award for three decades of service to the society, specifically
its public education and outreach activities. Peter, who is a UMaine
marine sciences and oceanography professor, is a former ASLO board of
directors president. ASLO is one of the leading organizations for
aquatic science scholars, and it is gratifying to see the organization
recognize Peter's contributions.
I would also like to congratulate Maj. Alan Stormann from UMaine's Dept.
of Public Safety. Alan, who serves as director of Parking and
Transportation Services at UMaine, has been elected to the Northeast
Colleges and Universities Security Association (NECUSA) board of
directors. Alan will serve a three year term on that board.
Congratulations to UMaine English faculty members and poets Steve Evans,
Jennifer Moxley, Carla Billitteri and Ben Friedlander, and all their
colleagues who worked to hard to present the well-received Poetry of the
1970s conference last month. UMaine has a great history in poetry, and
those who attended the international conference expressed a real
appreciation for that history. We were very pleased, during the Friday
evening conference banquet, to announce that we will renovate a Neville
Hall conference room this summer and name it in memory of Burt Hatlen,
the iconic UMaine English professor who played such an important role in
UMaine's rise to prominence in this field of study and expression. The
concurrent art show, featuring the same theme, was also a big success.
Prof. Susan McKay and her colleagues in the Center for Science and
Mathematics Education Research also deserve congratulations for
organizing the very impressive five-day National Conference and Summer
Academy, "Integrating Science and Mathematics Education Research into
Teaching: Resources and Tools for Improved Learning. This event featured
leading experts in this field and the summer academy program provided
great opportunities for teachers to learn in workshop settings, taught
primarily by UMaine faculty members.
Thanks to a new endowment intended to expand scholarly work in the field
of environmental history, UMaine history professor Richard Judd has been
named UMaine's first Col. James C. McBride Professor. The Col. James C.
McBride Endowment is administered by the University of Maine Foundation
and it aims to enhance UMaine's environmental history programming and
graduate research. It will allow for several new opportunities,
including the establishment of courses, lectures, conferences, research
opportunities and joint programming with the University of New
Brunswick. Richard has been a mainstay of the UMaine history faculty for
almost 25 years, and we look forward to his continuing contributions in
this new role.
Art professor Andy Mauery and her students have been involved in an
interesting activity this spring, as part of UMaine's first Sustainable
Sculpture class. Students are learning how to design and create
sculptures with a careful eye on the types of materials they're using.
We talk a lot about big-picture campus initiatives related to
sustainability, such as recycling, but it's also important to keep in
mind the university's important role in teaching our students about all
of the ways we can limit our negative impact on the environment, and
this course provides a great example.
Prof. Len Kaye and Jennifer Crittenden in UMaine's Center on Aging
report that the first-in-the-nation prescription drug mail-back program
is off to a good start. The Center on Aging is managing this effort,
with 18 partners around UMaine, to assure the safe disposal of unneeded
medicines. Mail-back envelopes for this innovative initiative are
available at some pharmacies, and the medicines get returned to the
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency for proper disposal. This program has
great potential to grow, to serve as a model for use in other states and
to have a tremendous impact.
Sandy Butler, UMaine social work professor and coordinator of the
university's MSW program, is underway on an interesting three-year
research project, examining issues related to the home care work force
to serve Maine's elderly population. It seems that the labor pool is
shrinking while the need is increasing, and Sandy is working with
student researchers to determine the cause. The National Institute on
Aging is funding this important study.
Shannon Martin and Paul Grosswiler from UMaine's Dept. of Communication
and Journalism faculty are in the midst of a six-week program that
involves leading a group of Tanzanian journalists as they visit the U.S.
to learn more about news gathering and reporting in this country. The
group has spent time on campus, and they have visited the Bangor Daily
News and WLBZ. They will also visit New York City and Washington D.C.
before returning to Tanzania in August. The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) is funding the program, which also
involves UMaine's School of Policy and International Affairs and Office
of International Programs. Mike Hastings, UMaine's director of sponsored
research and programs, was instrumental in securing the grant.
UMaine programs and facilities have also received accolades in recent
weeks.
The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has
chosen UMaine for one of its WealthEngine Awards for Educational
Fundraising. These awards -- and there are only 30 from all around the
U.S. -- recognize "overall improvement," based on a study of three years
of fundraising results. The award recognizes "superior fundraising
programs across the country," and it is a great credit to all of those
in our community who work so hard to bring in private funds to support
UMaine and help assure its future.
Eduniversal, a Paris international educational consulting organization,
has listed UMaine's Maine Business School as one of the 1,000 best
business schools in the world. This is also a nice recognition, a credit
to Dean John Mahon and the faculty and staff in the business school.
UMaine's Foster Student Innovation Center has been chosen to share the
grand prize in a national competition that recognizes efficiency and
creativity in the construction and design of educational buildings.
Conducted by
EducationDesignShowcase.com, the competition looks at school,
college and university educational buildings. The co-winner was the
Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center at the University of Kansas
Medical Center. The prize comes with a $1,000 scholarship. The Foster
Student Innovation Center is truly a unique and beautiful structure, and
it is really serving as a wonderful facility to promote student
entrepreneurship and business development.
Kudos to UMaine Cooperative Extension for establishing a Web site (www.extension.umaine.edu/energy)
to provide practical, research-based information to individuals and
business operators looking for information related to saving money on
energy. The Web site is a rich resource, providing connections to
information about alternative energy, energy conservation and other
areas of interest. This is a great example of the way UMaine Cooperative
Extension proactively works to provide relevant expertise, serving the
needs of Maine's people.
During the late spring and summer, the UMaine campus becomes a vital
resource for all kinds of groups, most of them related to education,
that benefit from access to our facilities and expertise. Here are just
a few recent examples:
- More than 600 Maine middle school students visited campus a month ago
for the fifth annual Maine Learning Technology Initiative Student
Technology Conference. Students from more than 45 schools learned about
new software and applications that allow them to more effectively use
their laptop computers in school.
- UMaine hosted the Building Global Maine Workshop in early June, to
work on public-private partnerships that will create international
business, educational and cultural opportunities for Mainers. The
conference was sponsored by the Governor's International Relations
Planning Committee, which Dean Mahon chairs.
- Fogler Library business librarian Stephen Fadel is offering free
workshops for those who operate small businesses this summer. In 90
minute sessions, Stephen is providing information about resources that
business people can use to develop business and marketing plans.
- UMaine's College of Education and Human Development and its College of
Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture, hosted last week's Future
Teachers Academy at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole. The academy
brings 13 top high school students from Maine to the Darling Center for
a week of exploring marine science and the possibility of becoming a
science or math teacher.
- The UMaine College of Education and Human Development's Summer
Technology Institute concluded on Saturday at the Hutchinson Center in
Belfast. K-12 educators spend three weeks at the institute, learning
about new ways to use technology in teaching.
Black Bear student athletes continue to do well in the classroom. The
UMaine men's hockey team won the 2007-2008 Hockey East All-Academic
Title, for the top team grade point average (3.11) among conference
teams. Sixteen Black Bears -- more than any other team in the league --
were named to the All-Academic Team. Chris Hahn shared the Hockey East
Top Scholar-Athlete Award with a player from UNH and one from UMass-Lowell.
Tanner House and Chris Hahn represented UMaine on the league's Academic
All-Star Team. In addition, UMaine narrowly missed out on the America
East Conference Academic Cup Award, given to the school with the highest
average GPA in that conference's sports. Great credit goes to athletic
director Blake James and the academic support services staff -- Ann
Maxim, Myer Taksel and Chrissy Kerluke -- along with all the faculty
members, coaches and others who work to support student-athletes in
their academic endeavors.
John Hwalek of the UMaine chemical engineering faculty and Jerry Ellis,
the retired director of UMaine's Onward Program, are making their way
back to Maine from the west coast -- on bicycles -- to raise awareness
and scholarship money to support the Jerry Ellis Scholarship Fund for
Onward Program students. Jerry and John hope to raise $12,000 during the
trip, which will cover 4,3000 miles ending at Acadia National Park's
Sand Beach. You can follow their adventure online at
www.umaine.edu/csp/jerrystrek/.
Those are just a few of this month's UMaine highlights. I hope each of
you has an enjoyable holiday weekend, and that the coming weeks offer
some enjoyable, relaxing time with family and friends.
Sincerely,
Bob Kennedy
President
