February 2007

Dear Colleagues,

The month of January ended yesterday with one of the best-received annual activities that occurs on this campus, the University of Maine Career Fair, presented by the Career Center. A record 120 employers participated in the event, attended by more than 1,000 UMaine students -- looking into exciting career opportunities in a vast array of fields. As a comprehensive university with a liberal arts foundation, UMaine prepares its students exceptionally well to enter the workforce, if they so choose. Patty Counihan and the staff at the Career Center have created an outstanding ongoing series of programs that our students can use to prepare themselves for finding that all-important first job after graduation. I spent some time at the Career Fair and I was delighted by the feedback I heard from the employers. Representatives of two of the most prestigious companies in attendance told me that they have had great success with UMaine graduates and that they were hoping to hire as many more as possible. That kind of endorsement speaks well for all the members of our community who play a role in developing our students.

Thanks to the search committee that has worked so diligently over several months to identify and recruit the three chancellor finalists who visited UMaine during the past few days. Warren Fox, Rich Pattenaude and James Applegate all demonstrate impressive qualifications and abundant experience. I had a chance to speak with each one individually to make the case, as did many others in our community, that the University of Maine System will only go as far as a strong UMaine can carry it. Each candidate seemed to genuinely understand and appreciate that perspective, and I feel confident that the successful candidate will afford UMaine the treatment it deserves as the state's flagship university. I also believe that UMaine's growing reputation and continuing progress played a significant role in generating the kind of interest that yielded three strong finalists.

With the 123rd legislature in session, several of us are spending a good deal of time advocating for UMaine with lawmakers and others who influence legislation, especially as it relates to the budget. UMaine enjoys strong support from Gov. Baldacci, who mentioned the university's importance to Maine during his recent inauguration speech. We are also fortunate to have strong advocates in the Legislature, including Sen. Elizabeth Schneider and Rep. Emily Cain, who represent districts that include UMaine. Forty-two UMaine alums serve in the Legislature, making up 22 percent of the entire Legislature. Along with the governor and Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, eight members of the governor's cabinet are also UMaine alums. In addition to what this means in terms of support for UMaine and understanding of its mission, this large number of alums in leadership positions reflects UMaine's broad-based influence and statewide role.

In January, we were pleased to host 75 legislators as part of the Maine Development Foundation bus tour highlighting important elements of UMaine's economy and culture. The lawmakers who visited represent districts in all part of the state, and many told me that they were extremely impressed with what they learned about UMaine's role in educating people and contributing to economic development in various ways, including research and job creation.

Every member of our community, including students, can advocate effectively for our university. We are working hard to secure increased state appropriations, which are sorely needed to help us continue UMaine's momentum and to keep tuition increases to a minimum. Every communication with a legislator, whether in person, by telephone or by email, helps to solidify the support we need. If you have not already done so, you might also consider joining UMaine's Advocacy Network (http://universityadvocacy.org/umaine/home.html). This mechanism allows us to communicate, via email, with people who care about and support UMaine. We use the network to provide information about the university and its activities and, when circumstances dictate, to make specific suggestions about communicating with legislators about UMaine's value and its needs.

Last week brought the formal announcement of UMaine's new School of Policy and International Affairs (SPIA), which was recently approved by the University of Maine System. I am very excited about the potential for SPIA to create important scholarly collaboration and opportunities for UMaine faculty members, who have tremendous expertise in these areas of study. It will help those faculty members further contribute to the development of new ideas and important solutions related to policy and international studies. Prof. John Mahon will serve as SPIA's first director, and he is already hard at work identifying those faculty members who might wish to be part of SPIA, an organizational structure similar to UMaine's School of Marine Sciences and Climate Change Institute. We will also soon begin working with the faculty to discuss the development of academic programs that may eventually become part of SPIA. This is an important initiative, and I will provide further updates in these monthly messages and through other means.

We have received more new good news about high marks for UMaine academic programs. Academic Analytics, a new organization that ranks graduate programs according to faculty scholarship, has rated UMaine's agronomy and crop sciences are number five nationally, only behind the University of Arizona, Cornell University, the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and the University of California-Davis. Just behind UMaine are Purdue and Penn State. That is pretty good company, I would say. In the broader area of agricultural sciences, UMaine is ranked ninth. Congratulations to those faculty members, and the students and staff members, in those academic areas. Recognition like this makes us all extremely proud.

When the weather warms up (I have been assured that it will), we look forward to starting work on a campus enhancement that will honor the memories of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. As I announced at the annual Martin Luther King Day breakfast on campus in January, we are planning to create a memorial in the area between Memorial Union and Stevens Hall. I envision a quiet place for reflection, contemplation and conversation, with attractive landscaping and some benches for seating. Tom Gasaway and Mike Hermann are working on great plan for this area, which will also involve re-routing some of the sidewalks. Dean of Students Robert Dana deserves our thanks for first suggesting that a memorial to these two great historical figures is something that is entirely appropriate on our campus. He was right, and I am glad that we are moving forward on this.

Congratulations to Elaine Ford, a professor emeritus of English, who has received the 2007 Michigan Literary Fiction Award for a collection of short stories. The prize includes $1,000 and publication by the University of Michigan Press in fall of 2007.

I would also like to recognize the winners of this year's Dow, Griffee & Clements Graduate Student Competition, staged by UMaine's Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Research Council. This year's winners are:

• Fred Beaudry, Wildlife Ecology, "Road mortality risk for Spotted and Blanding's turtle populations"

• Shari Baxter, Food Science and Human Nutrition, "Functional characteristics of Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) cooked mince meat proteins"

• Tara Trinko, Ecology & Environmental Science, "Evaluating Foodweb Structure as a Control on Algal Blooms in Two Maine Lakes"

• Jennifer Muscato Hansen, School of Marine Sciences, "Dietary Studies of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae"

• Carrie Graham, Biological Sciences, "Necrophoresis and the Behavioral Responses of the European Red Ant Myrmica rubra L. to the Fungal Entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana"

Speaking of Shari Baxter, the student group of which she is a member continues to gain attention for YoBon Berry Bites, the terrific food product they developed last year working with Prof. Denise Skonberg. As you may recall from previous Go Blue messages, the product took first place in a national student competition last year. They now have some new equipment, funded by a Maine Technology Institute grant, and are beginning to produce more of the treats, which are made of blueberry frozen yogurt and dark chocolate. The Portland Press Herald recently profiled the students and described their creation in a feature story.

I often tout the academic achievements of UMaine student-athletes in various public forums, and it was nice to hear recently of a highly visible example of a Black Bear athlete achieving impressive recognition. Ron Whitcomb, the football team's quarterback, has been named 2006 Atlantic 10 Conference Student-Athlete of The Year. Ron, who captained the team for three years, earned a bachelor's degree in education last year and is currently in graduate school. He made us all proud with is accomplishments on the field, and it is very nice to see his academic performance recognized by the Atlantic 10.

This month's congratulatory notes must also include UMaine police chief Noel March and his wife Laurie March, the proud parents of the first baby born in 2007 at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth. Caleb March as born at 2:28 p.m. on New Year's Day, and his arrival was featured in both the local newspaper and on television news in Bangor.

I hope you will all join me in welcoming Karen Kemble, who starts work today as UMaine's Director of Equal Opportunity. A former attorney in private practice, Karen has most recently worked as Investigations Coordinator at the University of Maine System's Office of Human Resources. We are very fortunate to have Karen joining our team, and I look forward to working with her. I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding work done by Bonita Grindle as interim director of EO for the past several months. Bonita will return to her role as assistant director. Karen and Bonita will make a terrific team.

UMaine's Franco-American Centre continues to provide vital outreach services to assist Maine's Franco communities in various ways. One good recent example involved the collection and distribution of some French language books for the new library at Biddeford Middle School. Yvon Labbé and Lisa Michaud from the Franco-American Centre traveled to Biddeford to personally deliver the books to a very appreciative group of educators in that community. Their work will go along way toward helping support those who are working to preserve and extend the Franco culture in that community.

UMaine's Sen. George Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research has developed an interesting and ambitious Environmental Solutions Initiative speaker series, which continues this spring. I was pleased to note recently that former Maine Gov. Angus King spoke to the group through videoconferencing technology, to discuss the relationship between environmental factors and development in Maine. This series helps to serve a vital purpose, in helping to define the ways in which UMaine's expertise can be applied to helping solve important regional and local problems related to sustainability. The Mitchell Center's ability to attract speakers at the level of Gov. King suggests that they are certainly on the right track.

There is a great deal of spring semester activity in UMaine's wonderful arts community. The UMaine Museum of Art in downtown Bangor has just opened a new exhibition, which I look forward to visiting soon. The School of Performing Arts has a very ambitious schedule, which is in full swing. Prof. Marcia Douglas will direct "Bat Boy: the Musical," which will premiere at Hauck Auditorium on Feb. 16. And the UMaine Engineering Art Club will unveil its third annual "Art by Engineers" exhibit on Feb. 5. A testament to creativity and ingenuity, the engineering art show is scheduled for UMaine's Engineering and Science Building at Barrows Hall. The talent in our community is extraordinary, and we are all fortunate to have access to it for our enrichment and enjoyment.

Our spring semester is off to a very strong start, thanks to the efforts of each of you. I appreciate all that you do for the University of Maine and for our students.

Sincerely,


Bob Kennedy
President