News

David Fuller, agriculture and nontimber forest products professional and fiddlehead expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Portland Press Herald about fiddlehead characteristics and this year’s harvest. A video of Fuller and the plants is also featured with the article.

For those who missed The Graduate Student and Faculty Recognition (Hooding) Ceremony on May 10th, the University has provided the live stream available here.   Enjoy and congratulations to the 2013 graduates!

A University of Maine study and Cooperative Extension specialists were cited in the Mainebiz article “Potato farmers innovate to find new markets.” The 2010 study found Maine’s potato industry could be well suited to grow stock for the bioplastic industry. John Jemison, water quality and soil specialist and Jim Dwyer, crops specialist with UMaine Extension, were also interviewed about the state’s potato industry.

The newest entry in the Bangor Daily News blog “Education: Future Imperfect,” by UMaine Professor of History Howard Segal is online.

The Associated Press, Bangor Daily News, WABI (Channel 5) and WLBZ (Channel 2) were among several news organizations to cover the University of Maine’s 211th commencement. 1,665 students graduated Saturday and more than 12,000 people attended the ceremonies.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network cited a recent study by University of Maine economist Todd Gabe on the Maine film and photography industry. Gabe’s study shows steady growth in the area.

Field Notes recently interviewed University of Maine professor of glaciology Gordon Hamilton about his research. Hamilton plans to use his knowledge of glaciers and their flow patterns to aid the U.S. government in uncovering World War II plane wreckage in Greenland.

Mainebiz spoke to Robert Rice, a University of Maine wood scientist, for an article about the Maine Heritage Timber Co. and its plans to harvest wood from the bottom of Quakish Lake in Millinocket. Rice has worked with the company’s co-founder Tom Shafer.

The Bangor Daily News reported Tyler Walsh, the eldest son of legendary University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh, graduated from UMaine on Saturday.

University of Maine President Paul Ferguson’s recent interview on TideSmart Talk with Stevoe is now available online. Ferguson spoke to radio host Steve Woods about his Blue Sky Plan for the flagship campus.

David Fuller, agriculture and nontimber forest products professional and fiddlehead expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network about fiddlehead characteristics and this year’s harvest.

Lois Berg Stack, University of Maine sustainable agriculture professor and Cooperative Extension specialist in ornamental horticulture, was interviewed for the Portland Press Herald article “Help for salt-damaged lawns.” Stack says road salt can cause serious damage to plants and suggests planting salt-resistant varieties and avoiding salt-sensitive trees. She also suggests using raised beds or fences to protect roadside plants and thoroughly watering to rid salts from soil.

The Bangor Daily News recently published an op-ed by Liam Riordan, associate professor of history at UMaine and board member of the UMaine Humanities Initiative and the Maine Humanities Council, and Niles Parker, executive director of the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor. The article included information about the UMaine Humanities Initiative and upcoming events.

The Portland Press Herald recently interviewed University of Maine Forest Manager Alan Kimball about bike trails on university property. Kimball says a group of community members have recently formed a new chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association and are now more organized when it comes to blazing trails.

Upward of 12,000 people attended the University of Maine’s 211th Commencement at Harold Alfond Sports Arena May 11 and heard remarks by alumnus Lawrence Bender, the producer of films that have won a total of six Academy Awards.®

This academic year, 1,665 students — 1,333 undergraduate and 332 graduate students — earned degrees from UMaine.

A 10 a.m. ceremony was held for graduates in the College of Business, Public Policy and Health; the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the College of Education and Human Development; and the Division of Lifelong Learning. Graduates in the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture were recognized at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

UMaine President Paul Ferguson, who presided over the ceremonies, encouraged the students to invest their talent, success and great achievements in enriching the world and improving the quality of life of those around them. The hope, he said, is that the students’ experiences and education at UMaine have inspired them to dare and to “achieve greatly.”

“You can be confident that your UMaine education represents the very best of Maine and that you, in turn, represent the very best of Maine,” Ferguson said. “It is with great pride that I remind you that UMaine is now forever a part of your identity, just as you are the legacy of the University of Maine.”

UMaine awarded an honorary degree to film producer Lawrence Bender, whose noteworthy projects such as “Inglourious Basterds,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Good Will Hunting” have been honored with 29 Academy Award® nominations, including three for Best Picture. His film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which raised unprecedented awareness about climate change, won the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature.

In his remarks, which included a standing ovation, Bender said he would not have the life he lives today if not for his University of Maine experience, and he urged the students to find success through consistent hard work and persistence.

“How can you achieve greatness? I would say three basic things,” said Bender, who graduated from UMaine in 1979 with a degree in civil engineering. “One, you must find your passion. Two, failure must be a possibility. And three, never give up, especially when you are failing.”

“The ability to allow yourself to fail is the ability to allow yourself to go full on and to break boundaries. Many times it’s only by failing that you find the real truth. And this is not esoteric, this is basic to the heart of all entrepreneurism.”

Other Commencement speakers included students Emma Burgess Roy of Auburn, Maine, a graduating senior in international affairs, with a concentration in women’s studies; and Lindsay LaJoie of Van Buren, Maine, a graduating senior in food science and human nutrition.

LaJoie is the 2013 salutatorian. The 2013 valedictorian is Spencer Hathaway of Turner, Maine, who received two bachelor’s degrees — economics and business administration in accounting.

Also honored at Commencement, as well as at a Faculty Appreciation and Recognition Luncheon today, were four faculty members in physics, insect ecology, finance and computer science. Professor of Physics Robert Lad, director of UMaine’s Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology is the 2013 Distinguished Maine Professor, an award presented by the University of Maine Alumni Association in recognition of outstanding achievement in the university’s mission of teaching, research and public service.

Professor of Insect Ecology Francis “Frank” Drummond is the 2013 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award recipient. This year’s Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award recipient is Professor of Finance Richard Borgman. Professor of Computer Science George Markowsky is the recipient of the Presidential Public Service Achievement Award.

University of Maine System Board of Trustees members Samuel Collins and retired Adm. Gregory Johnson, a UMaine alumnus, delivered greetings from the board in the morning and afternoon sessions, respectively.

Alumna Samantha Lott Hale, chair of the University of Maine Alumni Association Board of Directors, welcomed the new graduates to the ranks of the more than 105,000 University of Maine alumni worldwide.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745

The Bangor Daily News spoke with Nicole Langlois, a University of Maine swimmer, about her battle with breast cancer. Langlois will graduate Saturday with a degree in kinesiology.

WABI (Channel 5) reported on a meeting held in Bangor to inform the public about the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s effort to bring more fresh and local foods to school cafeterias.

Arbiter Online, Boise State University’s independent student media, reported University of Maine Associate Professor Laura Lindenfeld was invited to speak about sustainability with an interdisciplinary research group at Boise State. On May 3, Lindenfeld spoke about bridging the gap between university studies in sustainability and the community.

Frank Drummond, University of Maine professor of insect ecology and entomology, UMaine Extension professor and bee specialist, spoke with the radio station Q106.5 about the decline of honeybees. Drummond said several factors such as pesticides and a mite that spreads a virus are contributing to the decline.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network and Recharge News reported on the University of Maine’s unveiling Wednesday of a floating platform of VolturnUS, a first-of-its-kind offshore wind turbine. The turbine will be deployed off Maine’s coast at the end of the month and is expected to be the first grid-connected floating wind turbine in North America and the first concrete-composite floating turbine in the world.