University of Maine News

The Republican Journal of Belfast reported a University of Maine sophomore from Troy was one of two students to win the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship. Lorna Harriman will spend a semester studying in Ireland as part of the student exchange program.

The San Francisco Chronicle and The Examiner based in Washington, D.C., were among news organizations across the nation to pick up an Associated Press report on the University of Maine’s groundbreaking of the $5.2 million Emera Astronomy Center.

Judith A. Hakola, University of Maine instructor and member of the English department faculty for almost 50 years, will be honored with an award in her name at 2:30 p.m. May 1 at the English Student Honors and Awards Event at the Foster Center for Student Innovation.

The Judith A. Hakola Award in Professional and Technical Communication was established at UMaine in 2001, and originally named The Oliver Award in Technical Communication. In 2013, the founding contributors approved changing the name to honor and celebrate the contributions of Hakola.

Hakola came to UMaine in 1963 as a teaching assistant. She became an instructor in 1965, when she began teaching four sections of college composition. In addition to her teaching and service to the English department, Hakola has been teaching in civil engineering for nearly 30 years.

In addition to the May 1 ceremony, Hakola will also be honored during the Civil Engineering Awards Breakfast on May 11, commencement day.

For more information on the award, contact Charlsye Diaz on FirstClass.

The Bangor Daily News, WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) were among several news organizations to cover the University of Maine’s groundbreaking of the $5.2 million Emera Astronomy Center that will serve as the new home of the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Observatory. Construction begins in mid-May and could be complete by fall 2014. The Lewiston Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald also carried an Associated Press report.

Jason Bolton, assistant professor and food safety specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with WABI (Channel 5) about tips to keep in mind when picking and eating fiddleheads to avoid foodborne illnesses. Tips include picking the right variety, making sure they come from a clean environment and thoroughly washing and boiling before eating.

The Virginian-Pilot interviewed Mary Madden, an education professor and co-director of the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention at the University of Maine, for an article on a deadly hazing incident at Virginia State University. Madden said groups such as fraternities appear prestigious to many young college students because they seem exclusive and give students a community.

Genna Cherichello, FoodCorps service member with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, was featured in a recent Penobscot Bay Pilot article. Last week, Cherichello helped Oceanside East’s High School Foundations Program plant an orchard beside the garden near the Rockland school and helped Medomak Valley High School’s horticulture, life skills and ceramics classes build an Earth oven and pizza garden in Waldoboro.

Twenty years of Reading Recovery in the state, led by the University of Maine, will be celebrated May 3 at the Cole Land Transportation Museum on 405 Perry Road in Bangor.

Suzanne Cole and the Galen Cole Family Foundation will be honored for their support of the program’s teachers and students at the 1–3 p.m. event, which will also include readings, reflections and refreshments.

The Galen Cole Family Foundation provides grants to schools in Maine to provide Reading Recovery training and professional development.

Reading Recovery is an early intervention, prevention initiative for first-grade students experiencing difficulty reading and writing. A trained teacher works one-on-one with students for 30 minutes weekdays for 12 to 20 weeks to help them attain grade-level proficiency.

Under the leadership of Mary Rosser, director of the University Training Center for Reading Recovery, the University of Maine provides instruction for Reading Recovery teacher leaders around the state. In Maine, nearly 200 trained Reading Recovery teachers are providing early intervention to 5,000 first-graders. Since its inception 20 years ago in Maine, more than 32,400 youth have benefited from the initiative.

It is broadly recognized that teacher quality is the single-best predictor of student learning. Thus, the support of the Galen Cole Family Foundation for teacher training and professional development directly influences the quality of teaching that children receive and ensures continued success for children, according to the “Impact of Galen Cole Family Foundation Funding for Reading Recovery 2001–2012 Report.”

Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777

Mainebiz recently published the article “UMaine project unlocks nanofiber potential.” The article included information about the university’s research and its new Cellulose Nanofiber Pilot Plant — the nation’s first. John Wolanski, chairman of the UMaine Pulp & Paper Foundation; Michael Bilodeau, director at UMaine’s Process Development Center; and Jake Ward, UMaine’s vice president of innovation and economic development, were quoted in the article.

Yahoo! Finance and The Sacramento Bee were among news organizations to carry a PR Newswire report about University of Maine President Paul Ferguson’s recent interview on TideSmart Talk with Steveo. During the radio show that aired Saturday, Ferguson spoke about the ties between Maine’s university system and the state’s economic growth potential.

The Portland Press Herald spoke to University of Maine Director of Athletics Steve Abbott and several coaches about social media’s role in recruitment. The article focused on coaches’ reliance on Twitter and Facebook to make personal connections as well as the evolving NCAA regulations on texting. Amy Vachon, assistant coach for the UMaine women’s basketball team; Doug Leichner, associate men’s basketball coach at UMaine; and Lynn Coutts, the UMaine softball coach, were also quoted in the article.

The Bangor Daily News interviewed UMaine student Eliot Gagne for the article “Worshippers at Orono mosque not worried about anti-Muslim backlash after Boston bombings.” Gagne said UMaine’s Muslim Students Association and the Muslim Student Awareness Week last month helped raise awareness about Islam on campus and most likely helped prevent a backlash after the Boston bombings.

The Bangor Daily News included information about the University of Maine’s plans for its share of the University of Maine System’s $177 million unrestricted net asset fund. Officials at several campuses, including Orono, said pulling money away from those projects to close budget shortfalls would be a temporary solution to a long-term problem.

WVII (Channel 7) and WABI (Channel 5) reported on the 19th annual HOPE Festival held at the New Balance Student Recreation Center. The festival, which stands for Help Organize Peace Earthwide and is centered around Earth Day, was put on by the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine. Doug Allen, education coordinator for the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine and a UMaine philosophy professor, spoke to WVII at the event.

The Bangor Daily News reported a University of Maine student from Old Town suffered significant injuries Sunday when he fell between 20 and 25 feet while rock climbing in Acadia National Park. In keeping with the park’s policy on medical response calls, the man’s identity was not released.

Curtis Jewett, a Facilities Management employee since 1997, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Hermon on April 24. He was 56. Jewett joined the UMaine community as a member of the custodial staff, then became a truck driver for the Resource Recovery Shop in Facilities Management in 2004. According to his obituary, Jewett is survived by his wife and four children, as well as sisters, brothers and other extended family members. Friends may call 11 a.m.–noon April 29, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor. A funeral service will be held 12:30 p.m. Monday, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 225 French St., Bangor.

WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) reported UMaine students donated $47,000 to the EMHS Foundation Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals on Thursday. Planners of BearFest, an all-night dance marathon, presented the money that was raised during the February event.

The Henrietta Post out of Henrietta, N.Y. published a story announcing University of Maine Professor Jonathan Farley’s trip to a math tutoring center in Penfield, N.Y. Farley will be one of three mathematicians who will bring math to life through origami at the April 27 event.

Foster’s Daily Democrat previewed the upcoming plant sale by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in York County. The sale takes place May 18 in Springvale.

At the annual Phi Kappa Phi ceremony on campus April 24, 90 members of the University of Maine community were inducted, including 85 undergraduate and graduate students. Also inducted were Ted Coladarci, director of Institutional Research and professor of educational psychology; Natasha Speer, assistant professor of mathematics education; Janet Waldron, senior vice president for administration and finance; alumnus and former UMaine hockey coach Tim Whitehead; and Vivian Wu, associate professor of food science and human nutrition. Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and largest collegiate honor society, was founded at the University of Maine in 1897.