University of Maine News

Anne Lichtenwalner, assistant professor and extension veterinarian at the University of Maine, spoke with the publication Bovine Veterinarian about the National Mastitis Council’s upcoming regional meeting in Portland, Maine. Lichtenwalner is also the 2013 NMC regional chairwoman.

WABI (Channel 5) covered a benefit concert performed by four University of Maine athletes at Moe’s restaurant in Bangor. The concert was held to raise money for a local effort to provide clean drinking water in Haiti.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Maine Harvest for Hunger program was mentioned in a recent “Food and Dining Dispatches” column for the Portland Press Herald. The program is seeking gardeners willing to plant an extra row of produce this year to donate to local soup kitchens and food pantries.

WLBZ (Channel 2) and WVII (Channel 7) reported on Princeton Review’s ranking of the University of Maine as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada for the fourth consecutive year. Daniel Dixon, sustainability coordinator at UMaine, spoke about the ranking.

The Portland Press Herald reported two officers from the University of Maine will attend a memorial service in Massachusetts for an MIT police officer who was shot and killed in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. The officers will travel with a group of Maine police that will include about 30 Portland officers and two dozen state troopers.

The Bangor Daily News spoke with Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender who will deliver the commencement address at UMaine on May 11. Bender spoke about his time as a student at the university.

Foster’s Daily Democrat recently carried a report on the winner of the 2013 John M. Rezendes Annual Ethics Essay Competition. Gwendolyn Beacham of Farmington won the $2,800 prize for her essay “Ethics of the United States’ Clinical Trials in India.”

Over 25 digital posters by University of Maine Art Department students in Kerstin Engman’s 2-D design class are on display through finals week in Hauck Auditorium.

The posters depict climate change issues, such as sustainability and the divestiture of fossil fuels, and are the result of a collaboration between Engman and Karen Marysdaughter, organizer with 350 Maine, a grassroots movement dedicated to solving the Earth’s climate crisis.

Engman asked the students to chose a particular climate change topic and direct a clear, visual message to the campus community.

“By working together as a community of concerned students, the hope is that the impact of a collective effort will have greater influence in general public awareness and policymaking,” Engman says.

For more information, contact Engman on FirstClass.

Two University of Maine sophomores have been named winners of the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship and will study abroad in Ireland as part of the student exchange program.

George J. Mitchell Scholars Gwendolyn Beacham and Lorna Harriman will each spend a semester at the University College Cork in Ireland. The scholarship honors the 1998 Northern Ireland peace accord brokered by Sen. Mitchell between Ireland and the United Kingdom and is open to full-time undergraduate students in the University of Maine system.

The scholarship allows one student to study for a year in Ireland or two students to study for a semester each with all expenses paid, including airfare. This year, for the first time, both winners are from the Orono campus.

Harriman, an elementary education major from Troy, Maine, will study in Ireland during the fall 2013 semester. Beacham, a molecular and cellular biology major and Honors College student from Farmington, Maine, will make the trip in spring 2014. Neither Harriman or Beacham have been to Ireland before, and they are both looking forward to the experience.

Along with attending school full time, Harriman is a member of and teacher at the Robinson Ballet Co. in Bangor, and employee of the Family Dog restaurant in Orono. She also volunteers with the Black Bear Mentor Program and makes time every week to visit with her 10-year-old mentee at the Old Town Recreation Department.

Harriman, who has a concentration in English and is working on a minor in psychology, hopes to teach English abroad after she graduates, earn a master’s degree in literacy education and then return to Maine to teach middle-level language arts.

Harriman, who is on the Dean’s List and is a UMaine Merit Award winner, says she chose UMaine because of its financial flexibility and wide range of academic and campus opportunities.

“There are so many opportunities for success at UMaine. If you’re willing to work hard and explore, there is a place for everyone,” Harriman says. UMaine’s College of Education and Human Development “has really encouraged me toward my career goals and made me certain I am on the right path.”

Harriman says the academic atmosphere at UMaine is supportive and many people had a positive effect on her undergraduate experience.

She credits education professor Phyllis Brazee and her class, Teaching in a Multicultural Society, for making her realize she was on the right career path, and honors and English professor Kathleen Ellis for challenging her and helping her become a better student.

“As a student, you really get the feeling that your professors want you to succeed,” she says.

Harriman calls the scholarship an opportunity of a lifetime and looks forward to learning in a new culture.

“My biggest goal is to absorb as much of the culture as possible while I am there, but I also hope to learn about different education styles they may employ that can help me in the future as a teacher,” Harriman says.

Harriman says the scholarship has also given her confidence.

“It has made me realize what I am capable of if I put my mind to it,” she says. “I feel confident and excited about the direction my life is going in.  I am incredibly grateful for the people and opportunities that have brought me to where I am.”

Beacham, who is on the Dean’s List and is a Presidential Scholar has won several scholarships, including the Lamey Wellehan Maine Difference Scholarship and the Pine Tree Section ASQ Sumner K. Wiley Jr. Scholarship.

Last summer she was awarded an IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence fellowship and spent eight weeks at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Salisbury Cove, Maine, where she studied the differentiation of primary mesenchyme cells, or cells that form the skeleton, in echinoderm embryos.

During the academic year, Beacham has been researching bacteriophages,  or viruses that infect bacteria, and has been focusing her research on the repressor protein.

Beyond academics, Beacham is the secretary of the UMaine student chapter of Engineers Without Borders and will be president of the chapter next year. She traveled with the group to Honduras during Spring Break to install a septic system to improve water quality in a rural community. She is also a member of the Sophomore Eagles, a UMaine traditions group and honor society, and participates in campus dance clubs.

Beacham credits UMaine with challenging her as a student and providing opportunities for personal growth in an open, friendly atmosphere.

“UMaine is a great place,” Beacham says. “The academic courses, my activities, and my research experiences have been nothing but positive. I have learned that I am extremely passionate about science and scientific research, as well as about being involved in a community and helping others.”

Beacham says she considers herself lucky to be a student at a large research university and to have been exposed to research since her first year at the school. Leadership positions in UMaine clubs have also helped her gain confidence in her abilities as a leader.

“I never before imagined I would be able to work with a community in Honduras to help improve their sanitation, or that I would have my own independent research project while only being a sophomore in college,” she says.

Although she says she has worked with many UMaine professors and have had positive experiences with all of them, she has worked the most with assistant research professor Sally Molloy, both in the classroom and in the lab. Beacham says she appreciates the support Molloy has given her.

Beacham says she is honored to be able to study in Ireland as a representative of Sen. Mitchell.

“I admire his work very much, and am so appreciative of the support from him and the Mitchell Institute that will assist me in reaching my educational and career goals,” Beacham says. “I am also excited about being able to study in Ireland and experience another culture for a semester, and I am very appreciative of the financial support that will make this possible.”

After graduation, Beacham plans to obtain her Ph.D. in a microbiology-related field and pursue research in microbial ecology or astrobiology.

The Bangor Daily News has started a photo-a-day project with University of Maine new media student Derek O’Brien. O’Brien, who hasn’t had full use of his legs or arms since a swimming accident in July 2005, uses photography as an artistic outlet. His project will be updated on the BDN website until he graduates in May.

WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) reported on the University of Maine’s observance of Earth Day. Unity College President Stephen Mulkey was the featured speaker. Mulkey spoke about his college’s decision to divest from fossil fuels and the importance of climate change.

The Associated Press reported the University of Maine is one of seven colleges and universities in northern New England that has pledged to reduce food waste through the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge. The partnership with the EPA, announced on Earth Day, aims to reduce the 1.6 million tons of food wasted in New England each year.

James Dill, pest management specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with WABI (Channel 5) about the bed bug epidemic in the U.S. Dill offered tips on how to avoid and get rid of the pests.

The Portland Press Herald article “Maine, others may soon get to tax Web sales” cited a 2012 study by University of Maine economist Todd Gabe. Gabe’s study found Maine would receive between $18 million and $28 million if Congress authorized tax collections from online and catalog purchases.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published the Chicago Tribune article “Students hazy on the dangers of hazing.” Mary Madden, a University of Maine education professor, and her 2008 study on hazing were cited in the article. Her study found nearly half of high school students have been hazed.

A Boston Globe feature on Sharon Kitchens, a former city dweller who now lives off the land in Maine, mentioned the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteers Program. Kitchens, who also writes the Portland Press Herald blog “The Root,” expects to complete the program this year and to begin the volunteer requirements.

University of Maine Police Chief Roland LaCroix spoke with WABI (Channel 5) about the vandalism that occured at several buildings on campus Saturday. LaCroix said the case is under investigation.

UMaine’s community-supported agriculture program, the Black Bear Food Guild, based at Rogers Farm, is taking share orders. Half shares, serving two people, are $275; full shares, serving four, are $450. A share purchase ensures weekly supplies of high-quality, organic produce and is an investment in the hands-on learning of future sustainable agriculture farmers. This year, fresh cut flowers will be included in the shares — blooms grown to bolster the habitat for pollinators on the farm. For more information or for share orders, email the Black Bear Food Guild.

Professor of Sociology Steve Barkan has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA). TAA is the only nonprofit membership association dedicated solely to assisting textbook and academic authors.

George Marnik, a University of Maine educational leadership lecturer, was interviewed for the Portland Press Herald article “Principal turnover creates ripple effect for Maine schools.” The article also cited a UMaine study released last fall that found the average Maine principal was responsible for 69 more students, had 53 more staff members and worked 12 more hours a week in 2011 than in 2005.