UMaine News

Handley Raspberry Pruning Article in Gardening Magazine

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:24:26 +0000

The March/April 2012 issue of “fine Gardening” magazine includes an article by University of Maine Cooperative Extension small fruit and vegetable specialist David Handley on pruning red raspberries, which recommends a hard late-winter thinning as the secret to healthier plants. The article includes an Extension video in which Handley illustrates proper pruning techniques.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Globe Lists Hudson Museum Among College Highlights

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:23:15 +0000

The travel section of the Boston Sunday Globe on Feb. 5 included the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine as being among noteworthy New England college highlights “offering exceptional and exhilarating experiences” for the public. The article recommends Hudson’s Native American exhibits and its basket collection, which the Globe features on its website.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Madden, Allan Named to Florida A&M Anti-Hazing Committee

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:52:13 +0000

The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Board of Trustees announced Thursday University of Maine professors Elizabeth Allan and Mary Madden have been named to the FAMU Anti-Hazing Committee, according to a news release from the Tallahassee school.

Allan and Madden are co-directors of The National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention, and led a landmark 2008 study on student hazing.

FAMU’s seven-member, independent committee is tasked with providing recommendations on determining the most effective and indelible approach to end hazing on campus. The FAMU Anti-Hazing Committee will work in unison with the ongoing efforts of the FAMU community to address the issue of hazing. The committee will examine issues such as how hazing has been handled at other universities, how students can resist hazing and how to best govern Florida A&M’s marching band, known as the Marching 100.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

PBS ‘Washington Week in Review’ Airs UMaine Journalist’s Video

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:58:46 +0000

The PBS news program “Washington Week in Review” has aired a news report on how Maine voters get information about political candidates that was created and reported by UMaine student Kylie Keene, a senior who is interning at WVII (ABC) Bangor this semester. Keene interviewed UMaine students and several older adults in Orono, in addition to political science professor Amy Fried for the report.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Website Notes Researcher’s Work on Study of Ancient DNA

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:08:10 +0000

Kristin Sobolik of UMaine’s Department of Anthropology and Climate Change Institute was noted in a story on the website io9.com for her work in paleofecal research. The story said there was a big breakthrough in human DNA extraction when Sobolik suggested samples found in Hinds Cave in Texas be tested.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

Advance on Troop Sendoff Ceremony

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:06 +0000

Bangor TV station WABI had an advance on Friday evening’s troop send-off ceremony to be held at UMaine’s Collins Center for the Arts. The ceremony will honor members of a Maine Army National Guard medevac unit that is being deployed to Kuwait.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

Physical Sciences Partnership Featured in TV Reports

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:06:18 +0000

The Maine Physical Sciences Partnership, a program that partners UMaine with nearly 50 middle and high schools, was featured in two local TV reports Thursday evening. WABI and WLBZ filmed students and a teacher at the Reeds Brook School in Hampden, where the students were studying force and motion by testing propeller-powered model cars. Both stations interviewed Erika Allison, the UMaine-based project operations director for Maine PSP and the UMaine-based Maine Center for Research in STEM Education.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

Newspaper Previews ‘Avenue Q’ Production

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:04:45 +0000

The Bangor Daily News ran a preview story of “Avenue Q,” an upcoming production by Maine Masque, a UMaine student theatre organization, which features puppetry. UMaine theater professor Sandra Hardy told the BDN in an interview that in learning how to do puppetry for the show, her students gained a useful skill they can use to their advantage in the job market.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

National Coverage of Researchers’ Role on Anti-Hazing Committee

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:03:37 +0000

Media outlets around the country, including the Kansas City Star, reported that UMaine education professors Elizabeth Allan and Mary Madden have been named Thursday to a newly formed anti-hazing committee at Florida A&M University, which had a hazing incident last fall which led to the death of a student band member. Allan and Madden are nationally recognized hazing researchers who with co-authored a pivotal 2008 report on hazing. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran an Associated Press story on the announcement as did the Miami Herald.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777

UMaine’s 2012 International Dance Festival Set for Feb. 18

bdoane — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:12:14 +0000

The University of Maine’s eighth annual International Dance Festival, showcasing an array of traditional music, dance and costumes of some of the 400 international students at UMaine is set for Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Collins Center for the Arts.

Two free performances of dances from around the world are scheduled at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Doors open one hour before show time.

Students will perform traditional dances from India, Africa, Vietnam, Brazil, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States, says Sarah Joughin, international student and scholar advisor in the Office of International Programs. Students have been practicing capoeira, Bollywood, swing and many others styles of dance in anticipation of the dance festival. Students from about 75 countries attend UMaine.

Joughin says international students look forward each year to showcasing their traditional cultures through the annual event. It is an opportunity for American and international students alike to connect meaningfully with individuals from outside their home countries, she says.

“The Bollywood number, for example, features performers from at least three different countries besides India,” Joughin says. “Marija Markicevic, an exchange student from Serbia, will make her dancing debut as a member of the Hip Hop Club, representing the U.S..”

Student performers benefit greatly from the cross-cultural exchange, Joughin adds, “but the big pay-off is to the audience. This event is an amazing opportunity for campus and community members of all ages to experience the sights and sounds of over a dozen countries in one night. Where else in Maine is such an opportunity available?”

The dance festival is free and organized by the Office of International Programs (http://umaine.edu/international/) and the International Student Association. Information about the dance festival is available by calling the Office of International Programs at 581-2905.

Contact: Sarah Joughin, 581-3423