Maine Perspective Front Page
News at a Glance
Cohen Collection Archivist Named
An archivist for the William S. Cohen Collection of Fogler Library will join the University community May 1.
Frances O'Donnell, senior library assistant in the Archives and Special Collections at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will have responsibility for organizing, processing and managing the Cohen manuscript collection. She will work closely with Fogler's Special Collections to provide access to the Cohen papers and to coordinate outreach efforts.
The Cohen Collection was donated to the University in 1996 when then Sen. Bill Cohen officially left Capitol Hill. The Collection contains papers chronicling Cohen's 24 years of Congressional service, including his involvement during the Watergate and Iran-Contra inquiries. The archives also includes notes, speeches, official correspondence, legislative documents, press releases, committee reports, photographs and news articles.
The Cohen Collection augments the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce, established at UMaine in 1997 and affiliated with the College of Business, Public Policy and Health.
Now Secretary of Defense, Cohen was on campus last month to inaugurate the Center's William S. Cohen Lecture Series.
O'Donnell has spent the past five years processing archival and manuscript collections, providing reference service to archives patrons, and assisting in the records management program administered by MIT's Archives. A student of American culture and history, O'Donnell holds a master's degree in history and archival methods from the University of Massachusetts, and is completing a master's degree in library and information science at Simmons College.
Special Awards to Faculty Highlight Reunion Weekend
For the first time in the history of the General Alumni Association, three UMaine faculty members concurrently will receive one of the Association's highest honors during Reunion Weekend, May 29-31.
Alumni Black Bear Awards will be presented to two members of the University community who are not alumni but who have demonstrated "devotion and loyalty to the highest traditions of the University of Maine" - Steve Norton and George Jacobson. Norton, chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, and Jacobson, director of the Institute for Quaternary Studies, are cited for their work as members of the "Faculty Five," dedicated to educating and rallying alumni, taxpayers and legislators to the need for increased funding at the University. Norton, the 1991 Distinguished Maine Professor, also has been critical in elevating pride and respect for the University's teaching excellence as a faculty lecturer with the Association. Jacobson, as UMaine NCAA faculty representative, has worked in support of NCAA compliance issues, "steadfast in his support of our athletics and strong in his determination to help bring about positive change."
The third faculty member receiving an Alumni Black Bear Award is Anne Pooler, Class of '72, for the "length, diversity and quality of service" she has given to UMaine.
Among the other awards being presented during Reunion is the first-ever Hilda Sterling '55 Class Correspondent Award to Barbara Barker of Portland, Class of '39. And an Alumni Career Award is being given to former UMaine President Fred Hutchinson, Class of '53. The award will be presented at the Reunion Celebration Breakfast for all alumni on Sunday. The breakfast also will feature an address by UMaine President Peter Hoff and General Alumni Association President Jeff Mills, Class of '83.
Reunion Weekend 1998 activities will focus on the theme, "Return for the Learning." Throughout the event, programs will celebrate the opportunities that facilitate lifelong learning experiences at UMaine.
Classes of '32, '38, '43, '53, '58, '63 and '68 are observing special anniversaries this year, with the Class of '48 marking its 50th.
Honor Society Chapter Established in Nursing
An induction ceremony and the chartering of the University of Maine School of Nursing's first honor society took place this week in Bangor.
More than 200 people, including 28 UMaine undergraduate and graduate nursing students, and nursing professionals in the community, were inducted into the Omicron Xi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nursing. The chapter is chartered to the University's School of Nursing and Husson College's nursing program.
The honor society, established in 1927, has a mission to promote the development and dissemination/utilization of nursing knowledge, and to increase the scientific base of nursing. Students are inducted based on their academic scholarship and leadership skills.
Chapter chartering is the result of a four-year effort of faculty from UMaine School of nursing, the Husson College nursing school and nurses from the community. A steering committee was formed and chaired by Jean Symonds, associate professor nursing, followed by the formation of Signa Proferre honor society with the current president Sue Ellis-Hermansen from Husson College.
Bringing Sigma Theta Tau to Maine's nursing community was a collaborative effort, says Symonds. The result is community-building between nursing students and faculty in academic programs, and nurses working in healthcare settings in the state.