Members of the NEASC Visiting Team
with Joyce Blanchard (right)
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In late October, UMA received continuing accreditation from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC). The report from the Visiting Accreditation Team, a group of outside academic experts, was glowing.
Thanks go to the eleven standard committees who helped draft UMA's self-study, to Tom Abbott and Carol Kontos for co-chairing our self-study, to President Randall and Provost Nadel for their overall leadership, and most of all to faculty, students, and staff who have helped shape UMA into the special place it is. The truth is we already knew what the Accreditation Team learned.
To read the team's full report, go to: http://www.uma.edu/neasc.html.
During the week of November 13th, the three finalists for UMA's next president spent time meeting with faculty, students, staff, and community leaders on both the Augusta and Bangor campuses. The three candidates also visited the Rockland Center to get a sense of UMA's close relationship with the University College network.
The three candidates are:
"We have selected three exceptional candidates from a truly outstanding pool of applicants," said Charles Johnson, Chair of the UMA Presidential Search Committee and a member of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees. "Any one of the three will do a terrific job leading UMA's continued transition to a baccalaureate institution serving the needs of central Maine."
During their visits here, the three finalists also met one-on-one with Chancellor Rich Pattenaude. The Chancellor will combine his own impressions with campus feedback to make a recommendation to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees. The Board is expected to vote at its January meeting.
The new President will begin his or her term no later than July 1, 2008, and possibly earlier if the selected candidate's current commitments allow. Richard Randall's term as UMA President is scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2008.
For detailed information on all three candidates as well as the presidential search process, click here: http://www.maine.edu/board/UMAPresidentialSearch.php.
On November 8th in the Michael Klahr Center on the UMA campus, the Office of Student Life and the Augusta Student Programming Fund Committee hosted a noon time presentation of the powerful tour "Voices From Darfur."
Featuring Marwa Abdalla and Abu Asal Abu Asal, both refugees from Sudan's Darfur region, the event included a screening of a documentary DVD, followed by the two visitors' stirring in-person accounts.
For information on how you can help end the genocide in Darfur, go to savedarfur.org.
Galumpha, an extraordinary and spellbinding three-person performance group that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Washington Post and Village Voice, performed on our Augusta and Bangor campuses on November 17th and 18th respectively.
Galumpha has won international awards for its "stunning acrobatics, striking visual effects, physical comedy, and inventive choreography." By all accounts they lived up to their reviews.
Special thanks to the Cultural Events Committee for bringing Galumpha to our campuses.
On October 13th, UCB dental hygiene students and staff volunteered their time to take dental x-rays of members of C-Company, 1-126 Aviation Regiment, who were about to be deployed to Iraq.
The UCB Dental Hygiene Clinic previously assisted the same unit (formerly the 112th Medical Company) prior to their deployment in 2003.
Student volunteers were Sarah Chase, Jillian Terrill, Amy Thornton, and Michelle Berry. Faculty volunteers were Nancy Mickels-Foster and Kelly Cassum. Peggy Morse, a member of the staff, facilitated the day by running the front desk.
The UCB Dental Hygiene programs recently received a $20,000 grant from the JTG Foundation to upgrade equipment in its Dental Hygiene Clinic.
"As the only such clinic in eastern Maine and one of only two such clinics in the entire state, it is critically important that we maintain quality equipment for consumers that need our low-cost services. For many, our Clinic is the only place they can turn to receive dental hygiene care," said Dean Gillian Jordan in announcing the grant.
The grant from the JTG Foundation will be used to purchase digital panoramic x-ray equipment. The purchase is considered a crucial step in UCB's efforts to upgrade the Clinic, starting with replacing its older equipment with new state-of-the-art equipment.
"UCB's Dental Clinic serves an important role in Maine, both in preparing dental hygienists to deliver care and in providing low income populations with low cost dental services," says Tom Gorman, President of the JTG Foundation. "The Clinic's work aligns well with our Foundation's mission and we are delighted to help them purchase new state-of-the-art-equipment."
Inclement weather cancellations and delays will be announced on UMA Alerts, local television and radio stations, on the web site www.uma.edu, and on the main incoming phone lines. Telephone numbers are as follows: Augusta, 1-877-862-1234 and 621-3000; Bangor, 262-7700; Lewiston-Auburn, 753-6595.
Your way to receive weather closure and emergency information via your cell phone and email.
In order to inform our UMA community of weather closures and any serious campus emergencies, we've introduced UMA Alerts. For the first time, faculty, staff, and students attending UMA classes in Augusta, Bangor, or at a center or site, can receive information about campus emergencies and weather closings via emails and/or cell phone text messages.
UMA Alerts is easy to sign up for, and it's free. The only cost to you is whatever your cell phone provider charges you for receiving text messages.
To find out more about UMA Alerts and how to enroll, go to: http://www.uma.edu/umaalerts.html. If you have any questions after visiting the website, call UMA's Technology Helpdesk at 621-3475 (Augusta) or 262-7743 (Bangor).
Recognizing that UMA can provide leadership in addressing climate warming by serving as a role model for the Central Maine region, the President's Council for Environmental Sustainability has been established.
Over the next weeks, months and years, the Council will initiate and support educational and institutional activities that lead to more sustainable sources of energy while reducing energy demand both on campus, within the community and in our personal lives.
The Council's next meeting is scheduled for November 30th in 124 Jewett. New members are welcome. For more information on the President's Council, and to get involved, go to: http://www.uma.edu/pces.html or contact Sheila Bennett at 621-3279 or sheilab@maine.edu.
As part of United Cerebral Palsy's Pumpkins in the Park event, UCB students created their own patch, carving and decorating about 20 pumpkins. Andrea Hall led the effort.
Another UCB student, Janice Brady, helped to organize a domestic violence awareness event, bringing in speakers from Rape Response Services, and facilitating UCB's participation in the national Clothesline Project (CP). The CP is a project in which people who have been affected by violence paint t-shirts, which are all strung along a clothesline once each year in Washington, D.C. Some UCB students painted shirts during the event, and the shirts are now part of the larger project which travels around locally and will eventually join the Washington, D.C. clothesline.
The October 19th Symposium, Medical Ethics and the Holocaust: What Can We Learn, was a tremendous success. Sponsored by UMA and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, in partnership with Kozak and Gayer, the all-day symposium was attended by over 150 people in UMA's Jewett Auditorium.
For photos of the symposium, go to: http://www.uma.edu/medethicssymposium.html.
On Thursday, December 20th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, UMA will be hosting 50 children from Gilbert School at its annual Holiday Party. Many UMA volunteers are already busy making hats and mittens for the children.
Here are four ways you can help:
Please contact Kay Farrell at Ext. 3021 if you would like to adopt a child or help in any way. Kay can provide the details.
The Diversity Committee will sponsor a showing of the film Aristide and the Endless Revolution on Thursday, November 29th, at 4:00 PM in Jewett Hall Room 189. Directed by Nicolas Rossier, this award winning 2005 film tells the story of the coup that removed Jean Bertrand Aristide from Haiti's presidency, and features interviews with Noam Chomsky and Dr. Paul Farmer (featured in our theme book for this year, Mountains Beyond Mountains.) Following the film, Tom Whitney, Maine pediatrician and advocate for Latin American justice, will lead a conversation and answer questions. For more information, contact Ellen Taylor at ellent@maine.edu.
A Danforth Gallery Exhibit called Faculty Focus will feature the works of three UMA professors. Photographs by Luc Demers, ceramic sculpture by Brandon Lutterman, and works on paper by Andrea Martens will be on display beginning December 6th. There will be an Artist Talk and Reception on Saturday, December 8th from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The exhibit will run through February 3rd, with Gallery hours of Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM, and Friday from 8:30 PM to 5:00 PM.
Christina Richards, who graduated last spring with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Music, has recently been awarded with the first UMA Campus Crusade for Christ Leadership Award. Christina led the group for four years before handing it off to Hannah Kiernan and Piper Dean.
Started five years ago, the Campus Crusade for Christ meets every Monday from 11:30 to 12:30 for a weekly Bible Study. The group has grown from just a very few members to almost twenty who now attend each meeting. In addition to the weekly meetings, UMA's Cru (as it is otherwise known), also puts on various events throughout the year such as last year's Valentine's swing dance. This year they plan to have another swing dance along with other various activities both on and off campus.
Both the men's and women's basketball teams have begun play. For complete schedules and rosters, go to: http://www.uma.edu/athletics.html.
In a moving tribute before the women's basketball team's November 13th game, last year's team presented Aleigh Mills' parents Tim and Donna with a framed jersey Aleigh wore last season.
Aleigh, who was much loved by her teammates, students, and teachers, was killed in a tragic incident this past summer.
Aleigh will not be forgotten. Her team, and indeed the entire school, "was buoyed by her generous spirit and desire to help all shine."
As November came to an end, UMA's Men's Basketball Team was ranked fifth in the USCAA National Power Standings. Helping them get there was Chad Gray who received a Player of the Week Award after helping to lead the team to two significant conference road victories. Chad, whose defense and presence has taken UMA to the next level, comes off the bench as the team's 6th man.
The Music Department is pleased to announce that UMA's Jazz Week will take place Monday December 3rd through Saturday December 8th. Providing a forum for public performances by student ensembles and faculty performer/directors, this semester's series will include performances by twelve UMA ensembles, including the UMA Tour Ensemble, Fusion Ensemble, Progressive Rock Ensemble, and Vocal Ensembles, among others.
All concerts will take place in Jewett Auditorium and are free and open to the public. The complete schedule is listed below. For further information please call Russ Lombardi at 621-3385.
The schedule below of Jazz Week events includes the following ensemble performances directed by the indicated UMA faculty members:
| Mon. - Dec. 3: | 7 p.m. Gary Clancy 8 p.m. Bill Moseley |
| Tue. - Dec. 4: | 7 p.m. Gary Clancy 8 p.m. Bill Moseley |
| Wed. - Dec. 5: | 7 p.m. Gary Clancy 8 p.m. Bill Moseley |
| Thu. - Dec. 6: | 7 p.m. Vocal Ensemble - Timothy Johnson 8 p.m. Latin Jazz Ensemble - Norm Bergeron |
| Fri. - Dec. 7: | 7 p.m. Progressive Rock Ensemble--Scott Hughes 8 p.m. Fusion Ensemble-Rick Nelson |
| Sat. - Dec. 8: | 7 p.m. Small Vocal Ens. - Marcia Gallagher 8 p.m. UMA Jazz-On-Tour-Chuck Winfield |
| Sun. - Dec. 9: | Snow Dates |