One week before the Super Bowl and all the festivities surrounding it, the University will host an annual party of its own for high school and college students – College Goal Sunday.

Staff members will be on hand Sunday, Jan. 25 beginning at 2 p.m. in Folsom 105 to assist students in completing and filing their FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] forms. This free event is open to the entire community. High school seniors and parents are especially encouraged to attend, along with currently enrolled college students needing assistance.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Faculty Noon Seminar Series returns for the Spring 2009 semester with presentations on the carbon economy, online teaching and teaching methods.

Seminars will be held on the last Wednesday of each month, from 12-1 p.m. in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge. Presentations will be 20-30 minutes in length, followed by a discussion. The series kicks off with a presentation on Jan. 28 by President Don Zillman entitled “Beyond the Carbon Economy.”

On Feb. 25, several faculty members will offer a group presentation on “Everything You Wanted to Know about On-line Teaching but Were Afraid to Ask.” This session will be led by Drs. Mike Amey, Ray Rice, Alice Sheppard, and Jing Qi, and instructor Wendy Ross.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is inviting the campus and community to gather at Wieden Auditorium at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20 to celebrate an important tradition in American government – the Presidential Inauguration ceremony.

The University will show the ceremony on its large projection screen in Wieden Auditorium, giving students, faculty, staff, and community members an opportunity to gather together and observe this significant occasion.

“Once every four years we have the opportunity to come together as a political and social community to celebrate both change and continuity in our national leadership. We welcome the opportunity at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to invite people of all political persuasions to come and join us in watching President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration,” President Don Zillman said. “It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on change in our society and the energies of the political processes, and to consider the very substantial challenges that all of us face, but particularly our major elected leaders, in confronting the challenges that are ahead.”

With winter in full gear and warmer weather in the future, the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Outdoor Adventure Program International (OAPI) is offering a series of spring adventures for campus and community members to enjoy, including a winter mountain climb, cross country and alpine skiing, and rock climbing.

The first event of the season kicks off on Jan. 21 and again on Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 25, March 4, March 11 and March 18 when OAPI offers free rides to Big Rock Ski Area in Mars Hill. The mountain offers free Wednesday night lift tickets and OAPI provides the free transportation to the site. The shuttle departs from Gentile Hall at 4 p.m. and returns by 9:45 p.m. Organizers will cancel if driving conditions are unsafe. If you would like to attend, please be at Gentile Hall by 3:45 p.m.

For women who wish to “learn the ropes” of indoor climbing, OAPI will offer a series of climbing nights for women beginning Tuesday, Feb. 3 in Gentile Hall. No experience is required and instruction will be provided for the sessions which meet on the first Tuesday and third Wednesday of February, March and April from 6-9 p.m. This activity is free for UMPI students and Gentile Hall members; cost for non-members is the $7 day pass fee.

OAPI ventures out for its White Mountain Winter Ascent from Wednesday, Feb. 18 to Saturday, Feb. 21. Participants will be able to experience winter travel in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on this four-day trip.

An exhibit featuring the talents of Fort Fairfield artists and those with a connection to Fort Fairfield’s past will be on display from Dec. 6 through Jan. 17 in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery.

The exhibition titled, “It’s Time To Feature Fort Fairfield Artists,” offers a diverse collection of work in recognition of Fort Fairfield’s recent Sesquicentennial celebration. It was compiled by Sesquicentennial chairs, Sarah Ullman and Rayle Ainsworth, as the culminating event in a very successful year-long celebration.

The show will include paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures by experienced and emerging artists.

Looking for a simple and cost-effective way to host this year’s business holiday party? Food services company ARAMARK, in conjunction with the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Conferences and Special Programs Office, have come up with a plan that will allow the area’s small- to mid-sized businesses to do just that.

ARAMARK and UMPI are teaming up to host a Business Holiday Dinner in the Campus Center on Friday, Dec. 12 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. with a meal served at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $24 per person or $170 per table of 8. The event will include dancing and a cash bar and provide opportunities to network with other local businesses in a relaxed setting.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle held a special Veterans Day event on Tuesday, Nov. 11, gathering together several local veterans and University officials for an evening of tribute and appreciation for what our nation’s veterans have lived through.

A seven-member panel discussed the veteran experience – from the initial decision to enter military service and the nature of that service to the impact of a veteran’s service on loved ones and the lessons that stay with a veteran for the remainder of life. This special event was part of the University’s weeklong 1968 Retrospective, held November 10-15, which commemorated the 40th anniversary of a transformational year in politics, education, science and culture. Event organizers believe the University’s 1968 Retrospective is the only event of its kind to take place in Maine, if not New England.

Participating in the panel were four local veterans – Rudy Buitron, US Army retired (Sgt. 1st class), who now lives in Portage; John Barlow, US Air Force (Staff Sgt.), who now lives in Fort Fairfield; Disabled American Veterans Chapter 10 Commander Don Pelkey, US Air Force (Sgt.), who now lives in Fort Fairfield; and Lionel Lavoie, U.S. Marines (Sgt.), who now lives in Frenchville. Also participating in the event were Chancellor Richard Pattenaude and UMPI President Don Zillman, both veterans, and Dr. Carol Hawkins, Director of the Farnham Writers’ Center and Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Colby College.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle celebrated the completion of $2 million in improvements and energy efficiencies to its major classroom building with an official Rededication Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting at Noon on Thursday, Oct. 30.

The event provided community members with their first opportunity to view the renovation work that was done at Folsom Hall, which includes three floors of science labs, computer labs, traditional classrooms, and the University’s major lecture hall. Construction crews outfitted the building with new floors, windows, ceilings, ADA accessible bathrooms, exterior facades, and updated heating and ventilation systems. A&L Construction of Presque Isle served as the general contractor on the renovation project and North Peak Architecture of Presque Isle completed the architectural work. The renovations, the first significant improvements Folsom Hall has received since it was built in 1966, have provided vastly improved educational facilities for students and faculty.

The Apollo 8 mission. The Tet Offensive. The French Student Movement. The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. All of these were major events that happened in 1968 and all of them will be discussed during the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 1968 Retrospective, to be held November 10-15. The public is invited to attend all activities connected with the Retrospective.

The week-long event commemorates the 40th anniversary of a transformational year in politics, education, science and culture and will include roundtable discussions, presentations, movie screenings, slideshows, musical performances, an art exhibit, and a conversation with journalist and Vietnam War correspondent Richard Dudman. The Retrospective will culminate in a day-long conference covering topics from student demonstrations to Second Wave Feminism to the Cinema of 1968. Event organizers believe this is the only event of its kind happening in Maine, if not New England.

Local kids will unknowingly be getting exercise while taking part in fun activities during the 8th semi-annual Fit and Fun Day, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Gentile Hall and sponsored by the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Physical Education Majors Club.
The Club has organized the free play day for area children in grades 1-5 to teach them about health and fitness in a fun environment. Activities will include cup stacking, rhythm activities, parachute games, juggling, and ball handling games, and improving motor skill techniques through activities such as throwing with rubber chickens, frogs, and turtles.