The University of Maine at Presque Isle will undertake a major green initiative this academic year—turning cafeteria food waste into high quality compost for soil enrichment—after receiving a $5,650 grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection through its Grants to Support Recycling and Organics Management Initiatives.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Art Program used pottery to fight hunger on a local scale as part of the region’s Fifth Empty Bowls fundraiser. Featuring the handmade creations of students and local ceramicists all to benefit a local soup kitchen, this year’s event took place on Thursday, Dec. 20 at the Sargent Family Community Center.

The new year means another adventure for Kevin McCartney, Professor of Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, who is heading to Poland on Jan. 4 after being awarded a prestigious Kosciuszko Fellowship to conduct research in the field of micropaleontology. McCartney will return to Szczecin, Poland, to build on the research he did during the 2016 to 2107 academic year as the first Fulbright Scholar in northern Maine’s history.

In an effort to provide area youth with even more wide-ranging higher education opportunities—from college success activities, to internships, to community service—Aroostook Aspirations and the University of Maine at Presque Isle have expanded and strengthened their partnership.

Students in need of professional attire have a new resource available to them now that the University of Maine at Presque Isle has opened up its Career Clothing Closet. Designed especially for students, the store is open in the Campus Store. All are welcome to visit and donate to the closet, which is sponsored by the Student Activities Office, the Career Readiness Program, and the Campus Store.

Classical pianist Duncan J. Cumming returns home for a concert at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center.  This event is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted at the door for future cultural events.

For the second year in a row, the University of Maine at Presque Isle has seen the largest percentage increase in enrollment within the University of Maine System, up 10.4% in enrollment by headcount from Fall 2017 to Fall 2018. Officials attribute this increase to the initiatives underway at UMPI focused on student affordability, early college opportunities, and access for adult learners.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Presque Isle Rotary Club will host their Seventh Annual Purple Pinkie Project on Friday, Nov. 9 and, with the help of the Rotary Clubs in Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Mars Hill, and Washburn, the celebration spreads throughout central Aroostook County and, for the second time, into Canada. All activities raise awareness of Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide and raise money $1 at a time to go toward that global effort.

With the stroke of a pen, officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle received a gift of $1 million from benefactor Mary Barton Akeley Smith to establish the first-ever endowed chair in the institution’s history. The permanent faculty position was formally named the Dr. Robert Vinton Akeley Chair of Agricultural Science and Agribusiness during an official announcement and naming ceremony on Oct. 23.