The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host the founder of an organization focused on making environmental sustainability a foundation of all learning and practice in high education as its next Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow.

Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, co-founder and President of Second Nature, will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, in the Campus Center. His talk, The Critical Role of Higher Education in Creating a Healthy, Just and Sustainable Society, is part of the University’s Distinguished Lecturer Series and is being held in conjunction with University Day. The presentation is free and open to the public.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery and the faculty of the Fine Art Program at UMPI are pleased to announce that, for the first time ever, solo exhibitions from the 2011 Fine Art Senior Thesis Exhibitions will be hosted at the Reed Gallery.

The Pullen Gallery, which typically hosts the solo exhibitions, will be undergoing renovation work as part of a major upgrade to Pullen Hall – one of the University’s main classroom buildings – prior to the end of the academic semester. The Reed Gallery presents an excellent opportunity to allow the senior thesis exhibitions to continue as planned during the months of April and May, and for students to utilize a professional art space for their exhibitions, according to officials.

Local kids will unknowingly be getting exercise while taking part in fun activities during the 13th semi-annual Fit and Fun Day, to be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 2 in Gentile Hall. The event is sponsored by the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Physical Education Majors Club.

For the past several years, the Club has organized the free play day for area children in grades 1 through 5 to teach them about health and fitness in a fun environment. Activities will include cooperative games and team building activities.

Campus and community members are invited to welcome spring and celebrate Women’s History Month when University of Maine at Presque Isle students host a poetry reading on Thursday, March 31 at Noon in the Campus Center. Refreshments will be provided and the public is invited to attend.

The event, which is being sponsored by the University’s English Program and its online journal Upcountry, is slated to feature students’ original works, as well as romantic and pastoral poems “from the Greats,” according to student organizer Candice Rivera. Rivera and fellow English major Mika Ouellette are organizing the poetry reading.

The Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine, Dr. Dena L. Winslow, will deliver a lecture, Unraveling the Mysteries of Learning Disabilities, at the University of Maine at Presque Isle at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 28, in the Campus Center.

Dr. Winslow will present an interactive workshop exploring the myths and realities of learning disabilities during her Monday night talk. The public is invited to attend this free event, which is being sponsored by the University’s Diversity Committee as a Diversity Awareness activity.

Maine State Climatologist Dr. George Jacobson will deliver a lecture, Climate Variability and Biodiversity — Past and Future, at the University of Maine at Presque Isle at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, in the Campus Center. The public is invited to attend this free event.

During his talk, Dr. Jacobson will examine the nature of long-term climate variability and how that has changed ecosystems in Maine and the northeast over the past 20,000 years. He also will discuss how future changes in climate are likely to influence our landscapes.

Momentum Aroostook, MMG Insurance and the University of Maine at Presque Isle are teaming up for the fourth time to provide the area’s young professionals with a one-of-a-kind leadership development opportunity.

The three entities will host the Young Professionals Institute, a professional development short course designed specifically for emerging leaders looking to hone their professional skills. The program will be offered at the University during eight afternoon sessions between March, April and May. Most classes will be held in the Campus Center’s Alumni Room.

Campus and community members will have a chance to try their hand at crime scene investigation when University of Maine at Presque Isle students host UMPI:CSI on Tuesday, March 15 in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. Two sessions will be held: from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. UMPI:CSI is being sponsored by the Student Activities Office and the Criminal Justice majors.

Organizers are working with two of the region’s police detectives to put on the event, which involves recreating an actual crime scene and having people work in groups to review the scene, look for clues, and make a conclusion about what happened. Detective Adam R. Stoutamyer of the Maine State Police, Criminal Investigation Division III, and Detective Bill Scull of the Presque Isle Police Department will be overseeing activities at the mock crime scene.

An artwork display of University of Maine at Presque Isle first-level ceramics students will open to the public on Friday, March 4 at the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library. The exhibit is a celebration of ceramics pieces created by students during the fall semester. The show will be displayed for the entire month of March.