Project Explore is looking for instructors for their June 20-24 gifted and talented program, which is offered every summer at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for elementary and middle school-aged students in the community.

Project Explore is seeking instructors who are interested in teaching a concentrated course for eight to 15 students. Instructors should have expertise in their area of interest, have a stimulating and imaginative approach to learning, be able to adapt to differences in learning styles, and have the ability to provide a challenging learning experience for high-ability students.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host a trip to China for UMPI and Maine School of Science and Mathematics faculty and students, as well as community members, from May 19 to May 30, 2011.

Trip participants will depart from New York City on May 19 for Beijing, where they will stay four nights and visit famous sites throughout the Beijing area. Trip attendees will have the opportunity to visit the Forbidden City, the largest and most intact conglomeration of ancient structures of the imperial palace ever built in the world, featuring more than 800 buildings with 9,999 rooms, golden-glazed roofs, red lacquered pillars, and vermilion walls.

The trustees of the Maine Higher Education Assistance Foundation (MeHEAF) are pleased to announce the awarding of a scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to Laura Schools, a business administration major at UMPI. She is a graduate of Houlton High School.

The University of Maine at Presque is pleased to announce that UMPI Professor Kevin McCartney has been published in MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY, a very widely respected international journal. The article, “Early evolution of the silicoflagellates during the Cretaceous”, is the first of five articles written and submitted for publication by McCartney following his research sabbatical at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in fall 2009.

The Maine Department of Conservation has announced that the University of Maine at Presque Isle will receive funding in the amount of $750,000 toward replacement of two oil-fired boilers with a wood chip boiler.

The new boiler will be the heating source for two of the campus’ primary teaching facilities, Pullen Hall and Folsom Hall. “We are thrilled to receive this grant that will help us not only improve the efficiency of our campus facilities, but also help the campus move closer to meeting our carbon neutral commitment,” said President Don Zillman.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Foundation has received a generous gift of $25,000 to establish a new award, the Amodeo Staff Award. Emerita Professor Nancy Amodeo provided the $25,000 endowment to create a permanent annual award to recognize an UMPI staff member for his or her outstanding service to the University.

“Nan was full of admiration for faculty, professional staff, and administrators,” noted University President Don Zillman. “However, she felt that the quiet and continued devotion of hourly employees to the campus community often did not get the recognition it deserved. Nan’s generosity will allow us to honor one of our staff members annually for that kind of dedication.”