The University of Maine at Presque Isle is pleased to announce that its 2010-2011 University Distinguished Lecturer Series will continue with a presentation by Dr. Mark Noble, Director of the University of Rochester Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute.

Noble will deliver his talk Stem Cell Biology: The Next Medical Revolution at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21 in the University’s Campus Center. He will describe how the field of stem cell biology can enhance the understanding and treatment of a variety of diseases. Just as antibiotics and vaccinations revolutionized medical treatments, stem cell biology research has the potential to provide similar benefits in the treatment of cancer, neurological diseases, bone diseases, heart diseases and metabolic diseases.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Darrell Dorgan for the week of Oct. 3 to 7 as its 2010-2011 Journalist/Professional Communicator in Residence.

In addition to his extensive journalism and filmmaking work, Dorgan is the Executive Director of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. During his visit to Northern Maine in early October, Dorgan will speak with local service organizations, University classes, and assist with student media programs.

He will also be showing his newest documentary film – Theodore Roosevelt: A Cowboy’s Ride to the White House – at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6 in the Campus Center. The public is invited to attend this free film showing.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will present the exhibition Maine Woods: Observations by Bert Lincoln Call & Henry David Thoreau from September 17 through October 16, providing an up-close look at 35 photographs and quotations from the 1800’s describing the Northern Maine wilderness.

This exhibit comes to the Reed Gallery courtesy of the Dexter Historical Society. The exhibit has traveled throughout the state of Maine and consists of 35 photographs by Bert Lincoln Call and quotations from Henry David Thoreau’s The Maine Woods.

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

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 parachute games, cup stacking and frisbee, among others.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Faculty Noon Seminar Series returns for the Fall 2010 semester with presentations on climate change in Central Asia, promoting student creativity, terror management theory, and even a discussion that involves a candidate in the upcoming Maine gubernatorial election.

Seminars will be held on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge, unless otherwise noted. Presentations will be 20-30 minutes in length with a discussion period to follow. Those attending are welcome to bring their lunches and join in the discussion.

A short film that had its beginnings in a University of Maine at Presque Isle course on screenwriting and filmmaking – and was completed by a Hollywood cinematographer and a nationally acclaimed writer – will appear on the big screen for one night only when the Braden Theater hosts the official film premiere of The Proposal on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, from 5-6:30 p.m. Seating is limited and tickets are $10 each. For more information or to purchase a ticket or reserve a seat, call 768-9452.

This half-hour film presentation was directed by Zoran Popovic – the cinematographer for the 2008 film War, Inc. – and co-directed by award-winning writer Cathie Pelletier. Pelletier taught the UMPI screenwriting course where the film was conceived and gave students in the class a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Popovic and gain an understanding of what it takes to turn a screenplay into a movie.