March 2019

Dr. Richard Shain Cohen, former Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor Emeritus of English here at UMPI, passed away on March 1. Dr. Cohen retired from UMPI in 1990 after many years of outstanding academic leadership that included the inception of the university’s Honors Program. His full obituary can be found at https://obituaries.pressherald.com/obituaries/mainetoday-pressherald/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=191724037

Six UMPI Biology students participated in a Short Course for a week in January at MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, where they performed biomedical research on “Stress and Immune Cell Regulation.” Lydia Tilley, Michaela Schwartz, Ryan Tebo, Maddi Cummings, Lacey Good, and Liz Ward were accompanied by UMPI professor Dr. Judith Roe. The students joined a group of University of Maine at Fort Kent students and faculty in the course, which was directed by MDIBL researchers Ian Gans and Elli Hartig. The course was supported by Maine INBRE.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Cross Country team will host its 39^th Annual Spring Runoff 5K Road Race on Saturday, April 6, at Wieden Gymnasium. Race day registration will begin at 8 a.m. The event will be open to walkers and runners, with walkers starting at 9:30 a.m. and runners and relay (3-person) starting at 10 a.m. T-shirts will be given out to the first 60 entrants, courtesy of Aroostook Beverage. This event is also sponsored by Big Cheese Pizza and Pepsi Bottling Group, who will supply pizza and Pepsi beverages in Wieden Gymnasium shortly after the completion of the race, around 10:45 a.m. This event is open to the public and the cost is $15 U.S or $20 Canadian for 5K runners/walkers and $25 U.S. or $30 Canadian for 3-person relay teams. This event is a fund-raiser for the UMPI Cross Country team. FMI, contact Chris Smith at 768-9472 or christopher.smith@maine.edu.

Want another great reason to read through the image newsletter? Well, somewhere in this issue of the image is our very own owl emoji. Here’s the challenge: just find it (don’t tell anyone else its’ hiding place!), let our office know, and you could be eligible for a $5 gift certificate to UMPI Starbucks! A winner will be randomly drawn from all of the people who find the emoji on Friday, March 22. Congratulations to our February winner, Brian Flewelling!

To let us know you’ve found it, either click on the emoji and fill out the very short form, or email Gayla Shaw with the location at gshaw@maine.edu.

Happy searching!

In February, the Office of Alumni Relations put the call out for UMPI couples to tell us their stories and the response was excellent. We shared the stories submitted by our owl couples on our UMPI Alumni Facebook page. Please check them out here: https://www.umpi.edu/alumni/couples19/.

UMPI’s 8^th Annual Think Pink Basketball Games were a huge success this year and raised a whopping $1,100. The walking tacos were a big hit as well. Athletics also donated what they took in at the door with some people paying even more than what they would normally pay. Rachel Rice won the 50/50 drawing and donated her share back to the team. Kim Jones won the Valentine’s Basket and student Jessica Cameron won the UMPI sign.

The UMPI Relay for Life team will be hosting its 8^th Annual Stew Night on Friday, March 15 from 4:30 – 7 p.m. at the Sargent Family Community Center, 24 Chapman St., Presque Isle (across from the Court House). The cost is $6 a meal (main dish, roll, dessert, drink), $3 for extra bowls of the main dish, $3 for baked potatoes, $1 for hot dogs, and $3 for chili dogs. Chicken stew, meat and veggie chili, corn chowder, baked beans, beef stew, tortellini soup with sausage, and chop suey will be available as the main dish. You can purchase items separately or in a combo for $6 and there will also be to go containers available. All funds raised will go to the American Cancer Society. FMI, contact Laurie Boucher at 768-9512 or email laurie.boucher@maine.edu.

On April 6, droves of accepted students and their parents will join us here at UMPI for Accepted Students Day. What a great opportunity for us to showcase to our incoming students how we are creating a student experience that is The Way It Should Be!

Are you using any unique approaches to support the incoming student experience through your role or office for this year’s Accepted Students Day? If you are, please contact Jason Towers at jason.towers@maine.edu; he would love to hear all about it.

The University of Southern Maine will host the 2019 UFWH (Universities Fighting World Hunger) Summit at the University of Southern Maine March 15-16 at the Abromson Community Education Center at the Portland Campus of USM. The 2019 UFWH Summit will bring over 500 students, faculty, and activists together for two days of action-oriented workshops and inspiring presentations from leaders and activists at the front line of fighting hunger. This is the first time this Summit has been held in the northeastern U.S. and, given the density of colleges and universities in this region, plus its long history of food systems activism, this promises to be a large and exciting event.

Two members of UMPI’s campus community will deliver presentations during this year’s summit. Shirley Rush will deliver a talk titled, “Community, Friendship, and Hope: Self-Efficacy in Tanzanian Youth” about her work in Tanzania. In addition, Scarion Rupia, a colleague of Rush’s who is currently visiting the UMPI campus, will give a talk titled “Standing in the Shoes of the Farmer: Rethinking Approaches to Food Insecurity Solutions in Tanzania and Africa.”

This year’s UFWH Summit is being co-sponsored by the Food Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and the Maine Campus Compact. There are some grant and award opportunities available for student attendees.

To register, go to https://usm.maine.edu/food-studies/2019-universities-fighting-world-hunger-summit, or FMI, contact Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt at 207-780-4490 or email lmlinden@maine.edu.

We would like to welcome new Sodexo General Manager, Craig Thompson, who started a few weeks ago. Craig comes to us from Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, WY. He is joined by his wife Lisa, two children Henry, 16, and Elizabeth, 7, and their dog Daisy.

Carol Ayoob’s Experience of the Arts class will host a Community Coffeehouse and Open Mic every Thursday night, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the Owl’s Nest. Musicians, poets and any others who are interested are invited to attend. There will be a featured musician each week and a sign-in sheet for anyone who wants to play or recite their original poetry. This event is free and open to the public as well. FMI, contact Carol Ayoob at 768-5903 or email carol.ayoob@maine.edu.