Officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle, area hospitals, donors, and students gathered on Thursday, Jan. 10 to celebrate the establishment of a state-of-the-art learning space for UMPI’s Medical Laboratory Technology Program. The new $200,000 MLT Training Center, created with support from a $50,000 Davis Family Foundation grant and a $15,000 Libra Foundation grant, helps address healthcare workforce needs while providing UMPI’s MLT students with a dedicated space that simulates a hospital setting for completing intensive clinical training.

The region’s premier leadership development training opportunity for professionals new in their careers—a partnership between MMG Insurance and the University of Maine at Presque Isle—is gearing up for its 12th year of fast-paced, interactive learning. Nominations are now open for the Young Professionals Institute, facilitated by UMPI’s Employer U program and offered this year on Wednesdays from Feb. 27 to April 10.

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.