Events

The University of Maine at Presque Isle welcomes area high school students to campus today, Wednesday, Feb. 13, for the Junior Achievement of Maine–Titan Challenge event, which allows participants to compete against their peers across the state on business finance and marketing exercises. This is UMPI’s second year hosting the event, which is being held in the Campus Center.

“We’re so excited to be hosting the Junior Achievement of Maine–Titan Challenge again this year,” Carolyn Dorsey, UMPI Assistant Professor of Business Management, said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to help students prepare for future careers in business-related fields and to get exposure not only to a college setting but also to some major business leaders in the state.”

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the University of Maine at Presque Isle will host a special presentation about love and the way it has been portrayed in art from medieval to modern times as part of its Seniors Achieving Greater Education [SAGE] programming.

UMPI President Linda Schott will present the talk, What’s Love Got to Do with It?: The Art (and Science) of Love on Monday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Allagash Room. This talk is free and open to the public.

What do space science education and cancer awareness have in common? A lot when you’re talking about one of the region’s most unique fundraisers, Planet Head Day, where participants raise money for a local cancer organization by agreeing to have their heads shaved and painted as planets, dwarf planets, moons, comets and asteroids. Aroostook County’s 7th annual Planet Head Day takes place on Saturday, Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Gymnasium. This not-to-be-missed event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The next speaker in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Distinguished Lecturer Series understands how hard it can be to finish a college degree, especially when you’re a juvenile behind bars. Starcia Ague found herself in that very situation as a teenager and was able to use her life experiences as inspiration not only to complete her degree, but to devote her career to advocating for at-risk and incarcerated youth.

Ague will talk about her life and work when she serves as the University’s first Distinguished Lecturer for the Spring 2013 semester. She will deliver her talk, From Strife to Triumph: A Champion for At-Risk and Delinquent Youth, at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, in the Campus Center. The public is invited to attend this free event as well as a reception taking place at 6 p.m. prior to Ague’s talk; refreshments will be served.

A University of Maine at Presque Isle Biology professor is assisting faculty from the University of Maine at Machias in offering the state’s first-ever regional Brain Bee competition. This event is associated with the International Brain Bee, a not-for-profit neuroscience competition designed especially for high school students that tests their understanding of brains and the nervous system and how they work together.

UMM’s Psychology & Community Studies Program, with support from UMPI’s Dr. Rachael Hannah, will be hosting the Maine Regional Brain Bee for high school students across Maine on Saturday, Feb. 2 beginning at Noon in UMM’s Science Room 102. The snow date is Saturday, Feb. 9.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host its annual spring semester American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, Jan. 30 from 12 to 5 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. Door prizes will be given away during this time. Members of the campus and community are invited and encouraged to participate in this free event.

One week before the Super Bowl and all the festivities surrounding it, the University of Maine at Presque Isle will host an annual party of its own for high school and college students – College Goal Sunday.

Staff members will be on hand at two locations on Sunday, Jan. 27, beginning at 2 p.m. – in Folsom 105 on the UMPI campus and also at the Houlton Higher Education Center – to assist students in completing and filing their FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] forms. This free event is open to the entire community. High school seniors and parents are especially encouraged to attend, along with currently enrolled college students needing assistance.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host a Winter Weather Sky Clue & Safety Workshop with WAGM Meteorologist Ted Shapiro on Wednesday, Jan. 23 from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. in the Campus Center. Campus and community members of all ages are invited to attend this free event.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will present the exhibit excavation by Catherine Higgins from Jan. 21 through Feb. 21, 2013. The exhibition debuts Higgins’ recent body of work to the Maine art community. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the opening reception on Feb. 1 from 5-7 p.m., which is being held in conjunction with the Presque Isle First Friday Art Walk.

A nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter who has spent more than 20 years touring as a musician, and who just happens to call Presque Isle his hometown, will head home for a special performance at the beginning of the new year. Ellis Paul will take the stage at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013.
This special concert serves as a fundraiser for children’s programming at the Wintergreen Arts Center as well as UMPI’s efforts to make 149 State Street a Cultural Center with established museum-quality, downtown gallery space on the floor above WGAC.