The University of Maine at Presque Isle is pleased to announce a diverse and full schedule of spring semester events. From the Distinguished Lecturer Series to concerts and other special events, campus and community members can participate in activities designed to entertain, engage, and educate.

The university’s newly-established 7-OH-9 Coffee House will begin its semester activity with their Sweet Sounds Open Mic and Karaoke Night on Feb. 17 at 7:09 pm in the Campus Center. During the semester, the Coffee House will also host New York-based musician, Rachel P. on Mar. 1, and another Open Mic Night, appropriately named No Mo’ Sno’, on Apr. 19.

More than 500 volunteers are mobilizing for the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon #7 event, which will take place at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle from Feb. 4-6, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle is doing its part to pitch in.

The international event requires organizers and volunteers with expertise in a wide variety of areas, including medical coverage, transportation, and information processing, and scores of faculty, staff and students from UMPI will be stepping up in early February to help out with these efforts.

“We are so pleased to be participating in a multitude of ways with the World Cup Biathlon event that is coming to Presque Isle and to be helping to ensure that the local community and northern Maine region are providing a friendly and welcoming experience to the hundreds of athletes, coaches and spectators who will be visiting,” UMPI President Don Zillman said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share our region with Biathlon enthusiasts from around the world and we are confident that they will be impressed with what they find.”

Area volunteers with the AARP Tax-Aide Program will be available on Saturdays at the University of Maine at Presque Isle during the next two months to help members of the community prepare their tax returns.

This free service will be provided by volunteers every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Feb. 5 to April 16 in Room 118 of UMPI’s Campus Center. The work these volunteers are doing is connected to the VITA [Volunteer Income Tax Assistance] and TCE [Tax Counseling for the Elderly] programs.

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. 30, 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 (UMPI) is pleased to announce that its 2010-2011 University Distinguished Lecturer Series will continue with a presentation by Dr. David Tolin, founder and director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut.

Tolin will deliver his talk, Buried in Treasures: The Nature and Treatment of Compulsive Hoarding, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. in the university’s campus center. His presentation will include information about compulsive hoarding, the root causes of this common and potentially disabling problem, along with current treatments being used to help people manage the symptoms more effectively. It is estimated that up to 2 million people in the United States may be affected by compulsive hoarding.

With winter in full gear and warmer weather in the future, the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Outdoor Adventure Program International (OAPI) is offering a series of adventures for campus and community members to enjoy.

Activities will kick off on Jan. 30 with a dog sledding adventure. Participants will talk to the mushers, help harness the dogs, go for a ride, and enjoy a warm, delicious lunch. The public is invited to attend and may register for this adventure beginning Jan. 24. The registration deadline for this event is Jan. 28 at noon and the cost to attend is $40.