President Kennedy's Go Blue Message
Dear
Colleagues,
The announcement of a federal grant to support the new
Sustainability Solutions Initiative at UMaine was a real July
highlight in our community. The month also featured a series of
accomplishments by our faculty members and staff members, which
I am pleased to share in my monthly Go Blue message.
The Sustainability Solutions Initiative, based at UMaine's
Mitchell Center, is an ambitious interdisciplinary and
collaborative effort that will include higher education
institutions, public schools, business partners and others to
address issues critical to our state's future. Funded by the
National Science Foundation EPSCoR program, this initiative will
lead to strategies for sustainable development in our state,
focusing initially on issues related to urbanization, forest
management and climate change. Sustainability science is gaining
a lot of attention as colleges and universities around the U.S.
and beyond are focusing work in this area. I am confident that
UMaine's program will quickly move to the forefront in this
discipline, leading to positive strategies for Maine.
Congratulations to Mitchell Center Director David Hart, Maine
EPSCoR Director Vicki Nemeth and all the other members of our
community who have worked so hard to develop this initiative.
Before noting a few of the notable individual achievements from
the past month, I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that
UMaine has been recognized by the publishers of two selective
college guides, listing our university among the best in the
nation. "The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2010" recognizes "the best
and most interesting institutions in the United States and
Canada" and it includes UMaine as one of 330 institutions
profiled in the guide. Additionally, Princeton Review has listed
UMaine -- for the sixth consecutive year -- as one of "the Best
371 Colleges" in its annual guide book. We are particularly
pleased about this continuing recognition in Princeton Review
because its methodology features surveys of our own students,
who are telling that publication's editors that they are having
a good experience at UMaine.
Congratulations to Gail Dana-Sacco, director of UMaine's
Wabanaki Center, for her selection as a fellow in the 2009
Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership program. The
Portland-based Hanley Center selects a small group of fellows to
work toward substantive health care change in Maine. The
organization recognized Gail for her work related to health
issues involving Native Americans and other underserved
populations in Maine.
Jeffrey Hall, a UMaine Libra Professor of Neurogenetics, has won
a share of the prestigious international Gruber Foundation 2009
Neuroscience Prize. Jeff and two collaborators were recognized
for their research related to genetic mechanisms and circadian
rhythms. He is one of three UMaine faculty members who is a
member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Kudos to Scott Johnson from the UMaine Dept. of Earth Sciences
faculty, for his election as a Fellow of the Geological Society
of America. Scott, who specializes in tectonics and structural
geology, was recognized for his research, teaching and service
contributions to the field of earth sciences. Only about two
percent of the society's members are accorded this recognition,
which is the highest member-generated honor in the society.
I would also like to recognize Nory Jones from the UMaine
business faculty, for the continuing success of the MBS (Maine
Business School) Corps, a community outreach organization Nory
created and oversees. The MBS Corps connects UMaine students,
staff members and faculty members with nine local community
organizations for volunteer opportunities. She recently accepted
a $1,000 Wal-Mart community grant to support this meaningful and
inspiring effort, which reflects the best of what UMaine has to
offer.
Nory's colleague, Dean John Mahon, has received a unique and
truly impressive award from the International Association for
Business and Society (IABS). John recently received the
association's "20th Anniversary Commemoration Award for the Best
Paper" ever published in its journal, "Business and Society." A
paper John wrote in 1997 remains the most cited paper in the
history of that management journal, which focuses on social
issues, ethics and their influence on organizations.
I was pleased to note the completion of a process leading to the
creation of a dual degree in engineering and liberal arts
through a UMaine partnership with the University of Maine at
Farmington. UMaine's own College of Liberal Arts and College of
Engineering have a similar arrangement, as do the College of
Engineering and Bowdoin College. These are wonderful
initiatives, which provide opportunities for prospective
engineers to expand their educational options in interesting and
valuable ways.
Congratulations to Prof. Len Kaye and his colleagues in UMaine's
Center on Aging on the news of continued funding for the
center's innovation pharmaceuticals mail-back program. The new
funding will also allow for expansion of the program, which
provides a means for people to mail unused prescription
medicines to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency for safe
disposal. Some 2,000 Mainers have already taken advantage of
this program, the benefits of which include those that keep
these medicines out of water supplies.
UMaine,
the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Rutgers University and the University of Maryland
form the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's newest
cooperative institute, CINAR (Cooperative Institute for the
North Atlantic Region), under a new agreement that began July 1.
The partnership will focus on ecosystem forecasting, ecosystem
monitoring, ecosystem management, protection and restoration of
resources, sustained ocean observations and climate research.
The UMaine School of Marine Resources is playing a central role
in this initiative, which brings together vast expertise from
five institutions with strong national and international
research profiles. The institute aims to develop science-based
information that will inform policy decisions.
Finally this month, I am delighted that the Board of Trustees
recently approved my appointment of John Rebar as executive
director of UMaine Cooperative Extension. John has been a
valuable leader -- both in Extension and throughout the UMaine
community -- for many years. Everybody who depends on Extension
-- literally thousands of people all over Maine -- feels the
impact of John's leadership of that wonderful organization.
Extension brings UMaine expertise and resources to practically
every community in Maine, to the benefit of individuals,
families and businesses. It has thrived during John's tenure as
interim director and as director on a two-year appointment. I am
most pleased that John will continue in this role and I look
forward to his ongoing contributions.
As we move into August, I sense the excitement about the new
academic year beginning to grow. Our new first-year class will
join the UMaine community on Friday Aug. 28, and classes will
start the following Monday. Fall Welcome Weekend is truly an
annual highlight at UMaine, and I look forward to seeing many of
you as we work together to welcome the Class of 2013.
Sincerely,
Bob Kennedy
President
