Contact: Richard Brzozowski, 207-780-4207, rbrz@umext.maine.edu
AUGUSTA, Me. — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer an informational session for 4-H Leaders on establishing a Maine poultry team for the 2007 Avian Bowl competition in Louisville, Ky.; the session will feature poultry specialist Jacqueline Jacobs of University of Minnesota Cooperative Extension. This meeting will be Tuesday evening, Jan. 9, from 6-8 p.m. at the Kennebec County Extension Office, 125 State Street in Augusta. Those at the meeting will explore the possibility of training 4-H youth for a poultry team. States from all over the country send poultry teams to Louisville each November to compete in the Avian Bowl, Poultry Judging, Chicken BBQ, Turkey BBQ, and Egg Preparation.
For more details, contact Richard Brzozowski at (207) 780-4207.
Contact: Richard Brzozowski, 207-780-4205, rbrz@umext.maine.edu
AUGUSTA –University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine Alternative Poultry Association (MAPA) will sponsor an afternoon of practical training for poultry producers, 12:30 – 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at the Augusta Civic Center. The training is part of the 2007 Maine Agricultural Trades Show (www.getrealmaine.com), scheduled for Jan. 9
Contact: Amos E. Orcutt, (207) 581-5100 or (800) 982-8503
ORONO — The University of Maine Foundation has accepted the largest one-time gift ever donated to the University of Maine by a private individual or family, a $4.2 million personal residence at 200 Woodville Road in Falmouth. Eric and Peggy Cianchette, the home’s previous owners, finalized the donation earlier this week.
“This generous gift represents an important milestone in UMaine’s $150 million private fundraising campaign, known as ‘Campaign Maine,’” said UMaine President Robert Kennedy. “It will provide an important and useful physical space in the southern part of Maine, where UMaine has a large contingent of supporters, including 25,000 alumni. This facility will allow us to reach out to alumni and friends, and to provide the kind of programming and opportunities that represent UMaine’s broad-based statewide impact.”
“Thanks to the Cianchettes’ remarkable generosity, UMaine’s ability to serve Southern Maine will be greatly enhanced,” said Amos Orcutt, president and CEO of the University of Maine Foundation. “The acquisition of this facility will bring the University of Maine’s considerable resources to Southern Maine and further the foundation’s and the university’s opportunities to provide useful and valuable service to the local communities.”
Orcutt added that Eric and Peggy Cianchette, who donated the property, have been wonderful to work with and that he is extremely grateful for their generous gift.
“The Cianchette Family, meaning my immediate family and our parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins and everyone who have worked with us in our business pursuits, believe in the State of Maine,” says Eric Cianchette. “We hope that this gift will help the University of Maine educate a new generation of Mainers who will share our values of honesty and hard work.”
The foundation will be working closely with town officials and the Falmouth community to assure that the university will be the kind of neighbor that contributes significantly to the fabric of the community. As specific plans are finalized, more information will become available.
The University of Maine Foundation, located on the Orono campus, was established in 1934. It is a private, non-profit foundation that exists to encourage gifts and bequests for the benefit of the University of Maine. The foundation has a small office at 100 Foden Road in South Portland, Maine. Planned giving officer Dan Willett staffs the South Portland office and was instrumental in the acquisition of this valuable property.
Contact: Michael Howard, 581-3861
George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — UMaine philosophy professor Michael Howard recently won first prize in an essay contest conducted by Basic Income Studies, a new international academic journal that focuses on basic income issues and universal welfare policies.
Howard received the award at the Eleventh Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) in Cape Town, South Africa in November. The award is designed to inspire promising research on basic income and related policies. The Basic Income Studies essay prize is awarded for an essay that exemplifies the high standard of quality and original basic income research. Winners are chosen from essays presented on alternating years at the BIEN Congress and U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network Congress.
In his article, “A NAFTA Dividend: A Proposal for a Guaranteed Minimum Income for North America,” Howard applies Thomas Pogge’s argument for a global resource dividend on a regional basis in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“The paper is both novel and important, and it is well-developed both in terms of its comparison with the related proposal for a basic income for the European Union and in its examination of the specifics of the North American Free Trade Area,” Basic Income Studies editors Karl Widerquist and Jurgen De Wispelaere say. Howard’s essay will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal.
Howard also has an article in the first edition of the new Basic Income Studies, which can be accessed through the journal’s website (http://www.bepress.com/bis/).
The Prize Essay and three essays worthy of honorable mention were selected by a panel of judges from Basic Income Studies and the Basic Income Earth Network, who represented the fields of economics, politics, philosophy and development studies.
Honorable mention was awarded for: “Good for women? Advantages and Risks of Basic Income from a Gender Perspective” by Julieta Elgarta (Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina and Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium); “Why Switzerland? Basic Income and the Development Potential of Swiss Republicanism” by Eric Patry (Institute for Economic and Business Ethics, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland); and “Australia’s Disabling Income Support System” by Jennifer Mays (Centre for Social change Research, Queensland University of Technology, Australia).
Contact: Jon Kenerson, jon.kenerson@umit.maine.edu
George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — Eight students have been inducted into the honor society Chi Epsilon in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine.
Membership in Chi Epsilon is a mark of distinction placed on undergraduates who have upheld the honor of the department through high scholastic ability. Chi Epsilon holds that an honor society with the broad principles of scholarship, character, practicality and sociability is incentive to greater achievement in the civil engineering profession.
The undergraduates inducted into the Maine Alpha chapter on Dec. 13 were: juniors Brock Arthur Bessey of Ashland, Julie Erin Faloon of Medway, Richard Wayne McLain, III, of Levant, Derek John Nener-Plante of Bedford, Mass., Jennifer Lynn Stevens of Knox, Michael Paul Swett of Old Town, William Donald Syron of Burlington, Vt., and senior Kevin Adam Merrill of Westbrook.
Contact: Major James C. Moreno, enrollment officer, University of Maine Army ROTC, Room 112, Armory, 581-1125
ORONO — The Black Bear Battalion will hold its cadet commissioning ceremony Saturday, Dec. 23 for two army ROTC cadets at UMaine.
Candyce Jacobson of Winterport and Nicolas Phillips of Stuttgart, Germany, will be commissioned into the United States Army as second lieutenants at 2 p.m. in Arthur Hill Auditorium in Barrows Hall.
Jacobson is graduating with a bachelor of science degree in marine sciences, with a minor in military science, and will be a medical service corps officer. She will receive her federal oath of office from Lt. Col. Kevin Harris, professor of military science.
Phillips is graduating with bachelor of science degree in environmental management, with a minor in military science, and will be an engineer corps officer. He will receive his federal oath of office from his father, retired Chief Warrant Officer Four Chris Phillips.
Both cadets will receive their Maine state oaths of office from Lt. Col. Diane Dunne, a former member of the UMaine Army ROTC staff.
Following the ceremony, the new second lieutenants will take part in the time-honored tradition of presenting a silver dollar to the first non-commissioned officer that renders them a salute. Retired First Sgt. Bruce Judkins, a former member of the UMaine Army ROTC staff, will be the non-commissioned officers receiving the silver dollars. Both future officers Jacobson and Phillips will attend officer basic courses in the coming months and will return to Maine to serve with the Maine Army National Guard.
Contact: Kathryn Jovanelli, 207-561-3352 kj@umit.maine.edu, www.umma.umaine.edu
Digital images available
Bangor, Maine– The University of Maine Museum of Art is pleased to present three exhibitionsbeginning January 26.
Saul Leiter Early Color provides a survey of the artist’s seminalwork in color photography throughout the 1950s into the 60s with the city ashis subject matter.
Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky British Pop Art draws from the museum’sextensive collection of modern prints to provide a glimpse of the beginnings ofPop Art which originated in Britain.
William Greiner Blogs* Katrina combines New Orleans photographerWilliam Greiner’s photographs, writings and recollections that have been postedon his blog since October 2005.
Saul Leiter Early Color
For many decades, traditional art photographers considered colorto be the poor stepchild of black and white photography. But starting in thelate 1960s, an iconoclastic band of young American photographers, among themWilliam Eggleston, Joel Sternfeld and Joel Meyerowitz, took to the street, andirrevocably established color as a vibrant alternative to black and white inthe domain of expressive, socially-concerned photography.
Yet only recently has the seminal color street pho
Contact: Richard Grant, 581-1971; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — A team of graduate students from the UMaine Business School recently placed second in an international business plan competition held in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
All international students pursuing masters of business administration degrees, the UMaine students competed against 19 other student teams composed of both graduate and undergraduate students.
Artem Popov from Russia, Gohar Harutyunyan from Armenia and Monica Angelova of Bulgaria presented a business plan for a proposed company that would import sun-dried fruits from Armenia into Canada and distribute them to natural food stores and grocery chains from Ottawa to Quebec City. If the group is successful in launching its venture, the company, Amber Dried Fruits, would be based in Montreal.
The teams each had 12 minutes to present their plans to a panel of three judges at the University of New Brunswick’s annual business plan competition sponsored by CIBC, a Canadian bank. The UMaine team won the second place award for a separate, shortened version of the business plan presentation, a one-minute “elevator pitch,” delivered by Popov.
“Their written business plan was clear and it was easy to understand what they intend to do,” judge Kathy Malley of Malley Industries in Dieppe, N.B., said afterward. “They did a beautiful job on developing a logo and promotional flyer. It was evident that a great deal of work went into this project and we certainly believed their venture to be viable.”
Richard Grant, director of business graduate programs and executive education at the UMaine Business School, accompanied the students as coach and advisor.
Contact: Gretchen Faulkner, 581-1901; Patricia Henner, 581-4100
ORONO — The Hudson Museum and the Page Farm and Home Museum at the University of Maine will be closed over the holidays, from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. Both will reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Contact: Jennifer Crittenden, 581-2249; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — A recently completed study by the UMaine Center on Aging on alcohol and drug problems among older adults in Hancock County has revealed that abuse is pervasive and getting worse as Baby Boomers age.
The center found through a year-long study that as drug and alcohol problems are increasing among older Mainers, particularly in rural Hancock County, they are poised to become worse as a new generation of boomers, aged 40-60, joins an existing older population already afflicted by substance abuse.
The study, conducted for the Maine Office of Substance Abuse and in partnership with the Healthy Hancock Collaborative, further confirmed what researchers had discovered in previous studies — that many older people suffering from alcohol and drug problems go unnoticed if they routinely drink at home alone. Also, some people may not think about how much they are drinking on a daily basis. For example, someone who has a glass of wine with dinner and a night cap later in the evening would be exceeding federally recommended limits on alcohol consumption.
“They are not getting arrested for OUI and they’re not getting treatment in large numbers, signs that otherwise would underscore the social and health consequences of this disease,” says Jennifer Crittenden, research associate with the Center on Aging. “We’re having a really hard time identifying numbers because with older adults, the abuse issues are really hidden.”
The study will form a foundation for a more ambitious approach to prevention and treatment work that would be carried out by the Center on Aging, Healthy Hancock Collaborative members in their communities, in addition to physicians, social workers and others who work with aging adults.
The findings came from a dozen community focus groups in Hancock County, a statewide survey of counseling and social work professionals, and interviews with a mix of professionals and community members. Secondary data analysis looked at arrest, substance abuse treatment and healthcare data. Though most significant in Hancock County, substance abuse among aging adults is a growing problem throughout Maine and the nation, Crittenden says.
“Older adults have unique needs when it comes to addressing substance abuse, which are not currently being met by existing services,” Crittenden says. “We need this issue to get on the radar screen of physicians and counselors out there working with this population as it is often a hidden problem.”
Among the ideas Crittenden says are being discussed include making everyone from friends and family members to professionals who work with older adults aware of the signs and signals of alcohol and substance abuse, in addition to creating more social opportunities for reclusive older people, particularly in rural or isolated areas.
“We already have resources in Maine that can be brought to bear on this issue,” Crittenden says. “We have clinicians who are working in the field, healthy community coalitions, the Office of Substance Abuse and primary care physicians who work with older adults.”
Part of the research that questioned healthcare providers showed that few knew much about the issue of alcohol dependence and older adults, much less how to address it in their offices.
Crittenden says the study affirmed the difficulty identifying substance abuse situations, partly due to the stigma among aging populations that surrounds the issue and the fierce independence of elders in Maine.
On a more positive note, Crittenden says that while many older adults deny they have substance abuse problems and tend to reject professional intervention, members of the boomer generation may be more willing to seek help. Traditionally more liberal attitudes about drugs and alcohol among many boomers, which in some cases leads to addiction problems, also extend to their attitudes about counseling, therapy and seeking help.
Boomers are more physically and socially active than any previous generation and are showing up on law enforcement and healthcare radar through arrest or treatment statistics, Crittenden observes, which is evidence that the free spirit generation is bringing certain habits along with them as they age.
The University of Maine is working closely with the Healthy Hancock Collaborative to plan local community forums, which can provide an opportunity for community members to learn more about the project findings, as well as start a dialogue about essential next steps in moving the recommendations forward.
Project information tip sheets and the full report are available at http://www.umaine.edu/mainecenteronaging/pubandrep.htm#OSApubs.