Speaker Pingree at UMaine Tuesday

Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO — Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree will visit the University of Maine on Tuesday Nov. 10,  as part of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center Distinguished Maine Policy Fellow Program.

Pingree, the 99th Speaker of the Maine House, has served in the Maine Legislature since 2002.  She represents 11 coastal communities, including her hometown of North Haven.  She will be at UMaine from 9:15 a.m. Friday until 5:30 p.m., visiting with students, faculty members and staff members.

A legislator with particular interest in healthcare issues, Pingree will spend time in the afternoon visiting UMaine research labs where faculty members and students are working on projects related to human health.  Those tours begin at 2 p.m. and continue through 3:45.  She will visit an American government class and a public finance class in the morning.  A full schedule is available upon request.

The Distinguished Maine Policy Fellows Program, which began in the spring of 2006, brings Maine elected officials and senior policymakers to UMaine for intensive one-day programs through which they can learn more about UMaine, the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, and the work of the university’s faculty members and students. It is also intended to provide opportunities for UMaine students to have access to high-level public officials, through whom they can learn more about government and the development of public policy.