Leadership Week Celebrates Inauguration of UMaine President Paul Ferguson

A series of leadership events, academic activities, student research expositions and campuswide celebration will commemorate the inauguration of University of Maine President Paul W. Ferguson on April 19.

Leadership Week, April 11-19, takes its theme from Maine’s state motto, Dirigo, which is Latin for “I lead.” The theme recognizes and celebrates the qualities of the UMaine community and the people of Maine, and affirms UMaine’s statewide leadership and commitment as Maine’s flagship university.

Leadership will be the focus of President Ferguson’s inaugural address and the theme of a number of Leadership Week events, including the keynote address by renowned historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin. All Leadership Week events are free and open to the public.

“It seems most appropriate that as we officially commemorate the official change of leadership at this great university, that UMaine, as a community, take this Leadership Week to reflect on the role, challenges and impact that our leadership as Maine’s flagship university can and should have in the future of Maine and the Nation,” says President Ferguson. “My call to the campus will be to first serve, then lead.”

Leadership Week begins April 11 with the third annual Undergraduate Research and Academic Showcase, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Wells Conference Center. Organized by UMaine’s Center for Undergraduate Research, the event will feature student research exhibits, oral presentations and performances, and academic posters.

The evening of April 11 will feature a performance by UMaine’s 38-member Symphonic Band, conducted by Christopher White, at Merrill Auditorium in Portland. Sharing the stage for the 7 p.m. concert will be the Westbrook High School Wind Ensemble, conducted by Kyle Smith.

April 12-13 will be GradExpo, the graduate academic exposition, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Wells Conference Center. The annual event showcases graduate student research and innovations with academic poster presentations, oral presentations, art installations and performance. This year’s awards include the new President’s Research Impact Award to the student and his or her academic adviser who best exemplify the UMaine mission of teaching, research and scholarship, and outreach.

The Student Leadership Awards Ceremony will be held at 7 p.m., April 16 in Hauck Auditorium. The annual event coordinated by the Division of Student Affairs recognizes student leaders and organizations for their contributions to UMaine.

Goodwin will deliver at 7 p.m. on April 18 the Leadership Week keynote address, “Team of Rivals: Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln.” She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who appears regularly on network television programs and was an on-air consultant for PBS documentaries on Lyndon B. Johnson, the Kennedy family, Franklin Roosevelt and Ken Burns’ “The History of Baseball.” Her best-selling books include “Lyndon Johnson & The American Dream,” “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The American Home Front During World War II” and “Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir.” Her most recent work is “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.”

President Ferguson’s inauguration ceremony begins at 10 a.m., April 19 in the Collins Center for the Arts. A reception follows. To attend the ceremony, which also is free and open to the public, contact the President’s Office, 581-1516.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, (207) 581-3745 or margaret.nagle@umit.maine.edu