Janet Fairman, an associate research professor at UMaine’s Center for Research and Education and the Maine Education Policy Research Institute, was interviewed for a Kennebec Journal report on proficiency-based education, a new model for education that may become mandatory for all Maine public schools. Fairman said the new model could put Maine on the path to ensuring that all high school graduates have the knowledge and skills they need. She also said she was concerned about the feasibility for schools.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777

A book written by Rich Kent, a UMaine associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development, was reviewed on the National Writing Project website. The reviewer, UMaine alumna Emilie Brand Manhart, wrote that “Writing on the Bus: Using Athletic Team Notebooks and Journals to Advance Learning and Performance in Sports,” offers a balanced presentation of writing with athletes, including successes, missteps and lessons learned.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, 9207) 581-3777

Callie MacQueston of Vinalhaven, a UMaine graduate student pursuing a master’s in human development, was featured in a coastal Village Soup newspaper article about her preparations for the Miss Collegiate America Pageant March 9-10 in San Antonio. MacQueston is representing the state of Vermont as an at-large contestant, according to the article.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

In a report on a recent hazing incident related to students and alumni of Youngstown State University, the Vindicator newspaper of Youngstown, Ohio, quoted UMaine education professor Mary Madden about why students participate in hazing. Madden, who along with UMaine’s Elizabeth Allan co-authored a landmark 2008 study into hazing, said students participate in hazing, theoretically, because of the need to belong to something, which is a natural part of the development period for college students.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777

University of Maine professor of higher education and national pacesetter for hazing research Elizabeth Allan was interviewed for an in-depth article on hazing in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Allan, co-author of a national study on hazing with colleague UMaine research professor Mary Madden, said hazing is so ingrained in tradition that many participants simply accept the abuse as a rite of passage.

An editorial in Sunday’s Florida Times-Union newspaper on ways to discourage hazing at colleges and universities notes that the University of Maine has become a center for hazing prevention research. The editorial noted a groundbreaking, three-year national study on hazing by UMaine professor of higher education Elizabeth Allan and colleague Mary Madden, and included comments from Madden, who said effective prevention takes a commitment from the entire university. Allan and Madden were named members of a special task force at Florida A&M University after the recent death of a band member there.