College of Education and Human Development

About the College

The University of Maine College of Education and Human Development is divided into three schools, which work together to fulfill our mission to be a leader in Maine and nationwide through research, innovation, collaboration and engagement. The majority of our teacher education programs are housed in the School of Learning and Teaching. The School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Human Development offers programs that cover the entire lifespan, including the undergraduate child development and family relations major, and graduate programs in educational leadership and higher education. The School of Kinesiology, Physical Education and Athletic Training provides students with exceptional opportunities to train at Maine’s only NCAA Division I school, as well as to learn in the state’s best classroom—the great outdoors. To learn more about one of our schools, click one of the links below.

• School of Learning and Teaching
• School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Human Development
• School of Kinesiology, Physical Education and Athletic Training

Our mission
Drawing on a rich tradition of excellence, the College of Education and Human Development at Maine’s flagship university is committed to leading innovation in Maine’s PreK-12 schools, higher education institutions, and agencies that support academic, cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. We promote effective teaching and learning, identify critical issues, conduct research, and disseminate findings. Collaborating with external partners and experts across the University of Maine, we prepare our graduates to engage in ethical conduct, reflective practice, meaningful inquiry, and data-driven decision making in order to meet the increasingly diverse needs of our state and the world in which we live.

Our vision
The University of Maine College of Education and Human Development will be a leader in developing knowledge and providing expertise on issues related to education and human development at a state, regional and national level.

The leader in Maine

• Our undergraduate and graduate programs prepare Maine’s classroom teachers and school administrators to serve students and communities across the state and beyond.
• Honoring the land grant tradition, our outreach encompasses the entire state, with a presence in nearly all of the more than 140 school districts in Maine.

A leader in the U.S.

• The UMaine College of Education and Human Development is among the elite nationally ranked graduate programs in education by U.S. News and World Report.
• Our college is home to innovative research and outreach programs, such as the IMRE Lab, the Maine Access to Inclusive Education Resources, and the Parenting Relationships Research Lab.

Educating the whole person. Spanning a lifetime.
Through leadership in three schools—the School of Learning and Teaching; the School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education, and Human Development; and the School of Kinesiology, Physical Education, and Athletic Training—students have opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to gain expertise and experience in teacher education, educational administration in PreK-20 settings, child development and family relations, literacy education, special education, STEM education, as well as athletic training, exercise science, and physical education.

From undergraduate majors to minors all the way through doctoral programs, no other institution in Maine offers the diversity and scope of expertise in education and human development programs.

Measures of the college’s success
More information on our enrollment rates, degrees conferred and other important measures of our college’s success can be found here.

Key priorities
As the land grant College of Education and Human Development at Maine’s only research university, we are responsive to the needs of the state. In this setting, we focus on how to serve and provide evidence-based practices for the State’s largely rural schools in a shifting global landscape. Through our leadership, thousands of PreK-12 students in communities throughout Maine experience positive behavioral interventions at school and beyond, and our outreach programs in literacy and special education ensure the most vulnerable among them get the services and support they need.

Maine Teachers of the Year

Below are the names of Maine Teacher of the Year honorees who have degrees from the University of Maine. The year they graduated and the type of degree earned follow their name. The year they were honored as Maine Teacher of the Year appears in parenthesis.

• Kelsey Stoyanova, ’14, ’18G (2022)
• Cindy Soule, ’95 (2021)
• Kaitlin Young, ’10 (2018)
• Tamara Ranger, ’07G (2017)
• Shelly Moody, ’04G (2011)
• Sherri Gould, ’11G (2005)
• Elaine Hendrickson, ’73, ’91G (2001)
• Argy Nestor, ’99G (1995)
• Richard Kent, M.A. studies (1993)
• Franklin McElwain, ’77, ’88G (1992)
• Linda Voss, ’90G (1987)
• Charles Seymour, ’97G (1986)
• Lawrence Greenleaf, ’82G (1984)
• Marlene Day, ’77 (1983)
• Sarah Chipman, ’57, ’66G (1981)
• Mildred Merrill, ’70 (1978)
• Roberta Rogers, ’64 (1976)
• Vivian Smith, ’56, ’65G (1974)
• Ruth Nunan, ’41 (1970)
• Emmett Stevens, ’51, ’55G (1969)
• Elizabeth Brennan, ’59G (1968)
• Donald Mailloux, ’61G (1967)
• Madelyn Linscott, ’64 (1966)
• Elizabeth Ray, ’47, ’55G (1954)

History

• 1906 — The first education courses are offered in the College of Arts and Sciences
• 1908 — Dr. Charles Davidson first documented Professor of Education. Dr. Davidson taught courses in topics such as History of Education, School Hygiene, and Application of Educational Theory
• 1930 — School of Education established
• 1931 — The Human Development program is formed, and its home (Merrill Hall) is dedicated
• 1958 — College status granted by the Board of Trustees to become the College of Education
• 1961 — Shibles Hall dedicated after Dean Mark Shibles
• 1967 — First doctoral comprehensive exams administered
• 1968 — The School of Human Development is organized
• 1980 — College reorganized to have 3 divisions with assistant deans overseeing each one
• 1993 — The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is organized
• 1997 — The Department of Human Development and Family Studies joins the College, renamed the College of Education and Human Development