Environmental Science and Performing Arts to Highlight Sept. 27 UMaine Fulbright Event
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — University of Maine expertise in environmental science and talent in the performing arts will be on display at a unique Saturday, Sept. 27 conference, “UMaine Initiatives for Facing Environmental Challenges: A Day of Culture and Environmental Awareness.” Events are scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m., mostly in Minsky Recital Hall on the UMaine campus. A full schedule follows below.
UMaine and the Fulbright Association, Maine Chapter, are the event’s co-sponsors.
“UMaine faculty members are leading the development of solutions to the most troubling problems related to our changing environment,” says Prof. Dorothy Klimis Zacas of the UMaine Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, the conference’s lead organizer. “At the same time, our talented artists are affected by our changing ecosystem and this is expressed in their work. The conference will give participants an opportunity to consider, in new ways, the broad impact of environmental challenges on our lives.”
The event will feature afternoon walking tours showcasing the three newest UMaine buildings to receive LEED certification for environmentally friendly design and construction. Those tours — in the Student Recreation Center, the Foster Student Innovation Center and the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center — begin at 1:45 p.m.
Maine’s Fulbright chapter has nearly 100 members. The Fulbright Program established by the late senator J. William Fulbright in the 1940’s, promotes understanding and peace among nations through intercultural education supporting international exchanges involving students, scholars and teachers.
The Sept. 27 event is free and open to the public. To register, call 581-1572.
The schedule of events:
10 a.m.
Welcome
UMaine President Robert Kennedy
Fulbright Association Maine Chapter President Beth Richardson
10:10 a.m.
Premiere of an original composition by UMaine music professor Beth Wiemann
“All Crows are Equally Black”
Prof. Beth Wiemann, clarinet
Prof. Anatole Wieck, viola
10:20 a.m.
Presentation
Energy in a Changing Climate, Maine’s Opportunities and Challenges
Prof. Mick Peterson, UMaine Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
10:40 a.m.
Presentation
The Bear Brook Watershed Ecosystem Experiment: Lessons for Local Management and National Policy
Prof. Ivan Fernandez, UMaine Dept. of Plan, Soil and Environmental Science
11 a.m.
Musical Performance
Prof. Nancy Ogle, voice
Prof. Ginger Yang Hwalek, piano
11:15 a.m.
Original poetry and flute performance
Kathleen Ellis, lecturer in English
Shannon Buccieri, music education student
11:25 a.m.
Presentation
Summary of Present and Future University of Maine Initiatives for Facing Environmental Challenges
Janet Waldron, UMaine vice president for administration and finance
11:40 a.m.
Modern Dance Performance
Ann Ross, UMaine dance instructor
UMaine School of Performing Arts students
12 noon
Tour of the Lord Hall Art Gallery
Lord Hall
12:30 p.m.
Buffet lunch with organic and locally grown foods
Wells Conference Center
1:45 p.m.
Walking tours showcasing UMaine facilities designed to face environmental challenges
AEWC Center
Student Recreation Center
Foster Student Innovation Center