Professor to Pen Profiles on Struggling Mainers

Sandra Butler, University of Maine professor of social work, is collaborating with a University of Southern Maine colleague to write a monthly profile about Mainers struggling economically.

The yearlong series by Butler and USM sociologist Luisa Deprez is titled “The People Next Door.” It’s scheduled to debut Sept. 28 in the Bangor Daily News.

The series is an outcome of the Scholars Strategy Network, which brings together academics to address policy implications at the national, state and local levels. Each profile will include an interview with a Maine person or family, as well as a sidebar with statistics pertinent to the policy being addressed.

“We’re glad readers will gain information about how certain policies touch the lives of Maine residents,” says Erin Rhoda, BDN editorial page editor. “Sometimes wrangling over legislation can seem distant and abstract, so it’s important to bring the issues home.”