WABI (Channel 5) previewed the University of Maine’s third annual Summer Camp Fair for Kids scheduled March 12 in the New Balance Student Recreation Center on campus. Representatives from more than 60 Maine summer camps are expected to be on hand to provide informational materials and answer questions about the programming available for children and teens. The event is free and open to the public.
The Weekly carried a report on the Penobscot Valley Senior College and the spring courses it is offering starting March 11. The college is affiliated with the University of Maine Center on Aging and the Maine Senior College Network. It offers noncredit courses and learning opportunities such as local history, painting and health care for people 50 years and older.
The Portland Press Herald advanced the 17th annual Portland Flower Show. The show will include an auction on Sunday, March 9 that will feature items donated by local garden centers, as well as plants and materials used in the show. Funds raised from the auction benefit the University of Maine Cooperative Extension demonstration garden in Falmouth and the Maine Harvest for Hunger Gardens program.
The Portland Press Herald published a book review of “Sturge: A Memoir.” The book focuses on the life of Sturgis (Sturge) Haskins, a pioneer for gay rights who co-founded the University of Maine’s Wilde-Stein Club in 1974.
The University of Maine’s on-campus housing policy was mentioned in a Bangor Daily News editorial on the need for the University of Maine System to offer more housing and decrease lightly used space. To accommodate a larger freshman class and to keep more sophomores on campus, recently UMaine announced it will give sophomores — as opposed to juniors and seniors — first pick at remaining dorm rooms after all freshmen are placed.
WABI (Channel 5) reported the University of Maine Clean Snowmobile Team is preparing for the Society of Automotive Engineers Clean Snowmobile Challenge in April. The contest is an engineering design competition for university students that challenge them to re-engineer an existing snowmobile to reduce emissions and noise. The UMaine team is using compressed natural gas, which has less harmful emissions than gasoline, to power its snowmobile.
Research by C.K. Kwai, director of International Programs at the University of Maine, was referenced in a Chronicle of Higher Education article published in the The New York Times titled “Helping foreign students thrive on U.S. Campuses.” The article reported on Kwai’s study that examined what factors contributed to the retention of foreign undergraduates in two Midwestern university systems. Kwai found only three of several factors had a statistically significant and positive effect on student retention: grade-point average in the spring semester of freshman year, the number of attempted credit hours and on-campus employment. Kwai said because two of the factors were academic, it suggests good early academic advising could improve international student success.
The Bangor Daily News spoke with Karen Keim, associate director of the Maine Educational Opportunity Center and Maine Educational Talent Search at the University of Maine, for the article “Is Mike Michaud’s free sophomore year a good idea?” Keim, who coaches adults who enroll in college, said high school students usually come to college unprepared because they don’t challenge themselves enough in high school. She said students need to have a support network and know how to access it, as well as be involved on campus, in order to succeed. “A student who gets involved in their campus community is more likely to complete,” she said.
The Morning Sentinel previewed the 20th Rural Living Day that will be held in Thorndike on March 29. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Waldo County Extension Association are holding the event that will offer more than 20 workshops and seminars on topics such as how to make cheese, brew beer, attract native pollinators and produce maple syrup.
Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Portland Press Herald report about Maine’s race for governor. Brewer said he thinks the gubernatorial race is going to attract more attention from more people earlier than usual. He also predicts the candidates will try to sharpen their campaign message and settle on themes.