Outreach

‘The Maine Question’ explores hazing, on campus and beyond

From the military to athletics to campus fraternity and sorority life, students and others endure hazing to satisfy the basic human desire to be part of a group. It operates in the shadows, but when hazing does appear in the headlines, it is often associated with tragic consequences.  Elizabeth Allan, professor of higher education leadership […]

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A photo of a student performing tick research

UMaine seeks to thwart ticks by helping landowners weed out invasive forest plants

Ask anyone who frequents the forests of New England and they will likely speak of unwelcome companions — ticks. Blacklegged ticks are expanding their range and rising in numbers, infecting people with pathogens that cause conditions like Lyme disease and babesiosis. Climate change is frequently blamed, but researchers have noticed another man-made problem may be […]

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Press Herald cites overdose statistics from state, UMaine partnership

The Portland Press Herald cited a data visualization on drug overdose deaths compiled with data from the Monthly Overdose Report from the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the University of Maine. The visualization showed a year-to-year decrease in overdose deaths starting in 2023 and the potential for the state to have the […]

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CBS 5 highlights research from UMaine on virtual volunteer work

WABI (CBS 5 in Bangor) highlighted a report on virtual volunteering that was co-authored by researchers at the University of Maine Center on Aging. The report found that volunteer work performed entirely and partly online is increasing. Virtual and hybrid volunteers contributed more than 1.2 billion service hours in 2023, representing $41.5 billion in economic […]

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Media highlight hazing education efforts led by Allan

Following President Joe Biden’s signing of a new anti-hazing bill, Forbes, The Spokesman-Review and the Seattle Times highlighted efforts from Elizabeth Allan, professor of higher education leadership at the University of Maine, to educate on campus hazing and advocate for anti-hazing laws. Allan’s research from 2008 found that 55% of college students are involved in organizations […]

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ABC 8, Press Herald cite research from budworm task force

WMTW (ABC 8 in Portland) and the Portland Press Herald highlighted research on budworm outbreaks from a state task force in which the University of Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit is a partner. The research states that every 30 to 60 years, there is an outbreak and severe defoliation. Maine is expected to have outbreak […]

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NPR’s Seattle affiliate highlights hazing education efforts from UMaine

Seattle’s NPR news station KUOW highlighted hazing education and prevention efforts at the University of Maine led by Elizabeth Allan, professor of higher education leadership, during an interview with Jolayne Houtz, whose son, Sam Martinez, died of alcohol poisoning due to hazing at a Washington State University fraternity event in 2019. Houtz and her husband […]

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A Portrait of Elizabeth Allan

Anti-hazing bill on which UMaine researcher consulted passed by Congress

Editor’s note: President Joe Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law on Dec. 24. The U.S. Senate last week passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing hazing on college campuses nationwide. The legislation previously passed the House of Representatives, and has been sent to President Joe Biden for […]

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