Silver Tracks Spring 2023
Message from the Chair, President’s Council of Retired Employees
Greetings to University of Maine Retirees, Great News! We are having a live UMaine Retirees Homecoming on Friday June 16, and you are invited. At the event, meet up with former colleagues, find out about UMaine services and involvement opportunities by talking with members of organizations, hear from Dr. Habib Dagher how UMaine will print houses for the homeless, and have an enjoyable lunch with new and old friends. After lunch there will be tours of new facilities or time to visit museums and walk around campus.
The President’s Council of Retired Employees (PCRE), which organizes the Retiree Homecoming, serves to enhance communication between the University of Maine and the community of retired employees. If you have a retirement issue, you can find members of PCRE and their contacts on our website. The site also has news of coming events, past Silver Tracks (our newsletters), and histories of the Hikel awards, and the UMaine Retiree supported scholarship awards.
— Thomas Sandford, Associate Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering
Retiree Homecoming
Save the date! We are back on campus! Please join us on Friday, June 16 from 9 AM – 3 PM for the annual Retiree Homecoming.
- Welcome by President Ferrini-Mundy. Keynote by Habib Dagher, who will talk about the innovative new 3D printed houses.
- Two optional tours: the new engineering building or the Composite Center featuring the 3D printing of houses (you will choose one).
- Registration begins at 9 AM with coffee and light morning snacks. The tours end about 3 PM.
- 9 AM and on: Over 20 organizations available to meet you, including Aetna, TIAA, Alight (formally AON), UM Benefits, Field’s Pond, Eastern Area Agency on Aging, The UMaine Foundation, Versant Power Astronomy Center, Fogler Library, UCU, UM Bookstore and Bear Necessities (a discount coupon will be available and Bear Necessities at the Alfond will be open), plus over ten other organizations. Health insurance workshop at 9 AM: Alight, Aetna, and UM Benefits will be available to answer questions.
- Introduction of the Hikel Awardees from 2022 and 2023. Announcement of the Brown Scholarship awardee.
- Free lunch and door prizes.
- A parking lot will be reserved for attendees.
- Note that the University has six self-guided walking tours that you can take anytime: Art Inside, World of Trees, Gardens, Sculptures, Historic District, and Circle the Mall. You can follow the tour using your cell phone. Access at Self-Guided Walking Tours.
Information on registering for the 2023 Retiree Homecoming is on the Homecoming web page.
A Note from UMaine President Ferrini-Mundy
Hello to you all. It is wonderful to write to you at a time when we have returned to in-person events and activities on campus. It is terrific to see students out and about, interacting with each other and fully engaging in the complete University life experience that was not possible for the last 2 plus years. I am grateful to the staff, faculty, and students who endured the significant challenges of COVID while maintaining a safe, caring, and healthy culture focused on providing the best academic opportunities for our students.
In my last note, I wrote about our successful R1 designation. Since that time, we have transitioned to work that is required to sustain R1 status — like increasing our numbers of graduate students and post-docs, to recruiting and retaining premier faculty, and engaging our undergrads in authentic research experiences. We continue to do all we can to support economic development and innovation across our state and nation.
I mentioned The UMaine 2025 Commission in my last note and I would like to update you. The Commission delivered their thoughtful and creative framework since my last writing. The work of the UMaine 2025 Commission will now transition to the Maine Compass. The Compass provides us a foundation and framework
to organize our initiatives into nine different focus areas. As we develop the foundation and begin to incorporate and implement the associated strategic initiatives, you will hear more. This work will help us think about who we are and what we can — and should be — for the state, the region, the nation, and beyond. Please stay tuned.
Lastly, I would ask you all to think about how you might be able to join me and our students, staff, faculty, and alumni in continuing to share the benefits of being a University of Maine Black Bear. Increasing enrollment and retaining our quality students is my top priority and I welcome your support and assistance with ensuring that the opportunities a UMaine education offers are broadcast as wide and as far as possible.
–Joan Ferrini Mundi
President, University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Maine System
UMaine Retirees Harold “Brownie” Brown Scholarship 2023
grandmother, Sandy Vaillancourt
Scholarship Awarded
This year’s recipient of the UMaine Retirees Harold “Brownie” Brown Scholarship is Logan Doucette. Logan is the grandchild of Sandy Vaillancourt. Sandy worked for Cooperative Extension as an Administrative Specialist. She started working for the University of Maine in June 1982 and retired in 2016. Logan, a senior majoring in business administration, lives in Bradley, Maine. Logan expresses his many thanks for the scholarship. It is helping him to achieve his goals and dreams and he hopes one day to give back to help others to achieve their goals and dreams.
The endowed scholarship fund has grown over the years, thanks to the generosity of many retirees. Your gifts can be sent to the University of Maine Foundation or made online.
Retiree Announcements
Retiree Field Trip
Join UMaine Retirees on a 2-hour Schooner sail on Thursday 9/14. We will sail out of Camden on the 9:45 voyage on the Schooner Olad. Please arrive 30 minutes earlier. After, you’ll have time to have lunch and wander the shops of Camden. Cost is $55 per person which includes gratuity for the crew. Places are limited, so reserve yours at sandford@maine.edu or 207-942-0598 and send your payment to the address you will receive with your confirmation. You can cancel with a refund before 8/25.
Survey Coming!
The Retiree Council wants to hear from you. We are preparing an electronic survey to better understand your needs, your issues, and what you would like to know more about. Look for a notice soon.
Call for Retiree Stories
We are looking for interesting stories from retirees. What are you up to? Where have you gone? Let us know. Selected stories will be posted on the PCRE website and possibly in a future newsletter.
Please follow these guidelines: keep your story about 500-750 words; be sure to let us know your name, year you retired, your prior role at UMaine, and number of years you were employed at UMaine. Please include a good quality photo of yourself (jpg preferred). Submit via email to Borgman@maine.edu.
Retiree Resources
Library Access for Retirees
Retiree access to library resources is based upon emeriti faculty status or Gold Card eligibility. Semester borrowing privileges are granted for general collection items. If circulation staff can verify that eligibility
requirements are met, then your MaineCard will suffice, but a Gold Card is proof of eligibility and makes the process easier. Staff will work with you to set-up your account for book borrowing and off-campus access to licensed electronic resources (MaineStreet credentials will no longer work). Non-emeriti faculty retirees, who do not meet the minimum requirements for a Gold Card, no longer retain borrowing privileges. A Bangor Public Library card is recommended for book borrowing. Access to UMaine licensed electronic library resources is available on dedicated terminals inside of Fogler Library.
MEA – Retired Dental Insurance
Retirees from the University of Maine may be interested in joining MEA-Retired (and its affiliate HEAR —Higher Education Association Retired), visit mearetired.org. Dues total $82 per year for retired professionals and $68 per year for retired hourly (non-salaried) employees. One advantage to membership is access to their retiree Northeast Delta Dental insurance plan (for those who do not have access to the University’s retiree dental plan). Monthly premiums in 2022 were $51.98 for the retiree, $88.55 for the retiree plus one, and $139.43 for a family.
Note that there is also a Facebook group for UMSystem Retirees, which posts information and discussions about University of Maine retirement issues.
Barbara Hikel Award Recipient 2022
Last spring the President announced Karen Boucias as the 2022 recipient of the Barbara Hikel Award, given annually to a University of Maine retiree who, after retirement, provides extraordinary voluntary service to the University of Maine. Until her retirement in 2014, Karen was Director of the Office of International Programs. Since her retirement, Karen has continued to serve the University.
Karen serves as a member of the University of Maine Board of Visitors and the Collins Center for the Arts Board. She is an incorporating member of the University of Maine Foundation and chairs its Stewardship and Public Relations Committee. She serves the UMaine Alumni Association as a Reunion Committee Member for the class of 1971.
After serving twelve years on the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) Board of Trustees, Karen is now a member AUBG’s University Council. AUBG was founded in 1991 by a partnership including the University of Maine. Karen was a founding member of the Maine State Chapter of the Fulbright Association and continues to serve as a lifetime member. Her contributions to the University’s international presence are symbolized by the creation of the Karen Boucias International Scholarship Fund.
Karen is clearly an excellent choice for the 2022 Barbara Hikel Retiree Award.
The President’s Council of Retired Employees
Thomas Sandford, Chair
Rick Borgman, Vice Chair
Richard Judd, Secretary
David Bagley
Louis Bassano
Brenda Collamore
Richard Kent
Gail Werrbach
Sarah McPartland-Good
Jeffery Mills
Tom Peaco
University of Maine employees and retired employees are an important part of the fabric of the University of Maine. Gifts totaling more than $10 million in support of the University have come from these groups over the years. Many thanks to all of you!
The University of Maine is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.