We like to recognize the work of faculty and staff in the planning and hosting
of conferences, workshops and symposia. These events require a commitment of time
and energy, but contribute to professional development and reflect well on the
institution. Below is a list of such events held in recent months.
The Center for Teaching hosted a symposium on "Students, Scholarship,
and Service," to assess current service learning projects sponsored by
campuses in Maine. The symposium featured 18 faculty presenters from seven
different campuses in Maine leading discussion with 75 other participants,
including Maine university students, on best ideas for service learning programs.
The symposium was held Friday, October 22 in Luther Bonney Auditorium.
The College of Education and Human Development hosted a day-long conference
for Maine teachers on "Literacy Education for the Future," which
featured noted literacy educator, researcher and author Richard Allington
giving the keynote address. In addition, five Maine school districts - Gorham,
Yarmouth, SAD 48, SAD 52, and Mapleton school districts - shared their approaches
in providing successful reading programs that support struggling readers.
Schools throughout the state sent participants to the conference; in all 225
people attended. The conference was held Thursday, October 14 at the Augusta
Civic Center, and was sponsored by the Literacy Education Program and the
Professional Development Center.
USM's Russell Scholars Program worked with students at Gorham Village School
in a cross-cultural collaboration in the arts with students from the University
of Hawaii and a local school in Hawaii. The artwork created by the two groups
was on exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art during October as "Celebrations:
Windows Into Culture." It also was exhibited at the Bishop Museum of
Honolulu.
Lewiston-Auburn College held a Faculty Summer Workshop on July 21 on "Teaching
About Diversity/Teaching Through Diversity," organized by Roxie Black
Hamlin, director of occupational therapy; Jan Hitchcock, associate professor
of social and behavioral sciences; Winnie Brown-Glaude; and Rose Cleary. Over
40 full and part-time faculty attended.
The Provost's University-Wide Committee on Writing held a two-week summer
seminar on the theory and practice of writing, organized by Nancy Gish, professor
of English,which was held June 7 -18 in USM's Stone House in Freeport. Topics
considered were grammar, syntax, style, matching communication styles to goals.
There were also workshops on the biological basis for language structure,
taught by Wayne Cowart, professor of linguistics; working with students on
writing in the sciences, taught by Henry Tracy, assistant professor of chemistry,
and Paul Nakroshis, assistant professor of physics; sequencing, by Lisa Walker
of the English Department, and writing-intensive courses, by Barbara Hope
of Media Studies.
The Art Department collaborated with the Maine Humanities Council on a one-day
conference in May on "Confronting the Contemporary: Understanding and
Teaching Late 20th Century Art. The day was led by Donna Cassidy, associate
professor of art. Other USM art faculty to participate included Michael Shaugnessy,
sculptor; Kim Grant, art historian; Trudy Wilson, art educator; and Carolyn
Eyler, gallery director. It was held on the Gorham campus.
Charlotte Rosenthal, associate professor of Russian, organized a one-day
conference, "Russian Day" at USM on October 3, 1998, which brought
together about 40 students, including foreign exchange students, and faculty
from Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, and USM to celebrate the annual "Russian
Day." The program featured a Russian feature film, "The Brother,"
and a talk by Rosalind Marsh of the University of Bath, England on the current
status of politics and literature in Russia. Other USM professors in attendance
were Oliver Woshinsky and Jim Roberts from the Political Science Department
and Christine Holden from History. More recently, Rosenthal organized a one-day
workshop last May on the teaching of Russian to children, with presenter Julie
Hoffmann of the Penobscot School.