USM: Rich in Possibilities
A trip to Cuba, environmental research on the Androsccoggin,
Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers or a chance to pursue a career
in athletic training are among the myriad of opportunities
open to students at the University of Southern Maine.
Summer Course in Cuba
Eighteen USM students boarded a van in Portland at 3 a.m.
one morning in mid June to begin their summer adventure in
Havana, Cuba. They were enrolled in a summer course, "Cuba:
An Island Nation," that was be led by USM professors Henry
Amoroso and Sandra Wachholz.
The course was designed to expose students to the university
structure of Cuba. Classes were held on the University of
Havana campus along with field trips to support the classroom
experience.
The students came from a broad range of undergraduate majors,
including Spanish, international relations, criminology, sociology,
and history. During the course, developed for a North American
audience, students were introduced to Cuba's educational policy
which has produced one of the highest literacy rates in the
Caribbean; a medical structure that provides citizens with
one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world; and
a country with a distinct culture.
To view excerpts from a journal Professor Amoroso kept while
visiting Cuba a year ago see www.usm.maine.edu/~amoroso/courses/text.html
Research on the Androscogin
Blake Whitaker, associate professor of natural and applied
sciences at USM's Lewiston-Auburn College (LAC), is using
genetic analysis to determine the amount of damage that has
been done to fish in the Androscoggin River by chemical contamination.
He will be extending his research this summer to the Kennebec
and Penobscot Rivers.
To assist Whitaker and his students in catching the fish
for their research, the team is using a Bass Tracker Pro Team
185 Jet boat loaned for the project by Steve Mason of Tracker
Marine in Springfield, MO.
For years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set safety
standards for man-made (anthropogenic) chemicals based on
studies of single chemicals under laboratory conditions. By
1998, scientists had realized that these chemicals exist in
the environment as complex mixtures in which certain combinations
may have synergistic toxic effects. Other combinations cancel
one another out, resulting in a less toxic mixture.
To see how toxic chemical mixtures in Maine rivers are, Whitaker
and his students are taking samples of smallmouth bass from
rivers and streams throughout the state. They extract a very
small amount of blood from an anesthetized fish, store the
sample on ice, and release the fish. The blood sample is analyzed
for the amount of damage to the DNA of the fish caused by
the chemicals. Another genetic analysis is used to determine
whether the fish taken in the samples are related to each
other. Whitaker's hypothesis is that populations of fish in
a highly polluted environment have survived a selection pressure,
and thus are genetically distinct, whether in better or worse
shape, from other fish in the river. Last year, he examined
about 200 fish. He also will look at loons, ospreys and eagles
that eat fish.
Whitaker, who holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, was the
president and scientific founder of ImmuNet, a biotech company,
from 1993-1997. He joined LAC in 1997.
Athletic Training at USM: Accredited and Popular
USM's undergraduate program in athletic training is becoming
more popular as athletes and others involved in physical activities
look for professional guidance on how to prevent, treat and
rehabilitate injuries.
And the program, which opened its doors in 1997, has just
become the first in Maine to be granted a full, five-year
accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied
Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). "We are especially pleased
because the five-year CAAHEP accreditation certainly makes
our graduates even more attractive to employers in what is
becoming a very solid job market," said Professor Brian Toy,
director of USM's Athletic Training Education program and
Department of Sports Medicine.
USM students graduating with a major in athletic training,
which is offered through the Department of Sports Medicine,
are eligible to take the National Athletic Trainers' Association's
Board of Certification examination.
The USM program features the Athletic Training Laboratory,
a newly renovated 1,500 square foot facility, that along with
an 800-square-foot athletic training room, gives students
clinical opportunities treating athletic injuries using state-of-the-art
equipment.
"Athletic trainers are becoming more in demand," said Jay
Myers, one of USM's clinical instructors of athletic training,
"as not only athletes but others involved in regular physical
activities look for clinical help in preventing and treating
injuries." Last year, Myers served as an athletic trainer
at Lake Placid, N.Y., working with Olympic athletes as they
prepared for the 2002 Winter Games.
The Department of Sports Medicine, which is part of USM's
College of Nursing and Health Professions, offers a bachelor
of science degree in sports medicine with majors in athletic
training, health fitness, and exercise physiology. The department
is headquartered on the Gorham campus in the Costello Sports
Complex, which is considered one of the finest indoor sports
facilities in northern New England. In addition to the academic
facilities associated with the Department of Sports Medicine,
the complex includes the Hill Gymnasium, a new fitness center,
a field house with a six-lane, 200-meter track, and an ice
arena that has the only Olympic-sized rink in Maine.
For more information on USM programs, please call us at 780-5670
or 1-800-800-4876, ext. 5670, or e-mail us at usmadm@usm.maine.edu
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