UPDATE From: President Richard L. Pattenaude
Number 7, April 2005
> Abromson Community Education Center
Opening Day
> Transforming USM: The Capital Campaign
> Legislative Updates
> USM Master Plan
> Thinking about Thinking Matters and Companion
Events
> Women's Studies Silver Anniversary
> In Recognition
> In Memoriam
> Addendum
I hope you'll join me for an Open House to commemorate the
opening of the Joel and Linda Abromson Community Education
Center in Portland on Tuesday, April 26. This will be a wonderful
celebration filled with tours, food and events to mark the
opening of what will be one of USM's most public facilities
committed to educational outreach for the citizens of our
region. From the 500-seat Hannaford Lecture Hall, with advanced
communication and presentation capabilities, to the state-of-
the art classrooms for community and professional education
and programming, the Abromson Center offers a vibrant space
for learning and gathering. The Open House begins at noon
and continues until 4 p.m. Full event details are available
at www.usm.maine.edu/ua/cec/opening.
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In the event that you missed the Portland Press Herald earlier
this week, I want to call your attention to the tremendous
boost USM has received in support of our development effort,
"Transforming USM: The Capital Campaign." Joe and Carol Wishcamper
of Freeport have made a gift of $1.5 million, while Richard
and Carolyn McGoldrick of Cape Elizabeth also have made a
significant gift to the campaign. The Wishcampers' gift will
be used to complete a new home for the Muskie School, and
also will support other goals of the $25-million campaign.
In honor of that gift, the new home for the USM Muskie School
of Public Service will be named The Wishcamper Center. The
McGoldricks' gift will support the entire University Commons
effort.
I also want to emphasize how lucky we are to have Carol Wishcamper
and Richard McGoldrick as co- chairs of "Transforming USM:
The Capital Campaign." A former chair of the Maine State Board
of Education, Carol Wishcamper is an organizational consultant
with expertise in team building, strategic planning and leadership
development. A former chair of the board of the Finance Authority
of Maine and former board president of the Maine Real Estate
and Development Association, Richard J. McGoldrick is chairman
and owner of Commercial Properties, Inc., a full-service real
estate firm in Portland. In addition to business accomplishments,
both families have made longstanding commitments to education
and community service. Their extraordinary generosity provides
a tremendous boost to our aim of becoming recognized as one
of America's best public, regional universities.
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The System Plan and state budget cuts continue to be a major
concern throughout the System and the Legislature. To recap
where USM currently stands:
Announced last month, the integration of UMA and USM has
been postponed, pending a legislative review that will run
though early 2006. Out of respect for that process, our work
on the integration- both on campus and in the community-must
also be postponed. Again, I'd like to thank the many individuals
on and off campus that have given significant time and talent
toward this endeavor.
On March 30, the Legislature passed the state budget for
the two-year period beginning this July 1. It included a total
increase of $8 million for the University of Maine System
over the two years. That budget, however, includes a provision
that mandates the names and locations of the seven campuses
in the System. We continue to work with the Legislature on
bond packages that include funds for our new Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute; an expansion of LAC; and labs for the
Bioscience Research Wing.
Senator Libby Mitchell's bill, LD 1241 "An Act to Ensure
Public Accountability in the Delivery of Higher Education
Services," and other bills dealing with the University of
Maine System were heard in a daylong series of legislative
hearings on Tuesday, April 12. To access a copy of LD 1241,
please visit http://janus.state.me.us/legis/LawMakerWeb/search.asp
and type in 1241.
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As we continue our efforts toward "Transforming USM,"one
of the charges set before us is to create a physical plant
that complements our aspirations for the University. Consequently,
we are evaluating each of our campuses to determine what kinds
of facilities are needed. The first campus we're evaluating
is Portland.
It is important to note that at some point during the review
process, the city of Portland will consider approval of an
"overlay zone,"or other zoning for the Portland campus. The
intent of an overlay zone is to facilitate future campus development
without taking away from residential or commercial properties.
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Thinking Matters, USM's annual conference of student research
and scholarship, is scheduled on April 21-22. In addition
to the reception, poster sessions, oral sessions, and roundtable
discussions, this year several other groups have scheduled
companion programs in celebration of student activity and
scholarship. Among them are The Southern Maine Review Symposium
and Launch Party, the USM American and New England Studies
Symposium, the USM English Department Mini-Conference, and
USM Senior Art Exhibitions 2005. Stonecoast MFA students also
will preset a reading of poetry. I'm also pleased to welcome
keynote speaker Catherine Manegold, professor of journalism
at Emory University, who will be delivering "In the Habit
of Learning: Citizenship, the Fourth Estate, and the Educated
Mind," on Thursday, April 21. A seven-time Pulitzer Prize
nominee and Pulitzer Prize recipient for New York Times team
coverage of the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center,
Manegold's work includes news coverage of the fall of Marcos,
civil war in Sri Lanka, and the Gulf War, as well as a book
about The Citadel's first female graduate Shannon Faulkner.
A Thinking Matters schedule of events is available at research.usm.maine.edu/thinkingmatters/index.asp.
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Congratulations to USM's Women's Studies Program, which celebrated
its 25th anniversary last month with great success. Twenty-five
years ago, the University community sought to create a program
to study and discuss the contributions and thoughts of women,
and the first major of its kind in Maine was launched during
the 1984-85 academic year. Today, the Program remains a vital
component of our University, offering students opportunities
to take a closer look at not only issues of gender, but also
issues of race, class, sexuality, and nationality. Read more
about the Program at
www.usm.maine.edu/wst/.
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USM Huskies women's basketball head coach Gary Fifield has
been named the Russell Athletic/WBCA Division III National
Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
This season, Fifield guided the Huskies all the way to the
final four, finishing third in the nation with a school record
30-2 overall mark and an outstanding 14-0 regular season record
in the Little East Conference.
Last month, the Maine Campus Compact recognized our own LAC
Associate Professor of Leadership and Organizational Studies
Betty Robinson for outstanding work in the field of service
learning. Betty received a 2005 Donald Harward Faculty Award
for Service-Learning Excellence for her past work with the
Lewiston Civic Leadership Institute and her current work with
ACEDON, a local Somali communication organization, to increase
their access to opportunities in higher education.
Also last month, the Santa Fe Center for Photography honored
USM Professor of Art Rose Marasco as this year's winner of
the Excellence in Photographic Teaching Award. The award recognizes
a high school, college or post-graduate level educator for
his or her passion and dedication for photographic teaching.
Marasco, who joined our faculty in 1979, is credited with
designing USM's accredited photography curriculum.
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Three members of the USM community recently passed away,
and it is appropriate that we take a moment to remember them
for their special contributions and service.
Katherine Hatch Graffam passed away on March 2 at the age
of 92. In 1942, Katherine and her late husband, Clinton, founded
a youth orchestra then called the Student Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sixty- three years later, the ensemble still thrives as part
of the USM/Fleet Youth Ensembles. Katherine, a cellist, and
Clinton, an oboist, also served as instrumental music faculty
to USM's School of Music. Donations in remembrance of Katherine
can be made to the Graffam Scholarship Fund, which will be
administered by the Fleet/USM Ensembles to provide annual
scholarships for young musicians, in care of Bank of America,
251 U.S. Route 1, Falmouth, ME 04105.
Linwood Clinton Dyer passed away on March 16 at the age of
65. Linwood worked at USM as a mail carrier on the Portland
campus for nearly 35 years before retiring last year. Donations
in Linwood's honor can be made to: VNA Hospice, 50 Foden Road,
South Portland, ME 04106.
Marty DiMauro passed away on April 10 at the age of 83. A
longtime USM employee, Marty worked for many years in the
mail room on the Gorham campus until he retired in 1980. Memorial
contributions can be made to: The Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline
Place, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445- 7295, or The Maine
Veteran's Home, 290 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, ME 04074.
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In MemoriamÑMemorial Service Scheduled
We all deeply regret the loss of a beloved graduate, Lavinia
Onitiu-Gelineau. For those who missed it, I have attached
below an excerpt of our original announcement of her tragic
death, which I forwarded to USM-L on April 6.
"As most of you have already heard, USM is mourning the loss
of Lavinia Onitiu-Gelineau, who recently became a victim of
domestic abuse. Lavinia was an alumna of our School of Business
and the widow of USM student Spc. Christopher Gelineau, a
member of the Maine Army National Guard's 133rd Engineer Battalion,
who lost his life nearly a year ago in Iraq.
Our thoughts go to her mother, Iuliana Onitiu, her brother
Marius Onitiu of Sibiu, Romania, mother-in-law Victoria Chicoine
of Starksboro, Vt., and father-in-law John Gelineau of Eden,
Vt. É This tragedy allows me to see how USM can come together
as a community that cares and supports those who spend time
here. We should take heart that Lavinia's time with us was
a time of support and friendship for her."
Also, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of ChristopherÕs
death. Our office has been informed that a memorial service
in celebration of the lives of Christopher and Lavinia will
be held at 11:00 a.m., on Wednesday, April 20, at Evergreen
Cemetery, 672 Stevens Ave., Portland. Scheduled to speak are
Father Constantine Sarantidis of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Church, and Chaplain Major Andrew Gibson of the Maine National
Guard. For more information, please call 577-7921. Please
share this information with your colleagues and students.
Correction
In the memorial notice about Katherine Graffam, the name of
USMÕs Youth Ensembles appeared incorrectly. The appropriate
name of the group is USM/Bank of America Youth Ensembles.
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