UPDATE From: President Richard L. Pattenaude
Number 11, August 2006
> Opening Breakfast Reminder
> Annual Fund Tops $1 Million
> University Commons Receives $1 Million Earmark
> Reception To Highlight New Center for Technology-Enhanced Learning
> Pan Flu Planning Well Under Way
> Lifeline: Leader in Workplace Wellness
> In Memoriam
Opening Breakfast Reminder
Please join your colleagues and me at the Annual Opening Breakfast to celebrate the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year and to discuss the coming year. The 2006 breakfast will be held at 8 a.m., Friday, September 1, in the Field House, Gorham. You can RSVP at http://www.usm.maine.edu/pres/rsvp/splash.html.
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Transforming USM addresses the limits of state funding, our escalating operational costs, and the need to develop other sources of funding. Consequently, I'm especially pleased to announce that the USM Annual Fund broke the $1 million mark for the first time in the university's history. The campaign recorded a total of $1,026,554, a 14 percent increase over last year's Annual Fund of $900,214. The number of gifts increased from 3,515 to 3,966. Chip and Laura Foye of Cape Elizabeth, USM classes of 1990 and 1987, respectively, served as co-chairs. Thanks to them, our alumni, faculty, staff and other friends, we have additional monies to support scholarships, faculty development activities and other programs across every school and college. And I want to add a special thanks to Annual Fund Director Erin Macey, Vice President of Advancement Beth Shorr and the entire Advancement staff.
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At a time when it's tough to obtain federal earmarks, I'm also pleased to report that we will receive up to $1.55 million in federal funds for capital projects as a result of congressional action taken on appropriations bills for federal fiscal year 2007. The Transportation Bill includes a $1 million appropriation -- or earmark -- for University Commons. The $1 million will be used to implement needed traffic improvements along Bedford St., and to help fund construction of the pedestrian promenade. We owe a special thanks to Senators Snowe and Collins, not to mention our friends and volunteers who advocated for the funding. Thanks to our Senators and Congressman Tom Allen, the Labor, HHS and Education Bill includes between $400,000 and $550,000 for simulation labs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Although we submitted a total of six requests, it's a significant achievement to receive funding for two of our highest priority projects. We've received nearly $7 million for campus-based projects in the last five years.
Later this fall, our Earmarks Advisory Council, which includes representatives from all schools and colleges, will begin the process of evaluating submissions for the new fiscal year.
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Another Transforming USM strategy is to enhance the growth of alternative pedagogies and educational outreach through e-learning. To find out more about our growing efforts in this critically important area, please join us at an opening reception for the Center for Technology-Enhanced Learning (CTEL), from 3-4:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 29, on the mezzanine of the Abromson Community Education Center, Portland.
CTEL will provide consultation services to faculty on ways to use technology in the classroom, and will promote the development of new courses and programs using e-learning.
We have invited Professor Raymond E. Schroeder from the University of Illinois-Springfield to serve as a visiting scholar for the coming academic year. A professor of communication and computer science, Ray currently directs the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at UIS. He will attend the CTEL reception to share some of his experiences and to talk with faculty who wish to explore using technology in learning.
Please RSVP to Ann Clarey, director, CTEL at clarey@usm.maine.edu.
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There is some uncertainty within the medical community as to whether the H5N1 Avian flu virus will mutate into a form so that it causes
and sustains human-to-human transmission. But there is widespread agreement that institutions throughout the public and private sectors must have plans in place to deal with the effects of a possible pandemic. Consequently, representatives of units across the institution have been meeting throughout the summer to develop a plan that will help us protect the health and safety of students, faculty and staff. Jane Coolidge, director of University Health Centers, deserves credit for driving this process. A Web site now is available at http://www.usm.maine.edu/pandemicflu.
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As we all know, the Lifeline Center for Wellness and Health Promotion, now in its 30th year, offers a range of community-based
fitness and rehabilitative services. But Lifeline also has more than 20 years of experience in helping public and private organizations
design and implement worksite wellness services. Those organizations include Hannaford Bros.; LL Bean; the Maine Turnpike Authority;
Harriman Associates; and Bath Iron Works; to name but a few. Director Tom Downing recently was told that Bath Iron Works received a National Business Group on Health Gold Award for its wellness program, which Lifeline manages.
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As we prepare to open the 2006-2007 academic year, it's especially painful to learn of the deaths of our friends and colleagues, Kathryn
Lasky, and Lucille Sheppard.
Kathy, associate professor of communication, joined our campus community in 1987, and 10 years later helped co-found our Media Studies program. She had a well-deserved reputation as a caring, energetic teacher, and as a committed scholar. Her work ranged from studies of popular culture and media, to a children's book based on the
beginnings of the Audubon Society. Kathy passed away in early August on Peaks Island, following a long illness. Plans are being made for a
celebration of her life to be held this fall on the Portland campus. We will share those plans with you as soon as they are finalized.
Lucille, who died recently in Portland, joined us in 1972, and for nearly 20 years worked in a number of capacities for what's now the
Division of University Outreach. She was a driving force behind the popular Women in Management conference, among other initiatives. We were fortunate to have the benefit of Lucille's friendship, energy
and support even after she retired. She worked tirelessly for Seniors Achieving Greater Education (SAGE), and was a founding director of
Senior College, now known as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Lucille's family has asked that donations in her name be made to the
SAGE program at USM.
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