UPDATE From: President Richard L. Pattenaude
Number 2, October 2003
> Board Approves USM Doctorate for
School Psychologists
> Breaking Ground on ASET Addition
> Articulation Agreements with SMCC, YCCC
> Leadership Expert to Address Executive
Forum
> City Permit Sought for BioScience Wing
Expansion
> In My Travels
Late last month, the Board of Trustees approved a doctoral
program in psychology at USM, which will begin in fall 2004.
The program was established to help offset the shortage of
school psychologists in the region and nationally, and to
offer professional development opportunities for existing
school psychologists. This will be our second doctoral-level
degree, alongside our Ph.D. program in Public Policy, and
is an indicator of our growing role in advanced education
in Maine. Currently, USM is the only institution of higher
education in northern New England that offers graduate programs
in school psychology.
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USM Breaking Ground on ASET Addition
It was a great pleasure to attend the Sept. 20th ground-breaking
ceremony for the Advanced Technology Wing of the John Mitchell
Center in Gorham. This project represents partnership at every
level -- created through the cooperation of USM faculty and
industry; championed by Maine's entire congressional delegation;
funded through $4 million in public support, and matched by
$4 million in private support; and celebrated by a gathering
of over 100 USM faculty, staff, board members, and supporters.
Advanced manufacturing technologies will play a critical
piece in spurring economic growth and job creation in Maine.
With the 20,000 square-foot addition, USM will soon have robotics
labs and related facilities that will allow us to expand our
academic offerings and services in support of Maine manufacturers.
Many thanks to the members of the business community who served
on the campaign steering committee, and congratulations to
Dean John Wright and the entire faculty and staff at ASET
for developing a responsive, far-sighted program that will
support this critical sector of the Maine economy.
^top
After years of discussion and cooperation between our two
systems, we now have a Guaranteed Admission Agreement among
USM and Southern Maine Community College and York County Community
College. The articulation agreement, which took effect this
fall, is designed to give qualified community college graduates
a seamless transition to many baccalaureate-degree programs
at USM. Students are assured a place in the junior class at
USM upon their completion of an Associate of Arts degree in
Liberal Studies from either institution. This is a tremendous
accomplishment by our enrollment management staff and offers
a critically needed pathway to higher education for Maine
citizens.
^top
The School of Business' 2003 Executive Forum, on Tuesday,
Oct. 28th, will be the public kick-off of the School's First
Year of Leadership 2003-2004 -- an innovative examination
of new leadership models and teaching methods. Author Dr.
Ronald Heifetz, founding director of the Center for Public
Leadership at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government,
will give the keynote address: "Leadership at Every Level:
The Power and Passion Within."
^top
USM has begun the city permitting process for the final expansion
of the BioScience Research Wing on the Portland campus. The
building was originally designed to support a total of six
above-ground floors, but opened in May 2003 with only two
floors, due to budget constraints. Passage of the $60 million
jobs bond last June gave us $4.4 million in bricks-and-mortar
support dedicated to equipping and completing the high-level
research facility.
We decided to complete the building at five above-ground
floors while foundation and federal monies are being sought
to equip the labs, which, among other important research endeavors,
will house the first toxicology center in the state. Trustees
approved this Center for Integrated and Applied Environmental
Toxicology in September, in support of our research linking
environmental contaminants and disease. I look forward to
witnessing the important research that will flourish in this
state-of-the-art facility.
^top
In My Travels
I recently was invited by Joyce Lapping, of Advising Services,
to meet with the group of USM upperclassmen who have volunteered
to be peer advisors this year. As ever, it was a wonderfully
affirming experience to meet with students who are willing
to take time to help other students in their journey through
USM. There are seven peer advisors this year, from departments
as varied as Economics, Political Science, Environmental Science
and Policy, and Sports Medicine. They serve as academic mentors,
help new students learn how to negotiate campus resources,
and are seasoned diplomats in many campus community activities.
My great thanks to Joyce and her caring students. They are
part of what makes USM a special place.
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