Office of the President
The 21st-Century USM
From: President Selma Botman
December 2008
Dear Colleagues:
At least once per month, if not more often, I’ll be sending you updates under the title, “The 21st-Century USM.” Many of these updates will focus on budgetary issues. Others will share news about the many accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff.
News about our successes are important because one easily could argue that optimism is in short supply given the sobering nature of the fiscal challenges before us. But we cannot lose sight of the fact that this university continues to look to the future in many valuable, and often less visible, ways.
Mentoring and Coaching Our Students
I was reminded of this one weekend earlier this month when I attended the School of Music Holiday Scholarship Gala and an event honoring Gary Fifield, former coach of our women’s basketball team. The gala, which is always well-attended by patrons, was a wonderful showcase for the talents of our School of Music students and the faculty who teach them. The following afternoon, our alumni who played for Coach Fifield spoke eloquently - not about the basketball techniques he taught them - but how he prepared them for successful and fulfilling lives as business leaders, graduate students, coaches and teachers. Both events spoke to the quality of our students, the transformative education they receive thanks to the care and guidance of our faculty and staff, and to the support of the external community. It’s important for me to get off the 7th floor, to be reminded that the life of this university goes on, and that people continue to believe that USM is an important part of their lives.
Positive Indications from USM Ads
Earlier this semester, we launched USM’s first comprehensive marketing campaign, using TV ads (check them out at www.usm.maine.edu/publications/behindthescenes); cinema advertising spots; Internet advertising; and other vehicles. I am so proud of the work of our students, faculty, and staff who made this possible, and prouder still of the positive messages these spots convey. These efforts are registering with our target audience of prospective, traditional-aged, undergraduate students. For example, traffic to the Admission site has increased 65 percent over the same one-month period last year. And that traffic is coming from a much broader pool of sources, among them Facebook, The New York Times online site, and other sites on which we advertised. TV ads will air again beginning the third week of January.
Taking Our Message to Maine High Schools
I recently visited Deering High School, the ninth such high school visit of this semester. These visits, which I will continue in January, give me the chance to meet with administrators and guidance staff and, of course, to talk with students about the value of higher education. And yes, I also take the opportunity to invite them to check out USM. I’m especially proud of pointing out the range of expertise and experiences that faculty bring to our classrooms and labs. A few of our students and faculty are profiled at www.usm.maine.edu/discover/faculty-students.
…And to Middle Schools
Kudos to the student members of USM’s Chemistry Club, who, shortly before Thanksgiving, visited Freeport Middle School. The visit is part of an outreach program designed to bring chemistry alive for audiences at such venues as public schools and the Children’s Museum of Maine.
USM Graduate Students in Uruguay
I recently learned that two of Associate Professor of Biology Lisa Moore’s graduate students in biology, Heather Anne Wright and Kate Callnan, departed for Uruguay on November 30 to conduct oceanic research aboard a ship in an area where a large phytoplankton bloom occurs. The students will be working with William “Barney” Balch from Boothbay’s Bigelow Laboratory. This is yet another example of the opportunities USM students have to expand their knowledge outside of the classroom or lab.
