The University of Maine at Presque Isle will present Wayne Maines—whose family was featured in the New York Times Best-Selling book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Amy Ellis Nutt—as the next speaker in its 2016-2017 Distinguished Lecturer Series. Maines will chronicle the journey that could have destroyed his family but instead brought them closer together. He will deliver his talk on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Presque Isle Rotary Club are joining forces to host their Fifth Annual World Polio Day and Purple Pinkie Project celebration between Oct. 22 and 29 and this year, with the help of the Rotary Clubs in Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Mars Hill and Washburn, the celebration will once again spread throughout central Aroostook County.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Student Organization of Social Workers is tackling the issue of hunger and food insecurity in a very tangible way this month by hosting a local “pack out” event, and the organization is encouraging the community to join them in the effort.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Alumni Association have honored three alumni with awards of distinction this fall—the Distinguished Alumni Award and Distinguished Educator Award were presented on Saturday, Oct. 1 during the Inaugural UMPI Alumni Hour, held during Homecoming Weekend, and the newly-minted GOLD Award (Graduate Of the Last Decade) was presented in mid-September during the University’s Convocation activities.

This semester, University of Maine at Presque Isle students in the History class HTY 313: Early Modern Europe are taking on the roles of historical figures and reliving major events from the past—in this case, Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament in the 16th Century, when marital discontent, an heir to the Tudor line, and religion all took center stage—as part of a curriculum that has been used all across the United States and abroad.

College National Poetry Slam Champion Neil Hilborn will deliver a powerful spoken word performance at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. This event is free and open to the public and is rated PG-13.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery is proud to present In the Company of Things by Léo-Paul Cyr, from Friday, Sept. 16 through Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Gallery Reception on Friday, Oct. 7 from 5-7 p.m., which is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. The event will include a Gallery Talk with the artist at 5:30 p.m.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will present an action-packed, fun-filled Homecoming 2016 weekend—complete with an inflatable obstacle course, block party, fireworks, movie under the stars, and the annual Hall of Fame dinner—from Thursday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 2. Alumni, friends, and campus and community members are invited to attend all events.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is proud to present one of the top 10 African dance companies in the United States—Step Afrika!—for a performance on Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. in the Auditorium in Wieden Hall as a part of the University’s Homecoming 2016 Celebration. This event is free and open to the public; donations to future cultural events will be accepted at the door.

Officials at the University of Maine at Presque Isle are pleased to announce that the institution earned three top rankings on U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 Best Colleges list. In this year’s annual rankings, UMPI was named among the 50 Best Regional Colleges in the North, the 15 Top Public Schools in the North, and the top 10 Regional Colleges in the North for graduates with least debt.