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University to celebrate winter “survivability” during Frozen Frenzy II

posted in: Events, Press Releases

With signs of the County’s cold and snowy winter in huge piles around campus, the University of Maine at Presque Isle is hosting its second annual winter survival celebration for students, faculty and staff at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 at Gentile Hall.

Frozen Frenzy II will include winter games, contests, and prizes all meant to celebrate the campus’s winter “survivability.” This year’s event is being organized by the UMPI Pride Committee with planning support by Professor Dawn McPherson’s Recreation class. Students in the course, which focuses on program planning, will be earning class credit to plan activities for the celebration.

Students host 9th Fit and Fun Day

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Local kids will unknowingly be getting exercise while taking part in fun activities during the 9th semi-annual Fit and Fun Day, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 in Gentile Hall. The event is sponsored by the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Physical Education Majors Club.

The Club has organized the free play day for area children in grades 1-5 for the past four years to teach them about health and fitness in a fun environment. Activities may include a wide range of activities, from cup stacking, rhythm activities, and parachute games to juggling, and ball handling games, and improving motor skill techniques through activities such as throwing with rubber chickens, frogs, and turtles.

Officials to host Prometric Testing Center grand opening

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Officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Prometric will host an official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Prometric Testing Center that has been established on campus at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10 on the main floor of South Hall.

The new testing center will provide University students and community members with a convenient location for taking important computer-based exams, such as the GRE, Praxis and MCAT. Before this center was established, area students and residents had to drive south for more than 150 miles in order to take such tests. Officials will be on hand at the opening event to take registrations and schedule testing times.

“We are so pleased to be joining with Prometric in officially opening this testing center for the people of northern Maine, western New Brunswick and surrounding areas,” President Don Zillman said. “We feel this is going to be a major benefit not only to our students who are required to take certain tests in order to become certified as teachers or to be admitted to graduate programs, but also the many community members who currently have to drive long distances to take important computer-based academic and licensure exams.”

University, SAD1 sign Professional Development School agreement

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Officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Maine School Administrative District #1 have signed an agreement that will allow UMPI Education students to take part in extensive internships at Pine Street Elementary School and Presque Isle High School while providing professional development opportunities for veteran teachers there.

President Don Zillman and Dr. Gehrig Johnson, MSAD#1 Superintendent, signed the memorandum of understanding during a March 2 press conference at Pine Street school. The agreement establishes a Professional Development School partnership between the two educational entities and sets forth five main goals: to increase PK-12 student achievement, improve teacher preparation, enhance professional development opportunities for UMPI and MSAD#1 faculty and staff, more effectively transition students from grade 12 to college, and enhance Advanced Placement opportunities for high school students.

Under the partnership, selected students in UMPI’s Education Program will have the opportunity to take part in a two-semester teaching internship. The first semester experience would include the first five days of school and one day a week for the rest of the semester, all in the same classroom, while the second semester would be a full immersion into that same classroom for 15 weeks.

UMPI’s Education programs secure MDOE reaccreditation

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The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s College of Education has been fully reaccredited by the Maine Department of Education following a unanimous vote on Feb. 11 by the State Board of Education.

At a meeting in Augusta, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to reaffirm UMPI’s Education programs after reviewing the interim status report officials had submitted near the beginning of the year. In reviewing the report, one MDOE official stated that she was “impressed with the amount and the quality of the work” that has been done. The affirmation extends the University’s state approval cycle for its education preparation programs through the winter of 2011.

“This is an important accomplishment and members of the College of Education – its chair Dr. Reginald Nnazor, the college’s faculty and staff, and all other support staff – are to be commended for their hard work,” Dr. Michael Sonntag, Vice President of Academic Affairs, said. “I was present at the meeting in Augusta and the Board commented on the positive change in atmosphere as well as the sense of renewed energy and focus on our campus since their last visit. I feel confident we will be able to show them even better things at their next visit in the winter of 2011.”

SAGE kicks off spring class offerings

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A University of Maine at Presque Isle program that serves local residents over 50 and believes in “learning for life” will host its spring kick-off with a luncheon event at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 19 in the Campus Center.

Seniors Achieving Greater Education [SAGE] has worked for more than a decade to bring short courses in arts, sciences, and specialty areas to the region’s senior community. SAGE is one of 16 senior colleges in the Maine Senior College Network, and the only one north of Orono.

At the March 19 luncheon, participants will have the opportunity to socialize with SAGE members. Following lunch, they will learn all about upcoming SAGE classes. This spring, SAGE officials are offering a dozen courses and learning excursions – on topics ranging from Darwin’s Origin of Species and Financial Foundations to the Civil War and Italian cooking. Learning excursions include trips to the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, the Musee Cultural Du Mont-Carmel in Lille, and the Houlton sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

UMPI, Momentum Aroostook join forces to offer second Young Professionals Institute

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Momentum Aroostook and the University are teaming up for the second year in a row to provide the area’s young professionals with a one-of-a-kind leadership development opportunity.

The two entities will host the Young Professionals Institute, a professional development short course designed specifically for emerging leaders looking to hone their professional skills. The program will be offered at the University during eight afternoon sessions between March and April. The Wednesday sessions will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on March 4, 11, 18, and 25 and April 1, 8, 15 and 22.

Officials are pleased to be partnering again on this project and hope to build on the successes they realized during the 2008 course.

University hosts Job & Career Fair 2009

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The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host its Annual Job & Career Fair in the Campus Center from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25. Thirty businesses and governmental agencies from the region and across the state are expected to participate in the event.

“The Job & Career Fair provides a unique opportunity for our students and the public to network with employers, discover opportunities, and to gain professional employment,” Barbara DeVaney, Director of Career Services, said.

NEASC approves UMPI’s five-year report

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The University of Maine at Presque Isle recently received some positive news from its national accrediting body that confirms the institution is meeting important standards set forth for institutions of higher learning.

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges [NEASC] through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education recently accepted the University’s five-year interim report, submitted in the latter half of 2008. NEASC, one of six regional accrediting associations in the U.S., conducts comprehensive evaluations of schools every 10 years. UMPI was last fully reviewed and reaccredited in 2003. The University’s next self-study will be due in 2013.

Wood leads workshop in New Mexico

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University of Maine at Presque Isle Biology Professor Dr. Bonnie Wood recently led a four-hour, hands-on workshop entitled Lecture-Free Teaching: A Learning Partnership of Science Educators and their Students in Socorro, New Mexico. She was invited by The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning at New Mexico Tech (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology).