Press Releases

The American Red Cross and the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Residence Life Office are teaming up to pull off the University’s fourth “Super Blood Drive” this summer, the time of year when the need for blood increases.

The Super Blood Drive will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 27 in Wieden Gymnasium. The event is being sponsored by the University, UMPI’s Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and Presque Isle Pizza Hut, and cosponsored by Big Cheese, Country Farm’s Market, Freihofer’s Bakery, L.L. Bean, Pat’s Pizza, and Wal-Mart.

University of Maine at Presque Isle alumnus and photographer Jason Grass will present his first book Faded Away during a book signing on Friday, June 17 from 1-3 p.m. in the Owl’s Nest, located in the University’s Campus Center.

A personal loss inspired Grass to create this photography art table book, a pictorial journey through the last resting places of many people who, over the centuries, have lived here and called northern Maine their home. His 162-page book takes a thoughtful look at these landscapes, of love ones lost and remembered, or with the passage of time, forgotten, and explores how we deal with loss. Faded Away also showcases the quiet beauty to be found in the area’s cemeteries, and provides an important record of this aspect of local history.

Two hundred and thirty-four students graduated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Saturday, May 14, during the 2011 Commencement Exercises – the University’s 102nd Commencement ceremony. President Donald Zillman conferred degrees for the 2010-2011 academic year upon 136 students who participated in the ceremony held in Wieden Gymnasium.

Dr. Anthony D. Cortese addressed the graduates as this year’s commencement speaker. During the graduation event, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree was presented to Dr. Cortese.

President Don Zillman has announced that Dr. Anthony D. Cortese will deliver the commencement address during the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 102nd Commencement Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 14. During the event, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree will be presented to Dr. Cortese.

“We are honored to have one of our nation’s longtime and well-known advocates for environmental sustainability address our graduating class this year. Dr. Cortese’s unwavering commitment to and passion for this critical issue is a strong model for our graduates as they enter their chosen careers,” said President Zillman. “We are also very pleased to be honoring Dr. Cortese for his outstanding example of the importance of public service.”

University of Maine at Presque Isle students in an honors class on domestic violence are helping to organize a training session for healthcare professionals to be held on Friday, April 29, from Noon to 4 p.m. in the Campus Center.

Approximately 35 healthcare attendees from throughout the community are registered to participate in the training session, titled Health Care Response to Intimate Partner Violence: Reach Out, Recognize, Respond, Refer. The event is being sponsored by the UMPI Criminal Justice Program and the Hope and Justice Project.