Jared Monahan, a junior double majoring in Biology and Environmental Science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, has been named a 2010-2011 George J. Mitchell Peace Scholar. One student in the University of Maine System and one student in the Maine Community College System are selected for this honor each year.

The George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship was created in 1998 and honors the Northern Ireland peace accord brokered by Senator Mitchell between the governments and peoples of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The accord was reached on Good Friday, April 10, 1998, and accepted by vote of the citizens of Ireland and Northern Ireland on May 22, 1998.

Jessica Littlefield, a sophomore Recreation and Leisure student at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, has been named Ms. Wheelchair Maine and is working to raise $3,000 in donations so she can attend the Ms. Wheelchair America event to be held this August in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Ms. Wheelchair America competition provides an opportunity of achievement for women who happen to be wheelchair users to educate and advocate for the more than 52 million Americans living with disabilities, according to the organization’s website.

A film about the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s efforts to install a wind turbine on its campus will take center stage on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network this weekend when the public television station hosts the statewide TV premiere of “Wind 101: The University of Maine at Presque Isle Builds a Wind Turbine.” The 30-minute film airs on MPBN this Saturday, May 8 at 11 a.m.

“Wind 101,” directed by local videographer and filmmaker Frank Grant and narrated by long-time theater professor Joseph Zubrick, follows the step-by-step process it took for the University to complete its major renewable energy project – from the very first energy survey to the very last installation detail – and the bumps encountered along the way. This film also shows the work the University has done to turn its project into an educational opportunity for its students and the greater community.

During a President’s Reception held on May 5, 18 students at the University of Maine at Presque Isle received grant aid awards through the Student Support Services (SSS) program. SSS awarded each full-time student approximately $2,200, and the funds will assist the students by reducing their loans.

A University of Maine at Presque Isle professor has received a top honor for those in the Social Work field in the State of Maine.

Shirley Rush, Associate Professor of Social Work at UMPI, was named the 2009 Social Worker of the Year by the Maine chapter of the National Association of Social Workers during the organization’s spring conference held at the Samoset Resort in Rockland in April. This is the second time Rush has received the award. She previously was given the award in 2000.

Dr. Stuart R. Gelder, Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Ms Bronwyn W. Williams, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada, were just informed that they have been awarded $4,940 from the “Discover Life in America” fund to partially support the first survey of crayfish worms in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP).

According to Gelder, the Appalachian region has the highest concentration of branchiobdellidan species in the world. The study will involve collection and identification of crayfish worms from crayfishes sampled at selected sites across the park. From this information, a species and distribution list will be constructed for the park.