UMPI, City of Presque Isle team up to offer Fifth Annual “Music in the Park” Series

Just over three years ago, the University of Maine at Presque Isle held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for its brand new Prometric Testing Center. In the years since, the center – located on the ground floor of South Hall – has provided a convenient and close-to-home option for the people of Aroostook County to complete their computer-based licensure exams and certifications.

“People don’t have to drive to Portland or Bangor anymore to take these tests,” John Harrington, Prometric Test Center Administrator, said, citing a major reason why the testing center has proved so popular since its opening in 2009. “I also have people coming in to test from all of the Maritime Provinces, and people from central Maine who couldn’t get a seat for a specialty test exam close to home.”

University of Maine at Presque Isle Criminal Justice Club members recently traveled to Sacramento and San Francisco, California, in conjunction with a course designed to increase student awareness of historical perspectives of policing and corrections. The trip included student ride-alongs with members of the Sacramento Police Department, visits to Folsom Prison, Alcatraz Prison, Berkeley Police Department, the California Highway Patrol academy, and various tourist attractions in the greater San Francisco area.

The students who participated in the trip included: Christina Hall, Hanad Ashkir, Mark Bartlett, Tom Dionne, Josh Esty, Josh Conroy, Sierra Turmenne, Richard Landry, and Ben Lulofs.

University of Maine at Presque Isle Writing Center tutors recently were in Queens, New York, to present at the annual Northeast Writing Centers Association [NEWCA] Conference at St. John’s University.

UMPI tutors Martha Franklin-Wight and Taylor Ussery attended the April conference with Writing Center Director Dr. Deborah Hodgkins. The UMPI group’s session, titled The Whole Writer, the Whole Tutor: What We Talk about When We Reflect on Practice, was an interactive one that first provided context and then engaged the audience in activities.

University of Maine at Presque Isle Professor of Biology Dr. Bonnie Wood was in Indianapolis this spring to present a full-day Professional Development Institute on lecture-free teaching ahead of the National Conference on Science Education.

Professional Development Institutes – defined as events that focus on “Research-Based Strategies for Student-Centered Learning” – are pre-conference events that occur the day before the national conference, organized by the National Science Teachers Association [NSTA].

The staff of the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s online literary journal Upcountry has finished its last round of editing and the latest issue is now available for viewing in its interactive, online format.

Dedicated to showcasing poems, short stories, personal essays and visual art from the campus community, Upcountry is a publication of the University’s English Program. It is published twice yearly.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Social Work Program recently was honored by the Maine Campus Compact as the recipient of the President’s Campus Leadership Award.

The President’s Leadership Award recognizes student organizations and campus departments for their contributions to community service, service-learning and civic engagement efforts on their campuses. Founded in 1994, the Maine Campus Compact is a coalition of 17 member campuses whose purpose is to “catalyze and lead a movement to reinvigorate the public purposes and civic mission of higher education,” according to its website.

LIMESTONE – The Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone and the University of Maine at Presque Isle signed a unique collaborative learning agreement on Wednesday, May 16, that will allow MSSM students to earn college credit while still in high school, giving them a significant and cost-saving head start on college.

Luke Shorty, Executive Director of MSSM, and UMPI President Don Zillman held a short press conference at the magnet school in Limestone and signed the agreement, which will give MSSM students the opportunity to receive UMPI credit for select MSSM courses they take that are taught by UMPI adjunct-qualified instructors.