First Impression from the President

President Peter S. Hoff

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This time of year at the University of Maine, we look forward to warm-weather outdoor activities, commencement in May, and another glorious Maine summer. People of all ages, from Maine and beyond, will arrive to take part in Summer Session classes, conferences, music and sports camps, and other educational activities for which a campus such as ours is ideally suited.

Our faculty members will be a major part of campus life this summer, actively involved in the teaching, research, and engagement that defines their year-round professional lives and helps our constituents to extend their knowledge in important areas. In addition, some faculty members will take their cutting-edge research to exotic locales during the summer months.

For instance, UMaine anthropologists Douglas and Rebecca Bird will be in Australia, conducting ecological surveys as they explore hypotheses related to Aboriginal peoples, land management techniques, and biodiversity. They also will look at age-linked foraging strategies among the people of that fascinating culture. Karl Kreutz from our geological sciences and Quaternary studies faculty will continue his work in Alaska's St. Elias Mountains, collecting ice cores that will help to further the understanding of North American climate change. Countless other professors, often working with UMaine students, will use the summer to collect and/or analyze information related to their research.

At the same time, UMaine will welcome students and researchers from throughout the U.S. and around the world. An example is the national and international marine scientists who will use the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Maine, as a home base from which to conduct research related to the ocean and the Gulf of Maine.

The sheer number of people who will take advantage of what we have to offer is impressive. Through our Division of Lifelong Learning, 500 courses will serve more than 6,000 students. Additionally, we estimate that some 11,000 people will spend part of their summer at UMaine, participating in one or more of the approximately 55 conferences, institutes, and camps that are scheduled. Among that group will be some 1,500 K-12 educators attending the variety of summer institutes and workshops sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development.

At UMaine, we welcome this active time of year. It is part of the university's unique, important, and dynamic role in this state.

Peter S. Hoff
President