Alumni

August 5, 2020

First-ever Bilingual Portal to Franco American Heritage Records

Wedding of Marie Philippon and Alfred Tancrel, Lewiston Maine, 1897. Photo courtesy of the Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries   UMaine has received a nearly $60,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a first-ever bilingual portal to Franco American heritage records from archives in the United States and Canada.…

August 5, 2020

Life Disrupted, Lives at Risk

Alumni share their experiences < Back to Summer 2020 MAINE Alumni Magazine (Photo Val Mitchell ’09)   Tara Kierstead ‘08 As a school counselor with 450 students on my caseload, the first two weeks of the pandemic, in which we were not in school, were incredibly stressful. I was worried about my students and had…

August 5, 2020

Women’s Work

Mother and child in front of their house in Varanasi, India. Photo by Yavuz Sariyildiz / Shutterstock.com SHORTLY BEFORE SHE came to the University of Maine, Rachel “Rae” Binder-Hathaway ’12 read a book that would change the course of her life. It also ignited a passion to change the lives of countless women and families…

July 13, 2020

July 23 Alumni Webinar features “Taking Care of Business During Tough Times”

Small businesses and their customers and clients continue to experience the pandemic’s economic consequences. Join officials from Bangor Savings Bank for an online presentation and Q&A about how owners and managers can protect their businesses during times of economic uncertainty and hardship. The session will include tips for businesses and consumers about safeguarding against identity…

UMAA Logo
July 13, 2020

Alumna’s Art Featured on TIME Magazine Cover

Jill Pelto’s ’15, ’18G watercolor and colored pencil creation “Current” is Time magazine’s cover for its special July issue that focuses on climate change. Her cover is an artistic rendering of information about climate change. Pelto earned degrees in both studio art and earth and climate sciences. “I hope that my art encourages audiences to…

July 13, 2020

Advocate for Maine Outdoor Recreation Receives Alumni Career Award

Congratulations to George Smith ’70, the recipient of the Alumni Association’s highest honor, the 2020 Alumni Career Award. As the former executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and a champion for Maine’s land and access to it, Smith spent decades advocating for state policies related to Maine’s outdoor heritage and environmental preservation. In…

June 15, 2020

Former Maine Hockey Player Reflects on Racial Injustice

Black Bear hockey legend Alfie Michaud ’00 was the subject of a recent feature in National Post, Canada’s fourth-largest newspaper, about the racist slurs and treatment he received in Canada as an Indigenous citizen and athlete.  The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent incidents of racial injustice prompted UMaine assistant hockey coach…

June 11, 2020

Introducing the Black Bear Alumni Network!

We are thrilled to offer University of Maine alumni access to the Black Bear Alumni Network, a new way of connecting with the university and with other alums online. As we continue to limit our in-person contact, we hope this will be a valuable resource to help you feel closer to UMaine and to your…

June 11, 2020

Alumni Webinar Features Discussion of Race

“George Floyd, Anti-Black Racism, and #BlackLivesMatter” was the subject of a June 11 Zoom webinar featuring three UMaine alumni.   In the aftermath of the violent death of George Floyd while in police custody, the webinar was intended to help attendees better understand and acknowledge the life experience of being Black in the U.S. Three members…

June 11, 2020

Two New Graduates Take Part in Virtual Internships

Internships for two members of the Class of 2020 became virtual rather than in-person experiences because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor Cray (left) and Liz Theriault, both political science majors, were looking forward to summer internships with the Governor of Maine’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. When the pandemic altered their in-person plans,…

UMAA Logo
June 9, 2020

Alumni Association Honors Two Rising Star Awardees

Jennifer Ferguson Desmond ’14 and Jeff Rogers ’16 were recently honored with the Alumni Association’s Rising Star Award. The award recognizes individuals, who, in the years immediately following UMaine graduation, demonstrate outstanding commitment to advancing the strength and success of the Alumni Association, their alumni class, alumni chapter, and/or Alumni Interest Group.  This video honors…