Â鶹APP 2024-25 Convocation, the ceremonial beginning of the academic year, will welcome new and returning students, celebrate the institution’s achievements, honor Rising Scholars, include a student and a faculty speaker, and launch this year’s academic theme, Indigeneity. Part of Â鶹APP academic theme activities includes the adoption of a single theme-related book. This year it is Night of the Living Rez by renowned author, Morgan Talty, who will be delivering the keynote address.

Mr. Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation. He is the author most recently of the debut novel Fire Exit, which was recently longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s 2024 First Novel Prize. His debut short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Sue Kaufman Prize, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the New England Book Award, the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Honor, and was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and The Story Prize.

His writing has appeared in The Georgia Review, Granta, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative, Lit Hub, and elsewhere. Talty is an assistant professor of English in Creative Writing and Native American and Contemporary Literature at the University of Maine, Orono, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing as well as the Institute of American Indian Arts. He lives in Levant, Maine.

UMA is proud to welcome Mr. Talty to our convocation stage on September 20, 2024 from 3–5 pm at the Augusta Civic Center, 76 Community Dr., Augusta, ME. A limited number of copies of his recent books, Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit, will be available for purchase onsite. The public is invited to attend.

September 17 virtual event will launch Â鶹APP theme for academic year – Race and Social Justice

AUGUSTA–Â鶹APP Interim President Joseph Szakas is pleased to announce that the Honorable Donna Loring, former Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Governor Janet Mills, will deliver the Keynote Address atĚýÂ鶹APP Virtual Convocation ceremonyĚýon September 17, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.Ěý The public is invited to view the event on Facebook Live atĚý.

Convocation marks the beginning of a new academic year, and with that, a new academic theme.ĚýĚýTheĚýUMA Colloquium selectedĚýRace and Social Justice as the theme for the 2021-2022 academic year.ĚýAdditionally,Ěýa theme-related book has been adopted for use in a number of classes across the curriculum: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson.

Dr. Robert Bernheim, UMA Assistant Professor of History, will provide a faculty perspective on the theme and Mohamed Khalid, a Business Administration student, will give his perspective on Race and Social Justice.

During the Convocation ceremony, UMA will also recognize students identified as Rising Scholars for both academic achievement and promise.ĚýĚýNominated students are those who have excelled in academics, engaged in the UMA community, or are individuals faculty and staff believe show great potential and promise as student scholars. Additionally, UMA Assistant Professor of Mental Health & Human Services Wendy St. Pierre will receive the Distinguished Educator award and UMA Assistant Professor of Biology Con Sullivan will receive the Distinguished Scholar award.

About the keynote speaker

Donna Loring is an elder and former council member of the Penobscot Indian Nation.Ěý She held the position of the Nation’s Representative to the Maine State Legislature for twelve years, ending her service in 2008. Her book titled “In The Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine” chronicles her experiences in the Maine State Legislature as a Non-voting Tribal Representative.

During her time in the Maine Legislature, she authored and sponsored LD 291 “An Act to Require Teaching Maine Native American History and Culture in Maine’s Schools” which Governor Angus King signed into law in 2001, changing the way Maine views its history.

Most recently, she was a Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Governor Janet Mills.

Her professional background is in law enforcement having served as the Police Chief for the Penobscot Nation from 1984-1990 and becoming the first woman police academy graduate to become police chief in the State of Maine.

Donna is a Vietnam Veteran, serving in Vietnam from November of 1967 to November of 1968, during the TET Offensive.

She hosts her own radio show, Wabanaki Windows at WERU Community Radio in Orland.

She is a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono, which also awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2017.

Among her many honors, Donna is the recipient of the University of New England’s prestigious Deborah Morton Society Award and the Courage is Contagious Award, part of University of Maine School of Law’s Justice for Women Lecture Series.

AUGUSTA–Â鶹APP President Rebecca Wyke is pleased to announce that Dr. Nirav Shah, Director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) will deliver the Keynote Address at Â鶹APP Virtual Convocation ceremony on September 25, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. In compliance with restrictions on large gatherings, this year’s Convocation will be a webinar event and the public is invited to view the event on .

Convocation marks the beginning of a new academic year, and with that, a new academic theme. The UMA Colloquium selected Outbreak as the theme for the 2020-2021 academic year. Additionally, a single theme-related book has been adopted for use in a number of classes across the curriculum: The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, by Steven Johnson.

Dr. Rebecca White, UMA Assistant Professor of History, will provide a faculty perspective on the theme and Celena Zacchai, a Social Science student, will give her perspective on Outbreak.

During the Convocation ceremony, UMA will also recognize students identified as Rising Scholars for both academic achievement and promise. Nominated students are those who have excelled in academics, engaged in the UMA community, or are individuals faculty and staff believe show great potential and promise as student scholars.

Additionally, UMA Professor of Psychology and Human Services Frank Ellis will receive the Distinguished Educator award and UMA Professor of Art Peter Precourt will receive the Distinguished Scholar award.

About the keynote speaker

Image of Dr. Nirav Shah provided courtesy of Maine CDC Office.

In June 2019, Dr. Shah, M.D., J.D., was appointed as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). Dr. Shah comes to Maine CDC with broad experience in public health, most recently as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, where he implemented key initiatives to address the State’s opioid crisis, reduce maternal and infant mortality, and reduce childhood lead poisoning.

As an attorney and public health economist, Shah previously advised professionals and governments around the nation and globe on improving the delivery of health care. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Ministry of Health in Cambodia, where his work included investigating and managing disease outbreaks as an epidemiologist.

Shah received both medical and law degrees from the University of Chicago. He also studied economics at Oxford University.

Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D.

President Rebecca Wyke is pleased to announce that Dr. Nirav Shah will present the keynote address at this year’s Convocation on the Colloquium selected topic, Outbreak. Convocation will be held virtually this year via Zoom webinar on September 25, 2020. Additional details about the event will be provided at the beginning of September.

In June 2019, Dr. Shah, M.D., J.D., was appointed as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (). Dr. Shah comes to Maine CDC with broad experience in public health, most recently as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, where he implemented key initiatives to address the State’s opioid crisis, reduce maternal and infant mortality, and reduce childhood lead poisoning.

As an attorney and public health economist, Shah previously advised professionals and governments around the nation and globe on improving the delivery of health care. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Ministry of Health in Cambodia, where his work included investigating and managing disease outbreaks as an epidemiologist.

Shah received both medical and law degrees from the University of Chicago. He also studied economics at Oxford University.

ĚýAUGUSTA–Â鶹APP President Rebecca Wyke is pleased to announce that Noel Paul Stookey, member of the legendary trio Peter, Paul and Mary, and renowned singer and songwriter in his own right, will deliver the Keynote Address at Â鶹APP Convocation ceremony on September 20, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.Ěý Convocation will be held on the Campus Green of the Augusta Campus.

Convocation marks the beginning of a new academic year, and with that, a new academic theme.ĚýĚýThe UMA Colloquium selected Dirigo as the theme for the 2019-2020 academic year.Ěý Additionally, a single theme-related book has been adopted for use in a number of classes across the curriculum:ĚýWhen We Were the Kennedy’s, by Monica Wood.

Dr. Kay Retzlaff, UMA Professor of English, will frame and provide a faculty perspective on the theme and Brenda Thomas, a student in the Education Pathways program, will give her perspective on Dirigo.

During the Convocation ceremony, UMA will also recognize students identified as Rising Scholars for both academic achievement and promise.ĚýĚýNominated students are those who have excelled in academics, engaged in the UMA community, or are individuals faculty and staff believe show great potential and promise as student scholars.

About the keynote speaker

Noel Paul Stookey Image Photo Credit Sally Farr

Stookey grew up in the Midwest where he played electric guitar in his high school rock ’n’ roll band (the Birds of Paradise) and hung out at an R&B record shop listening to groups like the Drifters, the Platters, and the Cadillacs.

He moved to New York City at 20 looking for independence, but he found “Peter” and “Mary,” and a career that took on a life of its own, with their first album shooting to the top of the charts, where it stayed for two years. He has performed in intimate coffeehouses, at the White House, and in massive stadiums. At the 1963 March on Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech, Peter, Paul and Mary performed the compelling If I Had a Hammer and Blowin’ in the Wind.

Stookey’s sound has been shaped by huge cities, as well as the smallest hamlets of the Heartland, housing projects, coastal Maine villages, towns up and down the Mississippi, and by his search for a common language that enables everyone, no matter their origins and experiences, to communicate with each other and celebrate the mystery of life.

Over forty-five years ago, Stookey and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) moved with their three daughters to the coast of Maine.Ěý By then Stookey’s solo voice was firmly established, writing and performing music that addresses social change while speaking of and to the soul; fusing jazz improvisation and insightful folk lyrics. The political, sociopolitical, spiritual, and cultural dynamics of life’s stories continue to drive his songs. The connection between Stookey and his material, as well as his audience, is intimate, immediate, identifiable, and electrifying.

Stookey has recorded over 50 albums, both as part of the legendary trio and as a soloist.Ěý His voice is known all across this land: from the Wedding Song to In These Times.

Nearly $2 million earned from Stookey’s now-classic Wedding Song helped fund the work of other socially responsible artists.Ěý This inspired Stookey, along with his daughter Liz Stookey Sunde, to launch in 2001. The nonprofit has introduced groundbreaking ways to bring music to life for social change through technology, entertainment, artist collaboration, and education.

Photo credit: Sally Farr

President Rebecca Wyke is pleased to announce that Noel Paul Stookey, member of the legendary trio Peter, Paul and Mary, and renowned singer and songwriter in his own right, will deliver the Keynote Address at Convocation on September 20, 2019.

Stookey grew up in the Midwest where he played electric guitar in his high school rock ’n’ roll band (the Birds of Paradise) and hung out at an R&B record shop listening to groups like the Drifters, the Platters, and the Cadillacs.

He moved to New York City at 20 looking for independence, but he found “Peter” and “Mary,” and a career that took on a life of its own, with their first album shooting to the top of the charts, where it stayed for two years. He has performed in intimate coffeehouses, at the White House, and in massive stadiums. At the 1963 March on Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech, Peter, Paul and Mary delivered the compelling If I Had a Hammer and Blowin’ in the Wind.

Photo credit: Sally Farr

Stookey’s sound has been shaped by huge cities, as well as the smallest hamlets of the Heartland, housing projects, coastal Maine villages, towns up and down the Mississippi, and by his search for a common language that enables everyone no matter their origins and experiences to communicate with each other and celebrate the mystery of life.

Over forty-five years ago, Stookey and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) moved with their three daughters to the coast of Maine. By then Stookey’s solo voice was firmly established, writing and performing music that addresses social change while speaking of and to the soul; fusing jazz improvisation and insightful folk lyrics. The political, sociopolitical, spiritual, and cultural dynamics of life’s stories continue to drive his songs. The connection between Stookey and his material, as well as his audience, is intimate, immediate, identifiable and electrifying.

Stookey has recorded over 50 albums, both as part of the legendary trio and as a soloist. His voice is known all across this land: from the Wedding Song to In These Times.

Nearly $2 million earned from Stookey’s now-classic Wedding Song helped fund the work of other socially responsible artists. This inspired Stookey, along with his daughter Liz Stookey Sunde, to launch in 2001. The nonprofit has introduced groundbreaking ways to bring music to life for social change through technology, entertainment, artist collaboration and education.

These students were recognized as part of Â鶹APP 2018 Convocation ceremony held at the Augusta Civic Center on September 21st. Journalist and author Ben Bradlee Jr. delivered the keynote address and spoke about The Boston Globe’s investigation into the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in 2002, which he oversaw as editor of that newspaper.

Launched in 2011, Rising Scholars are UMA students who are nominated by faculty and staff members for both academic achievement and promise.

UMA President Rebecca Wyke and Provost Joseph Szakas recognized both new and returning Rising Scholars during the Convocation ceremony.

Local Rising Scholars from Saco recognized at the event included Molly Palmer, Kelley Herrick and Savina Hutchinson.

UMA has eight centers statewide which provide centralized services to students and faculty engaged in online and distance education courses. Centers are located in Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, South Paris, Rockland, Rumford, and Saco. Students access the resources of UMA while studying at their local Center, pursuing a mix of online and traditional classroom instruction while staying close to home.

Â鶹APP Saco Center is located at 4 Scamman St. in Saco, directly next to Shaw’s Supermarket.

For more information about the degrees and certificates that are available at UMA Saco, call 282-4111 or visit the UMA Saco Center web page.

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