Senator King’s interest in education was demonstrated when, as Maine’s governor, he persuaded the Maine legislature to pass the Learning Technology Initiative in 2002. The initiative provided laptops to 7^th grade students and their teachers. As a business developer of alternative energy – wind, biomass – he had gained appreciation of the technological knowledge and skills required in Maine’s new industries. King is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia Law School and has been an adjunct professor in government at Bowdoin College.

Marilyn Canavan will be the moderator of the program. Canavan was a member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing the Waterville area from 2000 to 2008. As a legislator she helped to write Maine’s Clean Elections Act. She served for several years as Executive Director of the Maine Commission on Government Ethics and Election Practices.

Attendees can send in their questions and comments via email to: pamela.stpeter@maine.edu; these will be sorted and sent to the speakers for their responses.

The Zoom Webinar is free and open to the Public. The Idea Exchange is designed to bring information on significant social issues, particularly in these days of pandemic isolation.

For more information and a link to join the meeting, visit our website: . For additional information, email UMA Senior College at office@umasc.org  or call 207.621.3551.

Planned by the Forum on the Future Committee, this program is sponsored by the Â鶹APP Senior College. Further information can be found on the UMA Senior College website.

Contact: Pamela St. Peter, Â鶹APP Senior College, 5 Farmhouse Dr., Augusta ME 04330-9410; Tel. 207-621-3479; Email pamela.stpeter@maine.edu

Sunday, February 9, 2020 – 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Snow date of March 1, 2020, if needed)

Randall Student Center, Fireplace Lounge, UMA Augusta Campus

The Â鶹APP (UMA) Senior College and UMA College of Arts and Sciences will present, as part of its Forum on the Future series, Our Divided Country—Seeking Common Ground, at the Fireplace Lounge, Randall Student Center on Â鶹APP Augusta campus on Sunday, February 9, 2020 from 2-4 pm. The forum is free and open to the public. Attendees should note the change of location for this Forum.

Recognizing that sharp divisions in the American populace have caused many to fear for the future of democracy in our nation, this Forum on the Future will feature two knowledgeable speakers, one a political scientist and one an opinion page editor, to provide their insight on the topic. They will address the background of our divide and what can be done to bring about a more civil national conversation and find common causes on which the two sides can work together. UMASC Forums on the Future are intended to be presentations of information and ideas and not a debate.

Shea Daniel

Daniel M. Shea is a professor of Government at Colby College and former Director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civil Engagement. Included in his specialization are civility in politics and youth engagement.  He has written or edited over 20 books on elections, the latest of which is titled “Why Vote? Essential Questions about the Future of Elections in the United States.” He lives in Mt Vernon with his wife Christine and three children.

Kesich Greg

Greg Kesich is the Editorial Page Editor of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. His work has appeared in the state’s newspapers for the last 30 years, starting as a reporter whose assignments included coverage of the State House and the State court system before moving into opinion writing in 2007.  He has served as Editorial Page Editor for the Press Herald for the past eight years.  He lives in Portland with his wife Gail Donovan, a children’s book author.

Marilyn Canavan, a Senior College board member and former State Representative will serve as moderator of the event.

Please note that the location for this event is in a different venue than previous forums because of construction. Parking will be more convenient in the North Lot. There will be ample time for questions and interaction with the audience. The Forum is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The mission of is to provide joyful life-long learning and socializing opportunities to persons 50 and older and their spouses. Besides the forum series, UMASC offers a wide variety of courses and the ‘Concerts at Jewett’ series. For more information about UMASC and its other activities, please call 621-3551, email at umasc@maine.edu.

Speakers will address the benefits of immigration to Maine’s society and economy, the legal aspects of seeking asylum and how this differs from regular immigration, and the personal experiences and achievements of a recent immigrant. These issues will be discussed from the perspective of four persons involved in a local program for assisting immigrants in becoming part of Maine’s society.

Kristin McLaren, Ph.D., is a lecturer in social science at UMA, where she has taught courses in religion and culture.  She is a moving force behind the formation of the Capital Area New Mainers Project. CANMP is a cross-cultural organization that, with the help of community volunteers, welcomes immigrants and strives to create a thriving, integrated community in central Maine.

Barbara Taylor is a Rural Maine Project attorney with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.  She is a University of Maine Law School graduate with a Masters Degree in Community Education from Columbia Teachers College. She has served as a full-time Staff Attorney and Senior Staff Attorney at ILAP for ten years. ILAP works to help Maine’s immigrants improve their legal status and assure them of social justice and equity.

Aaminah Aleem is employed by UMA as an administrative assistant in the Student Life, Athletics, and Dean of Students Offices. Her family emigrated from Pakistan. As a UMA student, she received the Heart and Soul Student award from the Maine Campus Compact, in recognition of her efforts in helping to transform her campus into an environment of civic engagement. She is a board member of the Capital Area New Mainers Project.

The moderator of the forum will be Chris Myers Asch, Director of CANMP.  He teaches history part-time at Colby College. He is author of a book, The Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital.

There will be ample time for questions and interaction with the audience. Refreshments will be served.

The next Forum on the Future: Our Divided Country is scheduled for Sunday, February 2, 2020 at 2p.m.

The mission of is to provide joyful life-long learning and socializing opportunities to persons 50 and older and their spouses. Besides the forum series, UMASC offers a wide variety of courses and the Concerts at Jewett series. Learn more about UMASC and its other activities on our website or call 621-3551 or email at umasc@maine.edu.

Two experienced women politicians will address questions such as “Why did you run for office?”  “Why is it important to have women in politics?”  “Why are so many young women getting into politics?” and “What effects will the increasing involvement of women in politics have on the issues which are dealt with by lawmakers?”

Shenna Bellows

Shenna Bellows is the Executive Director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. She is also State Senator for District 14 in Kennebec County, representing her home town of Winthrop and several Augusta communities.  Senator Bellows currently serves as Chair of the Labor and Housing Committee of the Maine Legislature and is also a member of the Judiciary Committee.   She led the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine as Executive Director for eight years.

Karen Heck

Karen Heck received a B.A. in Government from Colby College and an M.S. in Human Development from the University of Maine.  She worked for the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program and co-founded Hardy Girls Healthy Women. In 2002, Ms. Heck was named co-winner of the Woman of the Year award by the Maine Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs.  In 2008, she was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame.   In 2011, she ran as an Independent and was elected Mayor of Waterville.

The Moderator of the program will be Marilyn Canavan, former State Representative from Waterville.  She is former Director of the State

Government Ethics Committee.

There will be ample time for questions and comments from the audience.  Refreshments will be served during a short break in the program.

For more information about UMASC and its other activities, please call 621-3551 or email at umasc@maine.edu.

Sunday, March 17th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Jewett Auditorium, UMA Augusta Campus

The Â鶹APP (UMA) College of Arts and Science and the UMA Senior College will present, as part of its Forum on the Future series, a panel discussion entitled “Poverty in Maine: How Can We Help?” at Jewett Hall on Â鶹APP Augusta campus on Sunday, March 17, 2019 (snow date March 31). The forum is free and open to the public.

The panel discussion will begin at 2:00 pm with a refreshment break, followed by a question and answer period until 4:00 p.m. UMASC Forums on the Future are intended to be presentations of information and ideas, and not a debate. This presentation seeks to provide attendees with insight into problems faced by those living in poverty, as well as a better understanding of the programs that support individuals to attain independence, and how the public can support these programs. Speakers will include:

Karen Wyman is the Education and Legal Advocacy Coordinator for the Maine Equal Justice Program (MEJP). A nonprofit, this organization focuses upon many issues that affect people’s daily lives, and they are the leading experts in the state on federal and state policies for Maine’s anti-poverty programs. Ms. Wyman will speak about the functions of her program as well as how the public can offer support.

Cheryl Golek is one of the founders of the Vicarage by the Sea, a long-term alternative care home for those who have dementia. She is a dementia care specialist and has a certificate in social gerontology, and is a bold political advocate. Cheryl’s early life was marked by poverty, and this informs her understanding of the economic realities that Mainers face and a desire to find real solutions to poverty. She is a member of MEJP’s Circle, a project of Maine Equal Justice that supports Mainers who have experienced poverty to develop leadership and advocacy skills.

Susan Emmerling is a Family Services Coordinator with Head Start in Maine, where she has been employed for forty years and brings a wealth of experience from that program. She works with families of all ages (including grandparents raising grandchildren) helping them find appropriate resources according to the family’s own goals, linking them to health care options and even providing transportation at times to appointments, such as doctors and dentists.

Penny Higgins, Ed.D, R.N. will moderate the Forum. Her past experience in nursing education includes working with both patients and students from communities with diverse characteristics.

For more information about UMASC and its other activities, visit or contact UMASC at 621-3551 or by email at umasc@maine.edu.

The February forum will begin with details of the history of the Second Amendment to our Constitution, followed by the perspective of the hunter/sportsman, and will also propose ways to decrease gun violence. The forum is prompted by the many discussions taking place regarding this amendment.

The panel for this discussion will consist of the following individuals:

Dave Cheever, State of Maine Archivist since 2007, will present historical aspects. Mr. Cheever has had a varied career, including as a former teacher, sports director at Bangor television station, news director of Stephen King’s Bangor radio station, he later became Press Secretary for Governor Joseph Brennan. He has also been Editorial Page Editor for Central Maine Newspapers.

David Trahan, a former self employed logger and legislator from Lincoln County, has been Executive Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine since 2011. His interests include defending Second Amendment rights, rebuilding the deer herd and expanding the use of our Maine outdoor attractions to a broader population.

Geoff Bickford, Executive Director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, will speak to issues of protecting Maine families from gun violence by expansion of education, advocacy and the distribution of free trigger locks. A lawyer, his previous experience includes acting as a public defender in Manhattan and clerking for Judge John Rich III of the United States District Court for the District of Maine in Portland.

All Forums on the Future are free and open to the public. For more information about UMASC and our other activities please call us at 621-3551 or email us at umasc@maine.edu.

For more information about UMASC please visit: .