Dear University of Maine community â the home turf of Black Bear Nation.
At 9 a.m., we are unveiling the $110 million athletic facilities master plan for Maineâs Division I program here at UMaine. To see it, go to goblackbears.com.
Over the next several years, we will build top-flight facilities, venues, and stadiums to benefit our student-athletes and the overall UMaine student experience, and to be a model of engagement and accessibility for the community and the state. We will focus even more on gender equity, ADA compliance, and community inclusion through thoughtful design and implementation.
When completed, this master plan will not just benefit our varsity athletes. It will provide our campus and the state with exciting, flexible space for a number of community events and academic pursuits. From high school athletic championships and STEM education fairs, to other statewide and community events for all ages, UMaine will be an even greater go-to destination.
Welcome back! I hope that everyoneâs first week of semester 2021 is going well.
There is much that is notable and new about this semester. It is our third semester living with COVID-19 and its new routines and daunting challenges. It is the first with a new, historic administration in Washington. And already this semester we are seeing the implementation of a vaccine on a global scale to subdue this pandemic. New energy is directed at righting the wrongs of centuries of racial injustice, and there is urgency to protect our planet as the climate changes. Here at UMaine and UMM, newness is not an addendum. It is part of who we are and how we operate. It has already reshaped, reformed, and reinvigorated our collective work and activity together for the good.
Dear members of the University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias communities,
Greetings from Orono, where the campus is peaceful and beautiful with a light covering of snow. I hope that everyone â the staff and faculty who kept learning going this past semester, the students who took responsibility for continuing their educational journeys and for taking care of our community, and the community members and supporters who committed to helping all of us through this semester â will be able now to relax, safely, and enjoy this holiday season and break.
In his On Track for Maine message earlier today, Chancellor Dannel Malloy noted the importance of returning to in-person and on-site teaching, learning and research at our public universities. And doing it safely, together.