Selected accomplishments during the Kennedy presidency, as compiled by the University of Maine Office of University Relations:
Academics
— Established the Graduate School of Biomedical Science
— Established UMaine’s Innovation Engineering minor
— Enhanced focus on academic performance by student-athletes, resulting in two AmericaEast Academic Cups
— Established UMaine’s new IGERT Sensor Science, Engineering and Informatics program
— Established a joint Ph.D./Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree with University of New England (UNE)
— Secured national accreditation for UMaine’s Athletic Training Education Program
— Fostered continued growth and prominence of UMaine’s Honors College
— Established the School of Economics
— Established the School of Policy and International Affairs
— Established the School of Biology and Ecology
— Established School of Forest Resources
— Established Center for Study of Sustainable Forests
— Established the Acadam-e early college program for students all around Maine
— Established a 3+2 engineering education program with Colby College
— Established the Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative (FBRI)
— Created the Graduation Rate and Retention Improvement Team
— Established the Center for Tourism Research and Outreach (w/UMS)
Facilities
— Construction and successful opening of Student Recreation and Fitness Center
— Construction and successful opening of the Foster Student Innovation Center
— Construction and successful opening of the Mahaney Dome
— Construction and upgrades of football, field hockey and baseball playing surfaces
— Expansion of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center facility
— Renovation of the Maine Center for the Arts, now the Collins Center for the Arts
— Renovation of Hilltop Dining Commons
— Renovation of Wells Conference Center
— Establishment of the Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Memorial Plaza
— Renovation of Hauck Auditorium
— Completed renovations of Colvin Hall
— Opening of renovated Lord Hall
— Opening of the Wes Jordan Athletic Training Complex
— Establishment of the 4-H Learning Center at Bryant Pond
Private Fundraising
— Created of new Development Office fundraising structures
— Worked with Bank of America to facilitate the gift of the Hutchinson Center
— Secured the largest private gifts in UMaine history: the Bank of American Belfast property, the Richard and Anne Collins gift for the Maine Center for the Arts and athletics, the donation of the Cianchette property in Falmouth, and the $12 million George L. Houston Endowment to support School of Forest Resources scholar-ships and professorships
— Secured record fund-raising two consecutive years and guided the university’s comprehensive campaign to nearly $100 million in gifts since July 2005
Campus Life
— Established the First Year Residence Experience program in 2007, followed in 2008 by a similar program for second-year students
— Created of a comprehensive, multi-layered emergency communication system
— Received designation as a Silver Well Workplace by the Wellness Council of America
— Received designation as one of the “Best Workplaces for Commuters” by the EPA
— Earned recognition as one of Maine’s HeartSafe Communities
Advocacy/Communications
— Participated in central management of the campaigns that led to the largest bond referendum ever approved in Maine, along with a vital infrastructure bond
— Helped secure 2005 voter approval of bonds that funded upgrades at UMaine’s J. Franklin Witter Research Center, to renovate Camden Hall in Bangor as home to the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and to fund $2 million in equipment for UMaine’s Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology
— Managed legislative advocacy that helped secure increased state appropriation for UMaine in two consecutive years
— Established a redesigned UMaine Web site, with vast improvement in creating access for users who have disabilities
— Increased and broadened multimedia advertising to promote enrollment and image-building
— Established UMaine Advocacy Network
Miscellaneous Measures of Institutional Health
— Graduated the three largest classes in UMaine’s history
— Continued steady undergraduate enrollment gains, despite budget challenges, to bring overall enrollment to record levels
— Continued sound financial management, resulting in continued solvency and increased efficiencies totaling more than $5 million; includes a negotiated Bangor Hydro rate reduction with a potential value of $2 million
— Increased graduate enrollment, moving to historic highs in the Fall of 2007, along with a return to the milestone mark of 50 students receiving doctorates in 2007-2008.
— Secured a 24 % increase in research expenditures, approaching $100 million and moving into the top 100 most productive research operations among public universities in the U.S.
— Earned four consecutive listings among Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges”