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Looking Out the Windows of Heaven: Joe Keen, MSII

A Rise Greater than Everest

Nearly 100 mountaineers have perished on the slopes of Denali - the worst case in 1967 when seven members of Joe Wilcox’s twelve-man team died in poor weather near the summit. So large that it may be seen from 250 miles away, so large that it creates its own weather, Denali looms like a deadly pendant strung on the silver chain of the Alaska Range.

On the first ascent of the main summit in 1913, Robert Tatum peered from the highest point in North America and exclaimed later that it was like “looking out the windows of Heaven!” With a true elevation gain of 18,000 feet from base to peak, 20,000-foot Denali has a greater rise than Mt. Everest.

In 2001, Joe Keen abandoned Massachusetts for Alaska, working for a Jesuit mission in Juneau. In short order, he found himself on the slopes of Denali in early May, seeking to conquer the peak before winter storms had fully spent. With one man down and a blizzard on its way, Joe had not initially found the heaven he’d hoped.

Steven Hawking Meets Gandhi

Raised by a single mom who worked as a nurse, Joe respected his mother and responded to her constant encouragement for him to do his best. As a boy, he compensated for slight stature with diligent practice to become a star athlete. Technicalities didn’t faze him. “Somehow I missed the signups for Little League,” he recalls. “I just walked onto the field ready to play, and by the end of the tryouts, I was on a team.”

At St. Joseph’s High in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he played varsity in baseball and basketball all four years, serving as captain for both teams as a senior. His point guard prowess helped St. Joe’s to the State final his junior year, and to the semis when he was a senior. But Joe did more than sink three pointers. “My Mom taught me balance,” he says, “and that was reinforced at St. Joseph’s.” Strong in the sciences, Joe graduated as valedictorian of his class, but he also thrived as vice-president of the service-based Catholic Youth Center Service Society.  

Joe himself did not subscribe to organized religion, though he felt pulled toward eastern thought. “My religion and philosophy professors inspired me,” Joe says, “and I studied a lot on my own. Buddhism made a lot of sense to me, especially in its focus on balance.” His scientific and philosophical interests created strange bedfellows - Joe considered writing a thesis in high school to compare Steven Hawking with Mahatma Gandhi. “I didn’t have time to write it,” he says, “but I’m inspired by just about everything, and I wish I had time to explore other interests further. If you don’t let challenges stop you, they lead to exciting events.”

An Exciting Event

The blizzard was an event, but whether it would be exciting or not depended mostly on whether Joe survived. At an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet, he wanted nothing more than to find his previous camp and hunker down in a tent. Roped between two other climbers with 60-foot lengths of cord, he couldn’t see anything except the rope jerking along in front of him and snow flying sideways. The trail was an indistinct snake of packed snow slithering unpredictably over the mountain.  

Joe remembered the climb from Base Camp to Camp Two, which involved crossing crevasse fields that were mostly frozen. Hiking so early in the season meant that he and his two friends could ski right over portions of the trail that would later yawn open. Each man carried 50 lbs. of gear on his back and pulled a sled packed with 40 lbs. of extra equipment. They were ready for anything - or so they thought.

With a crack and a roar, an avalanche thundered down a slope a mile away. The three young men stared transfixed, and Joe’s mind flitted to the awful reality that it was pointless to run, since the wall of white would consume everything in its path. The angle of its rush, however, caused the snowcap to bury itself in a crevasse, and the climbers breathed a collective sigh of relief before resuming their march. They were pinpoints of life strung out in a fragile line across a whole world of death.   

Holy Cross and Appalachia

From St. Joseph’s, Joe migrated to Holy Cross in Worcester, where he majored in chemistry and math. “I dropped math when they stopped using numbers,” Joe observes dryly, “since I no longer saw the relevance to my career path.” He spent time alone studying Buddhist thought, and his inner journey to the orient moved him far from many others at the Jesuit institution. Joe compiled a list of Catholic priests branded heretics - a cohort of fellow iconoclasts who proved a comfort to him.

The further Joe journeyed inside, the farther afield he went outside. He eschewed team sports with their politics for the rare air of elevation. “I wanted a more individual challenge,” he says. “With climbing, you are alone with your fears and your thoughts. You develop your own challenges, and you find fulfillment when you meet them. You ascend because of ego, but you descend with perspective.” 

A few friends and he staged a bloodless coup and took over the Outing Club at Holy Cross as a way to finance their hiking trips. “We weren’t quite that obvious about it,” he smiles, “but ultimately that was our motivation. We loved to climb.” Christmas breaks gave the gift of extended winter climbing in the Adirondacks or White Mountains - the gift that kept on giving, as Joe would later find. “I developed my ice-climbing skills during those trips,” he says, “and became accustomed to cold weather.”

To synthesize his pre-medical studies and spiritual interests, Joe spent time exploring Jon Kabat Zinn’s meditation practices used at the “Center for Mindfulness in Medicine and Stress Reduction” at UMass Medical School. But medical studies were only a part of the whole for Joe. He joined a group at Holy Cross that sent service teams to Appalachia, and when he arrived in rural Kentucky on the first trip, he felt undone.

“It sounds corny,” he says, “but it was like a mystical experience for me. I felt like crying the whole week. It was incredibly poignant to be there as a college student with these simple people, and to realize that maybe these people had more to offer me than I did to them. Yet I also had this incredible joy as I developed a connection with the people, and that solidified for me that I was going to devote my life in giving of myself to others.”

“I Wouldn’t Recommend That”

Ravenous winds gobbled tons of snow and ripped like diamond saws across the face of the mountain. Joe and Henry struggled into the teeth of the gale, mindful that the other member of their rope was a solo-climber of unknown ability. He had temporarily replaced the third man of the original trio who had bailed before the storm due to poor conditioning.

The line between mountain survival and mountain tragedy can sometimes hinge on the ludicrous. Joe knew they were in trouble - any idiot knew that - and there came a point where the white of the flying snow and the white of the fallen snow coalesced into one undulating blanket that wrapped wickedly around the men and completely obscured the trail. Joe could not see Henry in front of him, but the lead man was carefully picking his way along the path by following urine stains in the snow. “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Joe says, letting off a nervous giggle.

That they owed survival to the predictably regular call of nature that other climbers had left beside the trail humbled the men. “Yeah, it was scary,” Joe says quietly, “It could have been a much different result.” The men made it back to their lower camp and dug in for the night, letting blocks of snow break the screaming velocity of airborne powder. In the morning, they took stock, shoveled out, and headed back up to 14,000 feet.

An Eastern Soul Goes West

Joe graduated from Holy Cross without a clear direction. Burned out from academics, he felt personally unready for medical school and everything that meant. Instead, he applied to the international Jesuit Volunteer Corps and checked off every location in Alaska. Juneau was his last choice, and the program director cheerfully assigned him there. Preconceptions aside, Joe was smitten.

“Juneau is the most beautiful city in Alaska,” he says. “Where the sea ends, the city begins; where the city ends, the mountains begin; where the mountains end, the glaciers begin. We fished for salmon off our back deck. We kayaked next to killer whales. It was incredible.” His supervisors had been to the east (as in Nepal, not New England), and themselves were familiar with Buddhist thought. Joe realized that the program director had placed him among kindred spirits.

That was good, because the place he was going was anything but friendly. Joe worked as a domestic abuse counselor, running anger-management groups for convicted male batterers. For the first time in his life, Joe stood in front of a group of people who universally and impersonally hated him – no offense, buddy. “Most of these guys were convicted abusers who were coming to class to get points toward parole,” Joe says. “When they left, they were likely going to do it again. Many did not understand that their actions were preventable. I tried to get them past the idea that others are responsible for their thoughts, feelings and actions. I was essentially teaching what it means to be autonomous.”

“They Were Checking Our Mental Status”

When Joe and Henry finally arrived at the 14,000-foot camp, medical staff asked how they had fared in their tent during the blizzard. The two young men replied that they had fought their way through it. “They began asking us all sorts of random questions,” Joe recalls, “and we realized that they were checking our mental status. Sometimes decision- making faculties are compromised due to hypoxia and hypothermia. The Ranger was making sure we were still thinking clearly.”

The 14,000-foot camp is the staging area for the summit, and climbers are afforded an incredible panoramic of the surrounding Alaska Mountain Range. The view can come with a price: while Joe watched, a member of a Korean team was medevaced off the mountain due to altitude sickness. Joe himself took ill at 16,000 feet. “We sacrificed acclimation time for speed and elevation,” he says, “so that we could take advantage of breaks in the weather on summit day.”

While Henry scouted ahead to the 17,000-foot camp, Joe swam in a green sea of misery as he descended back to 14,000 feet, suffering the effects of altitude sickness. Physically spent, Joe would not be defeated. “Henry said he wouldn’t summit without me,” Joe nods appreciatively, “so I felt obligated to summon the strength to solo the headwall one last time to rejoin him before we abandoned the mountain.” With a groan, Joe began his lonely ascent.  

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

Pieces of his life came together for Joe amidst the jumbled ice blocks and adventures of Alaska. He met his girlfriend, Megan, who went off to Tulane University to get her Master’s in Social Work. He befriended a couple of serious climbers who were with him on Denali and with whom he made several “first ascents” in the Juneau ice field. A painting by the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich shows a lone figure perched atop a mountain crag. In rugged isolation, the man peers out upon the mountain peaks that jut like islands above the swirling mist. Joe, too, felt like that Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog. In Alaska, he surveyed his life, and for the first time he saw clear peaks above the confusion.

Joe moved to New Orleans to be with Megan after his second year in Alaska. When Megan earned her degree, they moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Joe was accepted to get his Master’s in Buddhist Studies from Naropa University. He also honed his climbing skills in the Rocky Mountains and worked for the Mental Health Corporation of Denver as a crisis/homeless outreach worker. “I went out on the streets and looked under bridges for the homeless,” he says, “then conducted psychiatric evaluations, suicide evaluations, and was responsible for hospitalizing those in need.”

Medical school was the logical next step. “I was spending a lot of time with patients in the hospital, making preliminary diagnoses, but I was frustrated that I couldn’t do more,” Joe says. He recalled his days as an operating room aid in Berkshire Medical Center when he was in high school and college. “I seemed to be naturally drawn to certain physicians because they exhibited a more sophisticated bedside manner and generally seemed to have a better command of their duties,” he says. “It just so happened that those particular doctors were D.O.s from UNECOM, so naturally UNECOM was high on my list of prospective schools.”

Joe was highly impressed with the chief surgical resident at Berkshire, Dr. John Tomicik, who was a graduate of UNECOM and who combined professional skill with personal winsomeness. “He has existed as the model by which I have measured myself and all doctors,” he says, “he exuded a perfect balance of humility, confidence, and compassion.” Dr. Tomicik unfortunately passed away a few years ago from a brain tumor, but his memory has remained a strong inspiration to Joe.

Oxygen-Starved Minds

Joe made it safely back to Henry, but his efforts seemed squandered when an unthinkable event occurred. A climber from Seattle, whose partner fell ill, was allowed to join Joe and Henry’s rope in exchange for carrying the cooking equipment, but in an astounding breach of climbing etiquette he abandoned them at 17,000-feet - leaving them without a stove and virtually no food. Because of the dangers of being storm-trapped high on the mountain without food, Joe and Henry were about to descend when they noticed a guided team’s stove left temporarily unattended at high camp. “We boiled some snow,” says Joe, “hydrated, split a snickers and a freeze-dried package of lasagna, and made our one and only attempt at the summit.”

On the slope up, Henry periodically turned to shout, “What?” to which Joe replied, “I didn’t say anything!” After several go-arounds, the men realized that their oxygen-starved minds were hallucinating. They climbed steadily in the perpetual twilight as the sun revolved around the horizon. Joe’s last picture, taken before his camera froze about a hundred feet below the summit, was of a glorious magenta sunrise/sunset spilling across the sky. The men summited and stood for a few moments surveying the tops of the clouds and the pink peaks scattered like a Zen garden beneath them. The agony was worth it, Joe says: “It was the proudest moment of my life; it was the first individual dream that I had ever fulfilled.”

Many Windows

Now at UNECOM, Joe is continually challenged and invigorated. He has found a core group of good friends, he says, “Without whom my incessant complaining/whining would have no home.” He is particularly interested in the interface between neurology and psychiatry, and would love to incorporate osteopathic manipulation and principles. “Having access to Drs. Carreiro and Willard is a special privilege of this school,” Joe notes. Direct patient care is most appealing to him, but research and teaching would be nice professional additions. Joe has not limited himself to either domain.

As usual, synthesis is the key. “Any path that will enable me to address my intellectual curiosities while giving back to society and allowing some freedom to explore and find adventure sounds good to me!” he says. His plan assigns Joe the daily purpose of serving others on earth.

That is, when he’s not busy “looking out the windows of heaven.”

-Steve Smith, RSAS

Joe Keen, MSII, on the summit of Mt. Meeker (13,911 ft) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Photo courtesy Joe Keen.

UNE/COM News and Events

The Old Mill, Yarmouth, Maine. Photo by Steve Smith, RSAS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

The University of New England will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the last half of January. Keynote addresses are planned for January 24th on the University Campus, and for January 31st on the Westbrook College Campus. The entire University will be closed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 15th.

For COM-specific programs, the Student National Medical Association club is working with the RSAS Office to show Something the Lord Made at noontime on January 16 and 17. According to the film’s website, “Something The Lord Made is the story of two men - an ambitious white surgeon and a gifted black carpenter turned lab technician - who defied the racial strictures of the Jim Crow South and together pioneered the field of heart surgery.” SNMA members will provide home-cooked ethnic food on both days.

The SNMA club also plans to host a “Collage of Knowledge” competition, where students and clubs compete to find the most facts relating to the contribution of minorities to medicine. Factoids are to be posted on 3x5 cards on the third-floor lobby wall around a central poster of Martin Luther King, Jr. Prizes will likely include substantial gift baskets for individuals, and a voucher to cover the lunchtime expenses of a club for a club event. Look for advertisements to learn more about this in days to come.

The keynote speaker for the University Campus on January 24th is Dr. Anouar Majid. A UNE professor, Dr. Majid will speak on  “Crescent of Liberty: Islam and the African-American Struggle for Justice.” His talk will take place in the Campus Center multi-purpose rooms from 12-1pm.

Artist activist Robert Shetterly, a Maine resident, will give a keynote address at the Westbrook College Campus on January 24th, from 12-1pm. He has created a series of paintings and has written a book entitled “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” The presentation will take place in the CHP Lecture Hall.

On January 30th, Dr. Charles Willie, a former associate of Dr. King, will give a talk on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The talk will be held in the Campus Center multi-purpose rooms from 4-5pm. The following day, Dr. Willie will give a speech at the Westbrook College Campus entitled “Political Thoughts of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Other campus-wide activities include a Brazilian Capoeira presentation, a campus civility project, and art exhibits.

Where Do You Eat?

You may have noticed that the Alfond Café is closed this week. Sodexho will re-open the Café on January 17, prior to the undergrads’ return to campus. In the meantime, where do you eat?

The Decary Dining Hall is open from 11:30-1:00 each weekday for lunch. Dan Roy has offered to provide boxed lunches at the check-in counter for students who want to grab something and go. Normal swiping/payment protocol applies. Be aware that Sodexho has a lighter staff on duty until the undergrads return.

Dan Roy has also kindly offered to provide coffee to COM students in the Alfond Café area, free of charge, until January 17. Coffee should be available weekday mornings. Make sure to thank Dan and his staff when you see them, as this is a generous arrangement on Sodexho’s part.

Fellows New and Promoted

With the new year come new fellows. Jeremy Wren, MSIII, and Scotty McQuilkin, MSIII, return to UNECOM from their rotational sojourns to fill the role of Junior Fellows. They will be on campus until the end of June 2007.

Congratulations are also due to Sara Richmond, MSIV, and Noelle Sherrets-Ratigan, MSIV, as they become the Senior Fellows. They remain on campus until the end of June 2007.

The Fellows’ extension is 2533 and their campus mailing address is Alfond 318. 

A lower light not burning. Photo by Steve Smith, RSAS

A Method to the Madness – The RSAS Division of Labor
 
“What do those people do, anyway?” a student might ask as they enter the bustling subterranean world of the RSAS Office.

“I always see those nice people rushing around from one side of the hall to the other,” the student continues, “and I don’t really know to whom I should ask my question. Oh well, there’s Tracie, and she’s got candy – I’ll go ask her!” And in a rush of hyperglycemia, the candy default strikes again.

Could this student be you? Are you confused by the bewildering array of responsibilities and titles borne by the cheerful folk from down-under? Do you sometimes lunge for the nearest warm body when you have a question to ask?

If you have three or more of the following symptoms, please read on to receive professional help:

- You pronounce “RSAS” as “R-sas.”
- You believe that Dean Kelley herself must see the entire trajectory of your illness (if you know what I mean) to receive an excused absence.
- You assume your best puppy face in hopes of using the RSAS fax to send your family genealogy to Uncle Cedric in Transylvania. Your 600-page family genealogy.
- You are unaware that the RSAS Office works with COM alumni, as well as prospective students.
- You incorrectly believe that the RSAS Office is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
- You send proof-of-enrollment requests to anyone but Tracie.
- Your “Just five minutes!” talk with Dean Kelley lasts for several hours.
- Your diet consists of 50% or more of supplements from Tracie’s candy bin.
- You mistake James for the Registrar.
- You are concerned that Steve has been “exiled” to “the dark side.”
- You still don’t know which days Joan works.
- You still don’t know who Joan is.

If these painfully common mistakes apply to you, don’t worry – we still don’t know which days Joan works, either! Just kidding, Joan. Moving right along…

So who are we and what do we do? More of that to follow, but by way of introduction the RSAS stands for “Recruitment, Student, and Alumni Services,” which is a jaw-breaking way to say that we are a cradle-to-grave resource for prospective students, applicants, current students, and COM alumni. It is a truly unique office whose scope is practically unheard-of, which is why we’re writing this column to help students better understand and employ our resources.

With that in mind, here is the division of labor for the RSAS staff:

1.) Dean Kelley – She’s the Dean of Students for UNECOM. That means that she has more meetings to attend than the UN Secretary General. She also has a million people trying to talk to her about all kinds of different things at different levels all the time, and she oversees all of the work, programming, writing, and planning that the rest of the staff does.
 
She handles Leave of Absence and Extended Curriculum Plan questions, student discipline matters, student crises, student concerns, long-term planning, policies and procedures, handbook and catalogue writing, Orientation, the White Coat Ceremony, Graduation, budget matters, institutional reports, student SGA/C&Os, and all the day-to-day nitty-grittiness that an office with wide-ranging responsibilities accrues.

Plus, she manages to attend nearly every student function imaginable.

If you need to speak to Dean Kelley, please ask Tracie to set up an appointment to talk with her. Dean Kelley is your best advocate here at UNECOM, and she can sort out all types of personal and academic tangles for you.

Dean Kelley has been here from before the first class graduated in 1982, which means that she knows just about everybody. She can recall when Drs. Carreiro, Goldbas, Okun-Langlais, Shannon, Johnson, Schwalenberg-Leip, Paolini, Cawley, Ashkenasy, Pelletier, Griffin, Thieme, and so many others were in your shoes as students. She remembers everyone.

A couple of quick caveats: Please don’t send excused absence requests to Dean Kelley directly (send ‘em to comsa@une.edu), and don’t expect to pop into the office without an appointment in hopes of “catching” her. If it’s an emergency, Tracie is good at figuring that out (“Is it an emergency?” she’ll ask, and you’ll say “Yes” or “No”. Pretty straightforward, really.) Also, if you send Dean Kelley an email that needs to be answered quickly, send it to PKelley@une.edu, and send a copy to the comsa@une.edu address, too. Dean Kelley gets about 200 emails a day. Really.

2.) James Gaffney – James is the Coordinator of Recruitment and Alumni Services. He tag teams with Lisa Lane for admissions while working both ends of the RSAS spectrum (and both ends of the candle, too.) His responsibilities include being the primary email and phone contact for prospectives and applicants, conducting interviews, overseeing student tour guides and student interviewers, hosting campus visits, coordinating National Youth Leadership Forum events, presenting at graduate fairs, and developing recruiting strategies.

He may answer the same questions a dozen times a day from prospectives and applicants, but like a good stage actor he tries to make it seem like he is saying it or typing it for the first time, trying to give each person the individual attention they deserve. What questions does he answer? You know them all – they’re the same questions you asked!

On the alumni side, James works with alumni relations, the alumni board, Reunion activities, conference receptions, and alumni questions or concerns. He also writes the new applicant and alumni e-newsletters, works with pre-med advisors, and… well, you get the idea. James also has a wealth of knowledge about the local area, the institution, and plenty of other things. Just ask.

3.) Steve Smith – Steve is the newest member of the RSAS Office; so fresh that he still smells like packing peanuts. For about a year, he filled a receptionist/administrative role in the office, but has transitioned to his new responsibilities as Coordinator of Medical Student Services over the past few months. 

He works with clubs and organizations, student government, student programming, the COMmunicator newsletter, Co-curricular transcripts, club deposits and vouchers (for the time being), the RSAS website, Orientation, the White Coat Ceremony, Post Gross Toast, sundry 5k runs, and general grease-monkey sorts of things. He will also soon administrate the various myUNE COM club pages.

4.) Tracie Purcell – The patient office administrative secretary and chief medical student feeder, Tracie schedules appointments for Dean Kelley. She also handles a heavy volume of ad hoc student counseling, email, excused absences, phone calls, reports, OsteoAdmit, Banner data entry, Orientation mailings, scheduling appointments for Dean Kelley, transfer student contact, and candy-dish mechanics, among any number of other things. She also schedules appointments for Dean Kelley.

She’s front-line in the trenches, but that doesn’t mean that every single thing goes through her first (see other people’s lists.) She also schedules appointments for Dean Kelley. So if you need to see Dean Kelley, Tracie can schedule that for you.

5.) Joan Goulet – Joan packs as much as she can into 3+ days of work, Tuesday-Thursday. She works primarily with the alumni, sends out mailings, orders supplies, manages the C&O budgets, runs special reports, controls the office master budget, helps manage the Educational Enhancement Fund, loves to fill out the AACOM report, tracks down missing alumni, makes travel arrangements, plans for White Coat and Graduation, and keeps everyone else young with a quick tongue and quicker laugh.

Joan has worked with Dean Kelley since she became dean. Don’t be afraid of her just because she sits in the back corner of the office and talks quietly to herself.  She is extremely knowledgeable and very helpful; able to answer most of Steve’s questions, at any rate.

6.) If it looks like we need some additional help (in the office, that is), we do. Sometime this spring, we hope to bring on another administrative person to take over some things from Tracie and Joan so that James and Dean Kelley can give more things to Tracie and Joan. Just kidding, Tracie. Well, sort of…

So there you have it. If you are unclear who to ask for your particular concern, email the comsa@une.edu address for further clarification, or feel free to ask us when you see us. Thanks. Back to rushing around…

-Steve Smith and James Gaffney, RSAS

Larissa Calka, MSII, touches up MSII Andrea Berry's face-map before a SOSA Review. Photo by Dan Sheps, MSII.

Jacque Carter, Ph.D., named provost/vice president for academic affairs

Jacque Carter, Ph.D., of Kennebunkport, an accomplished teacher, researcher and senior administrator at the University of New England, has been appointed the University’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. Carter has been serving as interim in the position for the past year. He was previously dean of UNE’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Dr. Carter’s work for the University has been of the highest standard, serving as interim vice president with enthusiasm, energy and vision,” UNE President Danielle Ripich said. “He did an outstanding job as dean, significantly building the curriculum and reputation of the College of Arts and Sciences. Then he stepped into the interim vice president’s role and further proved his leadership ability, ably supporting and promoting quality academics, scholarship and research. Dr. Carter is a talented, highly accomplished administrator, and we are very pleased to keep him in this critical position. I look forward to working with him as we begin our strategic planning process in the new year.”

As provost/vpaa, Carter is the University’s chief academic officer, providing leadership and overall direction for the instructional and research programs of the University. He is responsible for all aspects of the University’s academic mission. The provost reports directly to the president. Reporting to the provost are the deans of the three colleges, and the offices of student affairs, libraries and information resources, sponsored (research) programs and enrollment management (admissions). He also directs the University’s planning process and provides leadership and direction to various centers and institutes. The provost also serves as president in her absence, advises her, and works with other university officers as a member of the senior administrative staff.

Background

Carter joined UNE in 1989 as a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. His professional expertise is in systematics, ecology and conservation of marine fisheries. For the past four years, he has lead a UNE-based research project to study the migratory habits of striped bass, Maine’s premier sport fish and an important part of Maine’s marine ecosystem. He also recently received a prestigious Lindbergh Grant from the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation for his ongoing research in Belize, focusing on the conservation and biology of Nassau grouper, another sport fish. Not surprisingly, Carter is an avid fisherman.

Carter received his master’s degree in biological sciences from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from the College of William and Mary’s School of Marine Science.

(Press release issued Dec. 14, 2006)

Beaulieu named Associate Provost for Planning and Assessment

Provost Jacque Carter writes: I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Ellen Beaulieu, Ed.D, to the position of Associate Provost for Planning and Assessment, effective January 15, 2007. Dr. Beaulieu has been serving as the Interim Dean for the College of Health Professions since 2005 and as Associate Dean of the College of Health Professions since 2001. Ellen is well suited to fill the role of associate provost. Her experience, expertise and knowledge - especially of the health professions - will serve this institution immensely as we continue to advance the University’s mission.

As Associate Provost, Dr. Beaulieu will work closely with the provost to integrate assessment of the institution and its programs more fully into the planning process. Previously, assessment has been used mainly by individual departments and units. With this new position, we’ll be closing the loop to make sure that assessment results in informed decision making, especially in terms of where UNE is, and where higher education is now. 

As Associate Provost, Dr. Beaulieu will also provide the health professions with additional support in the area of clinical education and student placement. Working closely with the respective deans, department chairs and faculty, she will be contacting, negotiating, contracting and expanding clinical experiences for students enrolled in a variety of UNE health profession programs. She will lead the effort to establish a greater emphasis on integration and coordination of health care education across the University system.

Finally, Associate Provost Beaulieu will be working to help integrate and coordinate Institutional Research activities currently underway in a variety of offices and units by helping to provide the University with accurate and timely information to support decision making and institutional effectiveness efforts as well as responding to requests for institutional data from state and federal agencies and others interested in the University's operations.

Associate Provost Beaulieu received her undergraduate degree in liberal arts and dental hygiene in 1974 from the University of Hawaii, where she went on to achieve the Master of Public Health in 1979. More recently, Dr. Beaulieu received the Doctor of Education Degree from Nova Southeastern University in 2001 where her studies focused on health professions education and administration. Dr. Beaulieu has over twenty years of experience as a faculty member and was promoted to full professor in 1998. Ellen Beaulieu has authored several articles, chapters and reviews in scholarly publications. She has also given many presentations at conferences, workshops and symposiums around the country on a variety of topics, primarily in her research area of pediatric oral health and community health.   

Please join me in welcoming Associate Provost Ellen Beaulieu to this new and exciting position.

Jacque Carter
Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs

Scholarships/Fellowships/Residencies

Latent hostility? Improper affect? Delusions of suture? Whatever the psychosis, Erycka Florie, MSII (right) knows to remain calm when in the presence of wild animals or medical students with forceps. The intentions of Martha Gilman, MSII, are not altogether clear during this SOSA Review. Photo by Dan Sheps, MSII

Have Connections? Feel Like Rotating Somewhere?

If anyone has contacts at a specific residency program/hospital that you think might be
interested in having a booth at UNECOM, please feel free to email me or Sue Gagnon sgagnon@une.edu in the Clinical Affairs office with the contact information, and an invitation will be sent to that program. Thanks!

-Don Tower, MSII, dtower@mail.une.edu

Summer Institute on Geriatrics

The Summer Institute in Geriatric Medicine at Boston University Medical Center will be held June 25 - 29, 2007. 
 
The Summer Institute is a weeklong conference designed for medical students who are interested in pursuing careers in academic geriatric medicine and geriatric research. Activities of the Summer Institute include clinical and research seminars on key geriatrics/aging topics, site visits to research and clinical programs, and small group development of a research proposal. Faculty members will include nationally recognized academic geriatricians and Boston University faculty conducting aging research.

Applicants should be students who will be entering their third or fourth year of medical school in July 2007. A maximum of 20 students nationwide will be selected to participate in this program (1-2 UNECOM students have been selected for each of the past five years.) Please note that applications must be received by Friday, January 26, 2007. Full financial support will be provided.

For more information, contact Dr. Marilyn Gugliucci at mgugliucci@une.edu or call her at 602-3551.

American Osteopathic Foundation Scholarships

The American Osteopathic Foundation offers half a dozen different award programs for osteopathic medical students. Check out the specific awards and their criteria at:
http://www.aof-foundation.org/stu.asp 

Put Your Heart in Your Hand

If you are currently enrolled as a student at an accredited medical school, enter The Francis A. Velay Humanism in Medicine Essay Contest presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation

In 1,000 words or less, please explain the following quote using at least one life experience: "To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always." –attributed to Hippocrates

First prize: $1000
Second prize: $500
Third prize: $250

Past judges have included Jerome Groopman, Perri Klass, Sherwin Nuland, Abraham Verghese, among others. In addition, the AAMC’s Academic Medicine will continue its tradition of publishing the top three winning essays in their fall issues. 

To enter the essay contest, please:

Complete entry form (available at our website, http://www.humanism-in-medicine.org/ ; click on “Programs/Medical Students & Faculty/Essay Contest”) and essay E-mail both as attachments to essaycontest@gold-foundation.org with “2006 Essay Contest” in the subject line. Please note that no essay will be accepted without an accompanying entry form. Do not include your name on the essay; only include your name on the entry form.

If you prefer, you may instead send your entry form and essay via U.S. mail to:
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Essay Contest
619 Palisade Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

Entries should be sent no later than January 31, 2007.

Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship Program

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) are pleased to announce the new AANS Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship (MSSRF) program, beginning summer 2007.

The fellowship will allow medical students who are in the early years of their medical school training to spend a summer working in a neurosurgical laboratory, mentored by a neurosurgical investigator who is a member of AANS.

For more information, please see the AANS website at www.aans.org/otheresearch

William Osler Medal Essay Contest

The William Osler Medal is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on a medical historical topic written by a student enrolled in a school of medicine or osteopathy in the United States or Canada. First awarded in 1942, the medal commemorates Sir William Osler, who stimulated an interest in the humanities among medical students and physicians. The writer of the winning essay will be invited to attend the 2007 American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM) meeting, 3-6 May, in Montreal, Quebec, where the medal will be conferred. The essay (maximum 9,000 words, plus reasonable endnotes) must be entirely the work of one contestant.

For more information, check out www.histmed.org/Awards 

American Heart Association Conference in February

The American Heart Association, Northeast Affiliate is pleased to announce the 57th Annual Scientific Session, The Metabolic Syndrome & Coronary Risk, scheduled for February 10-11, 2007 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine.

The program will feature Drake Award Recipient Robert H. Eckel, M.D., President of the American Heart Association. Dr. Eckel is also the Charles A. Boettcher Endowed Chair in Atherosclerosis, and Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Biophysics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Eckel’s talk is entitled, “Cluster of Conditions that Increase Risk of CAD, CVA and DM2: Increased insulin levels, Hyperlipoproteinemia, Increased BMI with Truncal Obesity, and Hypertension.” For more information, please call Melissa Goodrich at 207-523-3002, email Melissa.Goodrich@heart.org or visit the website at http://www.americanheart.org/

American Medical Association (AMA) offers opportunities to medical students

National and Regional Student Research Forums

These annual forums offer young investigators the opportunity to present their research, receive meaningful feedback, and participate in scholarly discussions with peers and established scientists. Three regional forums are held prior to the national forum every year.

Eastern-Atlantic Student Research Forum
Abstract deadline: January 2007
Forum date: Feb 21-24, 2007, in Miami

National Student Research Forum
Abstract deadline: January 2007
Forum date: April 26-27, 2007, in Galveston, Texas

The Minority Scholars Award

Ten awards, each in the amount of $10,000, are available to minority students from groups historically underrepresented in the medical profession. Award selection is based on a combination of financial need, academic excellence and commitment to improving minority health status. Nominees must be in their first or second year of medical school with the scholarship counting toward their second- or third-year medical school cost. The medical school dean or dean's designate may nominate two candidates for this scholarship. Interested students may submit a proposal to the RSAS office.

Application available: February 2007
Deadline for nominations: April 15, 2007
Recipients announced: June 2007

The Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarships

Ten thousand dollar scholarships are available to rising seniors, chosen for the award during their third year of medical school. Based on enrollment size of the third-year class, each school may submit up to three nominations. Award selection is based on academic excellence and/or financial need. Interested students may submit proposals to the RSAS office.

Application available: February 2007
Deadline for nominations: May 31, 2007
Recipients announced: August 2007

The Scholars Fund

The American Medical Association (AMA) Alliance - the largest volunteer arm of the AMA - raises money each year for medical schools to distribute to deserving students. Medical schools can offer one or more awards, based on the amount of funds raised for the institution. Scholarships must be a minimum of $1,000 and can be based on academic excellence and/or financial need.

The deadline to submit recipients is July 1, 2007

For more information regarding the three scholarship offers above, visit the AMA Foundation website at http://www.amafoundation.org/

AANS Medical Student Summer Fellowship Program

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is offering ten $2,500 fellowships to medical students who have completed one or two years of medical school and wish to spend a summer working in a neurosurgical laboratory, mentored by a neurosurgical investigator who is a member of the AANS.

Interested students should submit applications by February 1, 2007, to AANS Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship, c/o AANS, 5550 Meadowbrook Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008-3852, or e-mail application and all supporting documents to nref@aans.org. An application may be downloaded at http://www.aans.org/otheresearch/application-final_081606.doc 

For more information, call AANS at (toll free (888) 566-2267) or visit their website at http://www.aans.org/otheresearch/med_student_research.asp

Marvin H. and Kathleen G. Teget Leadership Scholarship
$500 for students pursuing specialty medicine
Deadline – March 31, 2007
http://www.studentdo.com/

International Medical Relief/ Medical Missions Scholarship
$250 for essential expenses
Deadline – Rolling
http://www.studentdo.com/

American Osteopathic Foundation
$2000 research scholarships, with grants for travel. 
http://www.aof-foundation.org/ or see SGA rep

Clubs and Organizations

Medical Students mingle at the SGA Snow Ball in December. Photo by Ellen Bursch, MSII.

2nd Annual UNECOM Student Research Symposium January 8-12, 2007

This weeklong session (co-sponsored by the New England Research and Neuro/Psych Clubs) will include poster presentations by students, lunchtime talks by Dean's Fellowship recipients, and guest lectures. For more information, contact Rejean Guerriero, MSII at rguerriero@mail.une.edu or Brian McElhinney, MSII, at bmcelhinney@mail.une.edu

The Moustaches are Coming!

Get your upper lips ready for the first UNECOM moustache growing competition, coming up in early January. Have trouble growing the stubble in a month? Start now, no penalty! If you have questions about the categories or rules, ask Mike at mjackson3@mail.une.edu  Faculty members are invited and encouraged to participate!

January C&O Events

January 8 – NIH Talk: Women’s Health Initiative, by Dr. David Sheps. Will be held in ACHS 304, from 5-7pm. Sponsored by the New England Research Club. For more information, contact Dan Sheps, MSII.

January 9 – Dr. David Sheps: EKG Review. The talk will be held in ACHS 304 from 7-8:30pm. Sponsored by the UNECOM American Medical Student Association. For more information, contact Dan Sheps.

January 10 – Kate Haverington-Dalton, MSIV, will talk about rotations, residencies, and the match in ACHS 304, from 6-7pm. For more information, contact Nick Tedesco, MSII. Sponsored by the UNECOM Student Osteopathic Surgical Association.

January 15 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No classes.

January 16-17 – The UNECOM Student National Medical Association will host a screening of “Something the Lord Made,” in ACHS 304, from 12-1pm both days. Club members are making ethnic food. For more information, contact Anna Rose Pinlac, MSII, or Meghan Grant, MSII.

January 24 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (observed.) No class from 12-2pm. UNE professor Dr. Anouar Majid will give a talk titled, “Crescent of Liberty: Islam and the African-American Struggle for Justice,” from 12-1pm in the Campus Center multi-purpose rooms.

January 24 – SOMA will host a Pre-SOMA pizza party from 5-6pm in Alfond 138A/B for student mentors and undergraduate pre-medical students. For more information, contact Michelle Stone, MSI.

Convocation Information

The AAO Convocation (Colorado Springs, March 21-25, 2007) is a conference designed for Osteopathic Physicians, residents, and students from across the country to get together, improve OMT skills, and share their love of the profession. The registration deadline is Jan 30th. For more info, check out: http://www.academyofosteopathy.org/UAAO/aaoconvocation.htm

A Hollis Wolf Presentation

Present an OMM case study at the AAO Convocation in March 2007, and you may have a chance to win a FREE trip to Europe! FMI: http://www.academyofosteopathy.org or see UAAO co-presidents Martha Gilman or Abby Hansen.

January Health Awareness Events

The “WhatHealth” website maintains a list of health awareness events for each month. You can check it out at www.whathealth.com/awareness/january.html  The following events are listed for the month of January:

Cervical Screening Month
Glaucoma Awareness Month
National Birth Defects Prevention Month
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month
Thyroid Awareness Month
World Leprosy Week, January 24-30
World Braille Day, January 4
World Leprosy Day, January 29

AMSA Opportunities

AMSA’s 57th Annual Convention
Health Care Justice: Pursuing the Dream of a Healthy Society
March 7-11, 2007, Arlington, VA / Washington, DC
Contact Matt Pomykala, MSII, at mpomykala@mail.une.edu for more information.

Women’s Empowerment Institute
February 9-12, 2007, Washington D.C
“WEI is an opportunity to develop community, political and activist leadership skills during a 3-day seminar consisting of skill-building workshops, lectures, and lobbying on Capitol Hill. Participants are then charged to put their newly acquired skills to use by developing and implementing a project on a women's health issue of her choice at their home institution or community by January 2008.”
Application deadline is December 15, 2006.
To apply, go to http://www.amsa.org/

Your SGA reps:

Anne Barlow, MSII	Shannon Scully, MSI
Chris Blomberg, MSI	Ryan Smith, MSI
Jake Budny, MSII	Shawn St. Marie, MSII
Steve Fosmire, MSI	Kerry Sternheim, MSII
Michael Jackson, MSII	Lauren Turkanis, MSII
Brian McElhinney, MSII	Maggie Vancura, MSII
Lacey McIntosh, MSI	Jordan Wagner, MSII
Ryan Murphy, MSI	Tara Wayt, MSI
Anne Newbold, MSII	Sarah White, MSI
Max Opoku-Agyemang, MSI	Liz Williams, MSII
Amanda Roth, MSII	Lisa Wuerdeman, MSII
Joanna Rulf, MSII	Ahmad Yassin, MSI
Kim Salaycik, MSI	Rima Zahr, MSI
Joe Scott, MSI

The following is a photo-montage from the SGA Snow Ball in December. Pictures courtesy Ellen Bursch, MSII, Tara Wayt, MSI, Kim Salaycik, MSI, and Anne Newbold, MSII:

L-R MSIIs Larissa Calka, MIchelle Zugermayr (back), Andrea Berry, and Curt Senita.

Curt Senita, MSII. Scary. 

MSIs Lacey McIntosh and Mike Dominello.

Kim Salaycik, MSI, and Joe Charpentier, MSII.

Andrew Saluti, MSI, and Andrea Berry, MSII.

MSIs Vito Ferri (left) and Ryan Murphy pretend they're friends at the Snow Ball.

MSIs Mike Dominello, Lacey McIntosh, and Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang.

MSIIs L-R Josh Mularella, Elizabeth WIlliams, and Joe Charpentier

MSIs Ryan Murphy and Kim Salaycik.

MSIIs L-R Andrea Berry, Ellen Bursch, and Larissa Calka.

Meat and Potatoes

Royal River span, Yarmouth, Maine. Photo by Steve Smith, RSAS

University Campus Information

Office of Recruitment, Student, and Alumni Services (RSAS) Lower level of Stella Maris Hall	Monday-Friday 8am – 4:30pm (open noontime)
Campus Center Hours	Monday-Wednesday Gym, Track, Fitness Center: 6am-11 pm Pool: 6:30am-9:30am, 11:30am-6pm, 8pm-10pm Thursday-Friday Gym, Track, Fitness Center: 6am-12am Pool: 6:30-9:30am, 11:30am-6pm (5pm Friday), 8pm-10pm (Thurs.) Saturday Gym, Track, Fitness Center: 8am-12am Pool: 12pm-6pm (Pool closed for swim meets Nov. 4th and 18th) Sunday Gym, Track, Fitness Center: 8am-10pm Pool: 12pm-6pm
Bookstore Hours	Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-5pm Friday: 8:30am-3:30pm
Library Hours
Jack S. Ketchum Library, University Campus	Monday-Thursday: 8am-12pm Friday: 8am-7pm Saturday: 10am-9pm Sunday: 10am-12pm
Josephine S. Abplanalp ’45 Library, Westbrook College Campus	Monday-Thursday: 8am-10pm Friday: 8am-5pm Saturday: 9am-5pm Sunday: 10am-10pm
Sanford Petts Health Center - University Campus Phone: 282-1516	Monday-Wednesday: 8:30am-8pm Thursday & Friday: 8:30am-5pm Student Walk-in Hours: 11am-12:45pm
Alfond Health Center (OMM treatment only) Phone: 284-1417	Monday: 8am-8pm Tuesday: 8am-4:30pm Wednesday: 8am-6pm Thursday: 8am-5:30pm Friday: 8am-5:30pm
Saco Health Center - Saco Phone: 602-1407	Monday-Friday: 8:30am-5pm
Learning Assistance Center	Monday-Thursday: 8am-9pm Friday: 8am-4:30pm
Career Services	For appointments, contact Judy Bellante at 602-0170, ext. 2817, or jbellante@une.edu
Counseling Services	For appointments, call 602-0171, ext. 2549
Disability Services	For appointments, contact 602-0171, ext. 2815.
Food Service Hours (check http://www.unedining.com/ for updates, menus, and pre-ordering meals to go) Effective in September:Decary Cafeteria	Monday-Friday: Breakfast: 7:15am-10:30am Lunch: 11am-1:15pm Dinner: 4:30pm-6:30pm (4:30pm-6pm on Friday) Saturday & Sunday:  Brunch: 11am-1pm  Dinner: 4:30pm-6pm
The Hang	Monday-Friday: 10:30am-10pm
Alfond Café	Monday-Friday: 7:30am-2:30pm

Study Locations:

There are a number of locations available on the University campus for students to study.

Alfond Center for Health Sciences: The entrance facing Stella Maris and the main entrance on the lower level will be unlocked until midnight. All other entrances are open until 8pm. The rooms and lecture halls available as 24-hour study space are 104, 113, 126, 127, 128, 138A/B, 139A/B, and 304. The lobbies are also available. The Alfond Building has wireless Internet access.

Decary Hall: The entrance facing the river remains unlocked until 8pm, and the front entrance is open until 10pm. The rooms available for 24-hour use are 202, 203, 205, 206, 208, 212, and Sutton Lounge. Wireless access is available in the first floor vending area.

Marcil Hall: The entrance on the lower level is open until midnight. Wireless access is available in the common areas.

Stella Maris: The rear entrance facing the residence halls is open until midnight, while the other entrances are open until 8pm. The rooms available for 24-hour use are 206, 215, 304/306, and 309/310.

Alfond Meadow:

The Alfond Meadow will be used for intramural sports during the 2006-07 academic year. Students can anticipate use of the lawn during football season and again during spring sports. Study plans should be made with the lawn use in mind.

Submissions to the COMmunicator:

The COMmunicator is published monthly, Agust-May. Your submissions are welcome. Submit stories, news events, or digital pictures to Steve Smith at ssmith12@une.edu by the 25th of each month (the earlier, the better!)

Parting Shot

David Redding, MSII, is clearly upset that he has responsibility for the pharynx station at the SOSA Review. He'd rather walk on glass. Better luck next time, David. Photo by Dan Sheps, MSII

Copyright © UNECOM Office of Recruitment Student and Alumni Services. All rights reserved.

11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford, ME 04005.  (207) 602-2329
Please send comments, suggestions, submissions, or warm chocolate chip cookies to Steve Smith at ssmith12@une.edu