UNE well represented at Maine – Arctic Forum

Senator Angus King talks with Dean Jeanne Hey and Associate Dean Charles Tilburg
Senator Angus King talks with Dean Jeanne Hey and Associate Dean Charles Tilburg

The University of New England participated in a full-day conference addressing the challenges and opportunities for Arctic science, business, shipping, security and governance. The Maine – Arctic Forum at the University of Southern Maine featured experts on climate change, policy and economic development as well as special guests from the Arctic Council U.S. Delegation, Arctic Economic Council and the State of Alaska.

A showcase of Maine-Arctic science, education and cultural initiatives was on display. Senator Angus King and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree were among the attendees who visited exhibits from UNE’s Arthur. P. Girard Marine Science Center and the Maine Women Writer’s Collection, talking with Jeanne Hey, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Associate Dean Charles Tilburg, Ph.D. "With rapidly changing conditions in the Arctic come new challenges and new opportunities, all of which will require us to work together both here in the U.S. and with countries abroad to bridge the divide on emerging environmental, security, and commercial issues,” said King. “As we saw today at the Maine Arctic Forum, our state is well-positioned to lead on those fronts, and with forward-thinking institutions like the University of New England, we can continue to build on that progress and be a significant player in the Arctic in the years to come."

UNE’s Marine Science programs are tailored to prepare students for careers in the evolving ocean economy, offering Oceanography, Ocean Studies and Marine Affairs, Marine Entrepreneurship, and Aquaculture and Aquarium Sciences in addition to Marine Biology.

UNE's Maine Women Writers Collection houses archival materials created by Josephine and Marie Peary, which document the women's travels to Greenland from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. On display at the Maine – Arctic Forum was a scrapbook compiled by Marie Peary to document her 1933 expedition to Greenland to have a monument for her father, Admiral Robert Peary, built.

To learn more about the University of New England’s College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.une.edu/cas

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions