University of New England

Strategic Initiatives

Develop Centers of Academic Excellence across programs and colleges

As the University of New England has grown, so have the many academic programs that it offers. To be competitive in the marketplace of ideas, UNE must identify and strengthen its areas of educational expertise. For students of the 21st century, knowledge and skills must be relevant and applicable in an increasingly diverse and complex world society. With its diversity of programs poised for more growth, UNE has a unique opportunity to build bridges between traditionally separate programs and colleges, to develop Centers of Excellence in identified disciplines of study that integrate curriculum, research and training in dynamic ways.

Develop an Academic Health Science Center based on an integrative approach to health, education and research
 
With Maine’s only Medical School, a College of Health Professions and a planned College of Pharmacy, UNE is already well known for its programs in medicine and the health professions. As Centers of Excellence are developed, an even greater emphasis on the Health Sciences is a clear opportunity to integrate the education and training of future and practicing professionals across disciplines. An Academic Health Center would foster interdisciplinary training and practice, and utilize translational research to create links between scientists in the labs and the patients in the clinics, while also studying and modeling successful integrated models for health sciences education and training.

Develop Centers of Research Scholarship across disciplines

The pace of discovery and the body of knowledge is increasing exponentially. Universities must continue to be the center of intellectual pursuit, but with access to a universe of information in any discipline almost immediate, students must learn to qualify and synthesize what is available. Centers of Research and Scholarship will teach them to integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to gain greater insights into the workings of the world, and their place in society.