Community is at the heart of the University of New England
For nearly two centuries, UNE has partnered with communities across Maine to improve health, expand opportunity, advance research, steward our environment, and prepare the workforce our state needs. From our historic roots in Biddeford and Portland to communities in every corner of Maine, we are committed to serving our communities in ways that create meaningful impact and experiences for today and for generations to come.
Be Part of the UNE Experience
Find opportunities throughout the year to learn, celebrate, connect, and experience all that UNE has to offer.
Featured Events
Connecting Campus and Community
A university should enrich the community around it. Throughout the year, UNE welcomes neighbors to campus for lectures, performances, art exhibitions, athletic events, youth programs, and cultural celebrations while partnering with schools, businesses, nonprofits, and civic organizations across Biddeford and southern Maine. From events at our Center for Global Humanities, biannual President’s Forum, and annual Connections Lecture to collaborations with Heart of Biddeford, Art of Biddeford, and more, UNE creates opportunities for learning, creativity, and shared experiences that strengthen the connections between the University and the communities it serves.
Serving Our Communities
Whether serving meals, mentoring local students, restoring natural habitats, or partnering with nonprofit organizations, UNE students, faculty, and professional staff work alongside communities across Maine to address local needs. From Biddeford classrooms and food pantries to community health initiatives and neighborhood organizations, service at UNE is rooted in partnership, creating opportunities for students to learn through meaningful engagement while strengthening the places they call home.
meals assembled and distributed to every Maine county since 2023
60+
student-teaching placements since 2022, with nearly half in Biddeford schools
3,400+
jobs for local residents, including 925 on the Biddeford Campus
$53.8M
in direct annual economic impact in City of Biddeford
73,000+
student service hours completed in Academic Year 2025–26
A Relationship We Value
We’re grateful for the trust our neighbors place in UNE. A 2026 statewide survey by Emerson College Polling found strong support for the University across Maine, with especially high marks for reputation, integrity, and positive community impact among residents of Biddeford and Portland. We don’t take that support for granted. It inspires us to keep listening, showing up, and working alongside the communities we are proud to call home.
UNE in Action
Stories of collaboration, innovation, and connection between students, faculty, and community partners across Maine. Join Friends of UNE to stay connected to the University of New England
Advancing Health for All of Maine
As Maine’s largest educator of health professionals — and home to the state’s only medical and dental colleges, physician assistant program, and pharmacy school — UNE prepares the workforce that communities across Maine rely on every day. Students gain hands-on experience caring for patients through clinical partnerships, community outreach, and service in rural and underserved areas, while faculty and alumni help expand access to care and improve health outcomes throughout the state. Together, these efforts strengthen the health of Maine’s people and the communities they call home.
Learn more about how we are working to build healthier communities
Stewarding Maine’s Coast and Environment
Maine’s coast is both our classroom and our responsibility. UNE researchers, students, and community partners are working together to better understand and protect the ecosystems that define our region. From monitoring the Gulf of Maine and restoring shorelines to advancing sustainable societies systems nonprofit, business, and municipal partners, UNE is helping communities prepare for a healthier and more resilient future. Through the David Evans Shaw Institute for Public and Planetary Health, we connect environmental stewardship with the health of people and communities while inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders.
Discover UNE’s planetary stewardship and our commitment to sustainability.
Driving Discovery for Maine’s Future
The discoveries made at UNE reach far beyond our campuses. As one of Maine’s leading research universities and the state’s No. 1 recipient of federal health research funding, UNE partners with hospitals, biotechnology companies, government agencies, and research organizations to advance innovations that improve health, strengthen Maine’s growing life sciences economy, and prepare tomorrow’s workforce. Through innovation across the life sciences, marine ecology, public health, environmental sustainability, the humanities, and more, UNE transforms curiosity into solutions that benefit communities across the state and beyond.
centers and institutes for research, scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaboration
awarded across 55 research projects in 2025–2026
UNE is ranked #1 in NIH funding, with more than any other Maine college or University in 2025
