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On April 20, 2016, 51Ʒ��hosted a meeting of the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club at the Harold Alfond Forum on the Biddeford Campus where President Danielle Ripich gave a presentation to the club about the University.

President Ripich began by thanking the Rotary Club for its community building efforts and expressing her appreciation of the work performed by club members. She remarked that “community building is very important to 51Ʒ��as well,” noting that the institution contributes significantly to the local economy as a major employer, that it donates over $21 million in health services to the community and that its overall economic impact for 2016 is projected to be over a $1 billion.

She also discussed the various agreements that 51Ʒ��has entered into with several other educational institutions, including community colleges, such as Southern Maine Community College, Central Maine Community College, Great Bay Community College, and Washington County Community College, as well as Maine high schools, such as Thornton Academy, Biddeford High School, and Catherine McAuley, all of which allow high performing students to enter 51Ʒ��with advanced standing. These agreements, said President Ripich, reflect the University’s effort “to make 51Ʒ��more accessible and more affordable for Maine students.”

President Ripich described how UNE’s various Centers of Excellence contribute to the community, noting, for example, the Center for Global Humanities’ lecture series, the Center for Excellence in the Neuroscience’s annual Brain Fair and the Marine Science Center’s role in helping to shape the marine economy in Maine.

In addition, President Ripich took the opportunity to inform Rotary members of some relatively new developments at the University, such as the acquisition of Ram Island, which will provide a unique, living, learning laboratory for marine science and environmental studies students, the addition of the former armory building on Stevens Avenue to the Portland Campus, which will be named “Innovation Hall” in recognition of the new programs that the additional space it will make possible, and the adoption of the 51Ʒ��Pledge, which guarantees students the opportunity to study abroad at no additional cost; promises that no additional lab or studio fees will be charged regardless of major; guarantees access to internships and research opportunities; and pledges to bestow Alumni Investment Awards and Lifetime Partnership Awards to all students who graduate from a four-year 51Ʒ��program and who continue their 51Ʒ��education by enrolling in a 51Ʒ��graduate program, respectively.