University’s Distinguished Lecture Series continues

Battiste to offer lecture on Indigenous Knowledge in Education
    The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s 2008-2009 Distinguished Lecturer Series kicks off the spring semester and the New Year with a presentation by an internationally-renowned researcher on Native American language and culture and indigenous education.     Dr. Marie Battiste, the academic director of the Aboriginal Education Research Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, will speak on “Animating Indigenous Knowledge in Education: From Resilience to Renaissance” on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. The public is invited to attend this free event. Battiste also will speak to several University classes and community groups, including the local Native American community, during her visit.
    For more than 30 years, Battiste has researched Aboriginal culture and experience and how they are related to lifelong learning. Her studies have ranged from protection of Aboriginal knowledge, heritage and culture, to Native American learning paradigms, to university retention and access of Aboriginal graduate students.
    Battiste is the author of three books, including “Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision” in 2000. She also is the author of chapters in more than 20 books that have been published around the world, as well as articles that have appeared in numerous journals.
    In 2008, she received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. She received the First Nations Publishing Award and the Saskatchewan Book Award in 2000 with J. Youngblood Henderson, for “Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Global Challenge.” Battiste was honored to be the recipient of an Eagle Feather during Mi’kmaq Treaty Day in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Oct. 1, 1995. This special honor was presented by the Mi’kmaq Grand Council, Mawio’mi.
    Battiste completed the first two years of her teacher training at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and then went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in elementary and junior high education from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1971. She then earned her master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1974. In 1984, she received her doctorate in education from Stanford University. Her doctoral dissertation was on An Historical Investigation of the Social and Cultural Consequences of Micmac Literacy.
    The University’s Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 1999. Each year, the UDLS Committee sponsors five to six speakers who come from Maine and other states representing a range of disciplines and viewpoints. While the emphasis tends to be on featuring visiting academics, it is not exclusively so. The speakers typically spend two days at the University meeting with classes and presenting a community lecture.
    For more information about Battiste’s visit, contact the Media Relations Office at 768-9452.
Faculty Noon Seminar Series returns
    The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Faculty Noon Seminar Series returns for the spring 2009 semester with presentations on the carbon economy, online teaching and teaching methods.
    Seminars will be held on the last Wednesday of each month, from 12-1 p.m. in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge. Presentations will be 20-30 minutes in length, followed by a discussion. The series kicks off with a presentation on Jan. 28 by President Don Zillman entitled “Beyond the Carbon Economy.”
    On Feb. 25, several faculty members will offer a group presentation on “Everything You Wanted to Know about Online Teaching but Were Afraid to Ask.” This session will be led by Drs. Mike Amey, Alice Sheppard and Jing Qi, and instructor Wendy Ross. On April 1, Dr. Harold Jones will lead a presentation on “Developing a Psychological Basis for Teaching Methods: Dream or Reality?”
    The purpose of the Faculty Noon Seminar Series is to foster awareness of research and teaching activities taking place on campus and to provide a forum for dissemination between faculty members. The series also offers the opportunity to network and encourage transdisciplinary scholarly activity. As a campus-wide forum, students, faculty and administrative staff are invited to present their work during the seminar series. FMI,  contact Lynn Eldershaw at 768-9749.
Comedian  to appear at UMPI
    PRESQUE ISLE – Described as “a skinny Margaret Cho” and one of the hottest up-and-coming comedians in the country, comedian Amy Anderson is coming to the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center stage on Monday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. Anderson was selected for both NBC’s and CBS’s Multicultural Comedy Showcases ad created for the first-ever Asian American stand-up showcase, “Chop-SHTICK,” at the Hollywood Improv. She has also appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, GSN and several national television commercials. Admission is free and open to the public.FMI, 768-9582.
      Carbon fuel dependence     PRESQUE ISLE – As part of an ongoing noontime seminar series, University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman will offer a presentation titled “Beyond the Carbon Economy” at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge.
    According to Zillman, “There are numerous reasons for doubting that the world can continue its present reliance on carbon fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) for its energy supplies. Among the significant ones are coming supply shortages, huge demand increases, global warming, other environmental threats and military-political issues.”
    Zillman and 32 colleagues from around the world examined the coming changes in the carbon dependence scenario, and their work, “Beyond the Carbon Economy,” was published by Oxford University Press in April 2008. The public is invited to bring a bag lunch and join in this informal presentation and discussion. FMI, contact lynn.eldershaw@umpi.edu or call 764-9749.