On behalf of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, please join me in welcoming Peter Brian Dane, D.O. as the new associate dean of academic affairs.

Dr. Dane joins us from Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine where he was associate dean for Predoctoral Education, associate professor for the Department of Family Medicine and a staff physician for the Express Care Service.  Dr. Dane received his undergraduate degree (bachelor of science) from the University of Notre Dame and his doctor of osteopathic medicine from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

He brings with him a distinguished list of awards, most recently receiving the Clinical Preceptor of the Year award from Ohio University.  In addition, Dr. Dane has many publications and presentations to include:

“Osteopathic Clinical Training in Three Universities”; Krueger; Dane; Slocum; Kimmelman; Academic Medicine, June, 2009, Volume 84.

“Student Competency Development: Reciprocal Expectations Across the OME Continuum”; Panelist; AACOM/AODME Joint Annual Meeting; April, 2009.

“Faculty Adequacy - What it Means, How it is Measured”; Dane; Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation; Committee on College Accreditation Training Workshop; January 12, 2008

Dr. Dane will begin mid-April part-time and full-time on June 1, 2010.  

Yours Truly,

Marc B. Hahn, DO
Senior Vice President for Health Affairs
and Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine

UNE President Danielle Ripich's presentation to the Portland Regional Chamber on May 4, 2010 at its monthly "Eggs and Issue" breakfast was covered by the The Portland Press Herald, Mainebiz, and WGAN 560. President Ripich told the group that the University is working to secure both federal and state funds for a proposed college of dental medicine. UNE is seeking public funding for the school because of a shortage of dental care among children and adults that is contributing to illnesses, reduced productivity and to costly emergency room visits, she said. “The story is really tragic." Ripich noted that “UNE’s College of Pharmacy demonstrates that investment on the part of the university, community and the state can be a shared success." The College of Pharmacy is expected to have an economic impact of more than $100 million when it is fully enrolled in three years, and it was awarded the 2009 Economic Achievement Award by the City of Portland last November in recognition of the economic vitality it brings to the region. Ripich also explained that the university has a $440 million annual economic impact on Maine's economy. The school has 3,000 non-Maine residents enrolled and brings to its campuses 21,000 visitors each year who generate $6 million in spending for Maine businesses such as hotels, restaurants, retailers and others. Listen to President Ripich's interview on the morning news program WGAN 560.

Richard Sims, Ph.D., chief economist at the National Education Association, who gave a talk at UNE on March 4, 2010 on "The Future of American Education: An Economic Perspective," was interviewed by Irwin Gratz for MPBN radio before his presentation at the Portland Campus. Sims told Gratz that cuts in school aid in Maine and around the nation will slow the U.S. economy in the long run. Education has taken a greater hit in budget cuts than in the past because of the severity of the current recession, Sims said. Layoffs of education personel mean less spending in the local economy, and larger classes and shorter hours in the classroom mean a less educated workforce for the future. Sims' lecture was sponsored by UNE's Center for Global Humanities.  Listen to the audio.

David P. Barash, Ph.D., professor of psychology and biology, University of Washington, will present two lectures at the University of New England on March 22 and 23, 2010.

"The Hare and the Tortoise: A General Biocultural Theory of Why People Have So Many Problems" is the topic of a Center for Global Humanities lecture at 6 p.m. March 22 in the WCHP Lecture Hall on UNE's Portland Campus.

"The Three Rs: Retaliation, Revenge, and Redirected Aggression. Some New/Old Insights into the Roots of Violence" is the topic of the UNE New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Studies' 2010 William D. Hamilton Memorial Lecture at 6:00 p.m. on March 23rd in the St. Francis Room of the Ketchum Library on UNE's Biddeford Campus.

Both lectures are free and open to the public.

The Hare and the Tortoise

Biologists and social scientists generally differ substantially in their perception of what it means to be human: the former typically emphasize the role of biology (not surprisingly), whereas the latter concentrate on culture; sometimes the disparity is so great that each side almost literally denies the significance of the other.  

Nearly everyone, however, agrees that the species Homo sapiens is unusual – if not unique - among animals, and also that we are in real trouble, in many respects.  

In his lecture, Professor Barash will argue that both sides are correct (insofar as we are the products of both biological and cultural evolution), and, moreover, that the species-wide difficulties faced by human beings are largely due to the growing disparity between these two factors: biological evolution (the tortoise) on the one hand, and cultural evolution (the hare) on the other.

The Three Rs

Violence is probably the single greatest threat to humanity, and yet its causes are largely unknown; or rather, as Mark Twain noted about how easy it is to stop smoking: its easy to explain violence — there are hundreds of explanations! 

An important and hitherto unappreciated cause of violence — in non-human animals as well as human beings — is what we might call "passing the pain along," the powerful tendency to respond to psychological and physical pain by hurting someone else. Moreover, this "someone else" isn't necessarily the original perpetrator. With distressing frequency, the victim is an innocent bystander, which only further perpetuates the cycle.  Dr. Barash will consider both proximate and ultimate causes of this phenomenon.

David P. Barash is professor of psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was one of the early contributors to the growth of sociobiology, and continues to conduct occasional field studies of animal behavior, especially the evolution and ecology of social systems among free-living animals. 

At present much of his attention is directed to understanding the evolutionary factors that influence human behavior. Since the early 1980s he has been active in researching, promoting, and practicing the field of peace studies.

He is the author and co-author of more than 20 books, including Strange Bedfellows: The Surprising Connection Between Sex, Evolution and Monogamy (2009, with Judith Eve Lipton), Natural Selections: Honest Liars, Selfish Altruists, and Other Realities of Evolution (2007), Madam Bovary’s Ovaries: A Darwinian Look at Literature (2005, with Nanelle R. Barash), Revolutionary Biology: The New Gene-Centered View of Life (2003), and The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People (2002, with Judith Eve Lipton) as well as more than 300 scientific papers and popular articles.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Michael Burman, Ph.D., is teaching a special summer course on behavioral and cognitive neuroscience as part of UNE’s larger efforts to establish an early college program for advanced high school students.  The course will provide a survey of the biological underpinnings of behavior with a focus on learning, motivation and emotion. Behavioral genetics, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter and brain systems will all be considered. A laboratory component will involve several CEN faculty and include observations of animal behavior, brain dissections, and computer demonstrations. 

More information can be found at the Early College Program website or by contacting Professor Burman (mburman@une.edu) or Program oordinator Audrey Gup-Mathews (agupmathews@une.edu)

University of New England Danielle N. Ripich, Ph.D., addressed the economic impact of higher education in the state of Maine as keynote speaker at the Portland Regional Chamber’s Eggs & Issues series at the Holiday Inn by the Bay March 4, 2010.

“The Economic Engine of Health Care Education” addressed the substantial economic and societal benefits of higher education in Maine. Dr. Ripich shared her personal insights and experience as the leader of Maine’s number-one educator of Maine’s health care work force.

The challenge of access to care in Maine’s rural areas, as well as meeting the demand for health professionals in the nation’s oldest state, were also discussed:  “In 2020, more than 1 in 5 Mainers will be 65 or older. This means we’ll need more people providing more care,”  she said.

Dr. Ripich added, “Health care and education are two important economic drivers in Maine.  Health care is one of Maine’s largest industries, employing over 100,000 people in 2009 and accounting for nearly 20 percent of employment and wages. Health care will account for one of every three new jobs in Maine over the next decade. It’s big business.”  

Citing the importance and success of collaboration in the state, Dr. Ripich stated, “UNE’s College of Pharmacy demonstrates that investment on the part of the university, community and the state can be a shared success."  This college is expected to have an economic impact of more than $100 million when it is fully enrolled in three years, and was awarded the 2009 Economic Achievement Award by the City of Portland last November in recognition of the economic vitality it brings to the region.

The audience of more than 200 business leaders and professionals in southern Maine engaged in an active dialog during the question-and-answer portion of the program.  Questions were posed about the need for a dental school and improved oral health access in the state, as well as finding ways to partner to expand clinical opportunities for the increasing number of applicants to UNE programs in great demand.  

Dr. Ripich closed by stating, “I believe that if we work together – businesses, education, and health care - we can ensure that Maine and its people are healthy, that our economy is strong and growing, and that our children will have bright futures here in our beautiful state.”

Who was the best hitting pitcher of all-time? Which movie stands above all others as the best baseball flick?

Those are just a couple of the questions University of New England Adjunct Faculty Member Josh Pahigian addresses in his latest book, The Seventh Inning Stretch: Baseball's Most Essential and Inane Debates.

Baseball fans are by nature philosophical creatures, prone to engaging fellow devotees of the Grand Old Game in such inherently subjective, often ridiculous, and thoroughly enjoyable debates as: Who are the best players left out of the Hall of Fame? Which team dressed its players in the worst uniforms? What was the most lopsided trade ever? 

Such questions fall into a wide range of categories and are pondered during pauses in the game, happy hours at the bar, and commercial breaks at home.

The Seventh Inning Stretch by Pahigian, author of seven books on baseball, addresses (and answers!) all of the most interesting baseball arguments that fans have been engaging in for decades, and even a few they may have never stopped to consider before. 

Pahigian is the author of 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out and The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip, as well as The Spring Training Handbook and The Red Sox in the Play-offs. He is co-author of The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip and Why I Hate the Yankees. He also writes the popular Travel Ten column on ESPN.com’s Sports Travel page.

He teaches writing in UNE Department of English and Language Studies.

University of New England Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies Timothy Ford, Ph.D., was conferred a concurrent professorship at Nanjing University (NJU), one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China.

The honor was presented by NJU Vice President Dr. Yi Pan in a ceremony held at NJU’s Gulou Campus, situated in the heart of Nanjing City, the capital of Jiangsu Province in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin.

Ford presented three lectures on NJU’s two major campuses during his visit in October on the topics “Burden of Waterborne Disease,” “Monitoring, Surveillance & Risk Assessment,” and “Control of Waterborne Disease."

Ford has had a longstanding partnership with NJU.  The concurrent professorship was awarded in recognition of Ford’s contributions to the university, and to encourage continued collaboration on environmental health sciences development.  Ford was academic chair of the International Workshop on Environmental Health and Pollution Control, held at NJU in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Yangtze River

In addition, Ford was a co-author with NJU Professor Shupei Cheng, director of NJU’s Institute for Environmental Health, on three articles appearing in a special edition of the journal Ecotoxicology that focused on the Yangtze River (Cheng S, Ford TE (Eds). Special Issue on Source Water Risk Control. Ecotoxicology 2009; Vol 18).

Remarking on his concurrent professorship, Ford states, "I was deeply honored to receive the concurrent professorship from Nanjing University.  This honor will help us to build a strong partnership between UNE and Nanjing University and also allow us to work together in building research and training programs that begin to address major environmental health challenges from pollution of the Yangtze River.  I have been delighted by the hospitality shown to me at Nanjing University and extremely impressed by the scholarship of both faculty and students.  I look forward to many years of close and productive collaboration."

Faculty and Student Exchanges

As an official faculty member of NJU, Ford has a closer research partnership with his colleagues to address such issues as Yangtze River pollution, drinking water security, and attracting international funding.  The partnership also presents many opportunities for faculty and student exchange between both UNE and Najing University. 

Cheng will visit UNE this July to discuss: 1) topics for the next International Workshop on Environmental Health and Pollution Control; 2) collaborations on environmental health risks from the use of the Yangtze River as a source of drinking water; 3) publication opportunities; and 4) a developing collaboration between UNE, Nanjing University and the University of Hong Kong. 

Professor Cheng will be accompanied by his wife, Yunzhong Shi, an English Associate Professor of Chinese Traditional Medicine at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.  Professor Cheng and Associate Professor Shi’s visit will be an opportunity to explore additional collaborations in many areas of shared interest, including watershed research, public health, literature and medicine.

Biddeford, Maine — The University of New England will host a lecture by Mihku Paul-Anderson - writer, visual artist and storyteller - entitled "Inconstant Territory: Using Native American Cultural Archives in Contemporary Creative Work” at noon on Feb. 24, 2010 in the St. Francis Room of the ketchum Library on the Biddeford Campus.

The lecture is free and open to the public. 

Mihku Paul-Anderson is a Malaseet Indian born and raised along the Penobscot river in Maine. A member of Kingsclear First Nation, N.B., Canada, Mihku received a traditional education from her grandfather, a Maliseet elder, and also attended white schools, including college, throughout Maine.

Currently finishing her MFA in creative writing, she also holds a B.A. in communication and human development. As a writer, visual artist, and storyteller, Paul-Anderson has a lifelong commitment to exploring all forms of creative expression. She is particularly interested in the interrelationships and effect of color, form, and pattern on the human psyche.

The lecture is hosted by UNE's Maine Women Writers Collection and Office of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Programs, and co-sponsored by the Department of English and Language Studies and Women's and Gender Studies Program.

Lunch will be provided

Biddeford, Maine — "The Three Rs: Retaliation, Revenge, and Redirected Aggression. Some New/Old Insights into the Roots of Violence" by David P. Barash, Ph.D., is the topic of the University of New England’s 2010 William D. Hamilton Memorial Lecture at 6:00 p.m. on March 23rd in the St. Francis Room of the Ketchum Library on UNE's Biddeford Campus.

The lecture, sponsored by the UNE's New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Studies, is free and open to the public.

Violence is probably the single greatest threat to humanity, and yet its causes are largely unknown; or rather, as Mark Twain noted about how easy it is to stop smoking: its easy to explain violence — there are hundreds of explanations! 

An important and hitherto unappreciated cause of violence — in non-human animals as well as human beings — is what we might call "passing the pain along," the powerful tendency to respond to psychological and physical pain by hurting someone else. Moreover, this "someone else" isn't necessarily the original perpetrator. With distressing frequency, the victim is an innocent bystander, which only further perpetuates the cycle.  Dr. Barash will consider both proximate and ultimate causes of this phenomenon.

David P. Barash is professor of psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was one of the early contributors to the growth of sociobiology, and continues to conduct occasional field studies of animal behavior, especially the evolution and ecology of social systems among free-living animals. 

At present much of his attention is directed to understanding the evolutionary factors that influence human behavior. Since the early 1980s he has been active in researching, promoting, and practicing the field of peace studies.

He is the author and co-author of more than 20 books, including Strange Bedfellows: The Surprising Connection Between Sex, Evolution and Monogamy (2009, with Judith Eve Lipton), Natural Selections: Honest Liars, Selfish Altruists, and Other Realities of Evolution (2007), Madam Bovary’s Ovaries: A Darwinian Look at Literature (2005, with Nanelle R. Barash), Revolutionary Biology: The New Gene-Centered View of Life (2003), and The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People (2002, with Judith Eve Lipton) as well as more than 300 scientific papers and popular articles.