Maine’s congressional delegation greets NEW Leadership students

We are celebrating the ninth annual Maine NEW (National Education for Women) Leadership program!

Maine’s congressional delegation welcomed the students to the 2017 with these video addresses:

Senator Susan Collins
Senator Angus King
Representative Chellie Pingree
Representative Bruce Poliquin

A group of 28 outstanding college students from 14 institutions around the state took part in the residential conference to strengthen political skills such as public speaking, networking, advocating for a cause and running for public office.  These future leaders participated in workshops hosted by leading figures from politics, business and education. The program ran June 1–6 at the UMaine campus.

Each year the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center hosts this six-day undergraduate student leadership program for women to educate, engage and empower young leaders. For more information visit https://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/for-students/maine-new-leadership/.

Maine Policy Scholar from UMPI in the news

Idella Thompson, Maine Policy Scholar at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, is featured in a WAGM News video and article for her work on researching protection from abuse orders in Maine. Thompson was a Policy Scholar during 2016-17. After presenting her final project to a panel of Maine policy makers she submitted her report and recommendations to Governor LePage for his consideration. Idella’s final memo, Protection from Abuse Orders in Maine, along with those of other Maine Policy Scholars, can be found on our website.

Watch the news video:
http://www.wagmtv.com/content/news/One-UMPI-Students-Policy-Ends-Up-on-the-Governors-Desk-426772091.html

The Maine Policy Scholars program is an academic year program in which one student from each of the seven University of Maine campuses, working closely with a faculty advisor, researches an issue of public policy relevance to Maine and presents a final report in a memo to the governor or legislature. The Maine Policy Scholars program is managed by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine in partnership with the Maine Community Foundation.

Maine Policy Scholars recognized in BDN

The Bangor Daily News highlighted the year-end presentations of the seven students in the Maine Policy Scholars program. The program is funded by the Maine Community Foundation and provides research scholarships to one student per year from each of the seven University of Maine System campuses. The student works with a faculty advisor to pursue research on a topic of public policy relevance to the state of Maine. Each April the seven students present their work to a panel of current and former policymakers. The program is administered by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

See the article in the BDN Weekly here:
http://the-weekly.com/2017/05/26/news/2017-maine-policy-scholars-honored/

 

NEW Leadership program to be held June 1–6

Maine NEW (National Education for Women) Leadership will run Thursday through Tuesday, June 1–6 at the Orono campus with trips to Augusta and Skowhegan. The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center hosts this annual six-day undergraduate student leadership program for women to educate, engage and empower young leaders. Danielle Conway, dean and professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the networking and reception dinner Friday, June 2 at Wells Conference Center.

A group of 28 college students with a variety of majors from 14 institutions around the state, including UMaine, will take part in the ninth residential conference that aims to strengthen political skills and build civic engagement. Throughout the program, students will participate in workshops hosted by women leaders from politics, business and education. The students will learn skills including public speaking, networking and how to advocate for a cause and run for public office.

Scheduled speakers include Meredith Strang Burgess and Jane Knapp Sexton, former legislators and UMaine alumnae; Maulian Dana Smith, a member of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Council and former Margaret Chase Smith Policy Scholar at UMaine; Jeanne Hulit, former acting administrator and regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration; and Emily Haddad, dean of the UMaine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

As part of the program, students develop a political action project surrounding topics presented before the Maine Legislature. Participants are given a bill to research before holding mock opposing press conferences and a legislative committee hearing. This year’s project will focus on LD 49, An Act to Improve Science and Engineering Education for Maine Students.

During the program, participants will travel to the State House in Augusta, where they will observe the Senate and House in session, as well as meet State Treasurer Terry Hayes and legislative leaders. They will visit the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan for a tour of Smith’s home and an informal dinner with higher education leaders from their campuses.

Maine NEW Leadership was developed to address the under-representation of women in politics and is designed to provide students with skills to help them become the next generation of effective civic and political leaders. It is Maine’s only statewide leadership program for undergraduate women.

More information about Maine NEW Leadership is available online at https://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/for-students/maine-new-leadership/ or by contacting Mary Cathcart at 581.1539, mary.cathcart@maine.edu; or Susan D’Angelo at 581.1648, susan.dangelo@maine.edu.

Trostel’s study on retirement savings is cited by AARP

Professor Philip Trostel’s recent work on the benefits of saving for retirement has been cited by the Nevada AARP, illustrating that Nevada could save taxpayers $24,048,204 over the next 15 years by helping people save more of their own money for retirement.
Read the article: New Study: Nevada Could Save Over $24 Million by Helping Workers Save for Retirement

Trostel’s work was also cited in a factsheet which outlines fiscal savings for all states by helping people increase their own retirement savings. Research shows that when individuals save for retirement they are less likely to rely on public assistance programs later in life. According to the AARP, more than 30 states are considering creating retirement plans for private-sector workers whose employers do not already offer one.
Find the AARP factsheet: Nevada Could Save $24 Million by Helping People Save for Their Own Retirement

Summer Interns Add Value to Municipal Governments

An article by Stephanie Bouchard in the April Maine Townsman highlights the important role summer interns can play in Maine municipal governments. Many municipal officials see internships as a way to educate and inform the next generation of workers as to the value of their work,  while making an investment in their town’s future. Student interns gain valuable professional experience and a window into a type of career that few students get to experience. The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center administers the Maine Government Summer Internship Program, which places college students in summer government internships. Since 1967 these have been internships in state government, but over the past few years the program has expanded into municipal governments. This summer there will be five interns in the program who will be placed in municipal positions, out of 37 total. Each year as the program becomes better known it is able to offer a few more municipal internships.

Read the Maine Townsman article here: “Summer interns can fill important roles, now and into the future.”

Visit the internship section of our website for more information on the Maine Government Summer Internship Program.

Maine New Leadership Networking Reception & Dinner

On June 2, 2017, the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center will host the 9th annual Maine NEW Leadership Networking Reception & Dinner at the Wells Conference Center, University of Maine, Orono. Maine NEW Leadership is a 6-day, nonpartisan public leadership education program provided at no cost to 28 college students from a variety of backgrounds, ages, races, and majors from throughout Maine. Keynote speaker is Danielle M. Conway, Dean and Professor at the University of Maine School of Law.

The event is sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank with additional support from the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

****RSVP Required: Please contact Mary Cathcart or Susan D’Angelo at 207.581.1648 by May 19th for more information!****

Public Affairs Scholar Presents Her Research

Sierra Kuun,  2016-17 recipient of the Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Scholarship, presented her research on April 24th at the University of Maine Student Research Symposium. Kuun is a fourth-year chemical engineering major at UMaine. Her project was entitled A Study of Undergraduate Perception and Behavior Toward On-Campus Composting.  Kuun carried out her research through the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Her research project has focused on reduction of household solid waste among students. She implemented a pilot program at UMaine to give students the opportunity to divert food scraps, and she then measured their responses to the program in behavior and attitude. She presented her poster at the undergraduate research symposium.

More information on the Public Affairs Scholarship Program is available under the Student Programs section of our website.

2017 Maine Policy Scholars Make Final Presentations

On Friday, April 28, the students in the Maine Policy Scholars program delivered their year-end research presentations. Over the academic year, seven undergraduates representing each of the seven campuses of the University of Maine System have conducted research on a topic of personal interest and policy relevance to Maine. The students choose their own policy topic and work throughout the year with a faculty advisor and community mentor to research the topic. All students and advisors meet several times during the year to collaborate on ideas and learn from each other. Each spring students present their work in the form of a policy memo to the governor or legislator and give an oral presentation to the group.

This year’s scholars were:
Emma-Marie Banks from University of Maine at Augusta,
Hannah Cole from University of Maine,
Shawn Cyr from University of Maine at Fort Kent,
Alyssa de Silva from University of Maine at Machias,
Julianne McLaughlin from University of Maine at Farmington,
Idella Thompson from University of Maine at Presque Isle, and
Elizabeth Wilson from University of Southern Maine.

The Maine Policy Scholars Program was conceived by the late Peter Cox as a means of engaging students in the University of Maine System in the public policy process. It is administered by the Maine Community Foundation and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and guided by the Honorable Libby Mitchell.

More information can be found at https://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/for-students/maine-policy-scholars/

Maine Policy Review author interviewed by Maine Public

Ron Deprez, author of “Population Health Improvement: It’s Up to the Community—Not the Healthcare System,” which appeared in the last issue of Maine Policy Review, discussed his research with Irwin Gratz of Maine Public. You can listen an excerpt of the interview here.

Deprez, president of the Public Health Research Institute (Deer Isle, Maine) and an associate research professor at the University of New England, also took part in a Maine Calling program on population health, along with Barbara Leonard, president and CEO of the Maine Health Access Foundation, and  Dr. Michael Duffy, primary care medical director for Mercy Hospital.

The full article, “Population Health Improvement: It’s Up to the Community—Not the Healthcare System,” is available on our Digital Commons site.