Outreach and Collaborations
Distinguished Maine Policy Fellows
Distinguished Maine Policy Fellows (DMPF) are individuals with past or current careers as policy makers in Maine – people of distinguished status and extensive experience. Each fellow comes to campus as our guest for a day, teaches an undergraduate class, speaks with faculty about research and public policy, and meets with UMaine administration and graduate students.
Contact: um.policycenter@maine.edu
Faculty Fellows Program
The Faculty Fellows Program creates a network of trained faculty leaders who can communicate the importance of the University of Maine System and its research and education to Maine citizens and organizations. The fellows serve as ambassadors to the legislature, business, and the wider community. The faculty are selected from University of Maine System campuses and are trained in core leadership and communication skills.
Contact: um.policycenter@maine.edu or Jonathan Rubin, rubinj@maine.edu.
Senator Margaret Chase Smith Lectureship on Public Affairs
Speakers of national status in the field of civic and public life are invited to campus to deliver a lecture to the UMaine community. This lecture series was endowed in 1989 by the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation in honor of Senator Smith’s contributions to Maine and the nation. Throughout her life Senator Smith maintained at the core of her approach to public service a focus on the importance of – and the connection between – government and citizens. In her own leadership, she exemplified the qualities of honesty, frankness, dignity and firm determination. She devoted her post-Senate years to engaging young people and to encouraging them to fulfill their obligations of citizenship. Senator Smith lived by what she considered to be the basic principles of American democracy: the importance of courageous and engaged leadership; the need to carefully assess government policies; the responsibility to participate; the right to criticize; and the right to independent thought.
Margaret Chase Smith Library
The Margaret Chase Smith Library is an archive, museum, educational facility, and public policy center devoted to preserving the legacy of Margaret Chase Smith, promoting research into American political history, advancing the ideals of public service, and exploring issues of civic engagement. The library houses the political papers, documents, honors, photographs, and memorabilia stemming from the thirty-two year congressional career of former United States Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center
The mission of the Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center (TIDC) is to develop innovative, sustainable, next-generation solutions to improve the durability and extend the lifespan of existing and new transportation assets in New England and beyond. We are committed to making dramatic impacts in the cost-effectiveness of transportation infrastructure through transformative research, education, outreach, workforce development, and technology transfer through four research thrust areas; 1) monitoring and assessment, 2) new materials for longevity and constructability, 3) new systems for longevity and constructability, and 4) connectivity for enhanced asset and performance management.
Consortium for Aging Policy Research and Analysis
CAPRA is led by three co-directors: Mary Lou Ciolfi, JD, MS and Patricia Oh, Ph.D., MSW from the Center on Aging, and Kimberly Snow, MHSA from the Catherine Cutler Institute. All three women have been deeply involved in aging-related policy in Maine and in national projects. As project needs require, the co-directors will partner with policy experts at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center to explore the intersections of age with other policy sectors such as housing, transportation, healthcare, law, age-friendly initiatives, elder abuse, workforce, the environment.