Three-day Project Compass event

by Staff Star Herald
17 years ago
Event to showcase milestones reached, new efforts underway

    PRESQUE ISLE — Officials from around the County, the State of Maine and New England will gather at the University of Maine at Presque Isle from Wednesday, Sept. 30 to Friday, Oct. 2, for a three-day meeting centered on the University’s Project Compass grant program and its efforts to develop and improve culturally responsive strategies for its Native American students.     The event will feature a keynote address by John Bear Mitchell, the blessing of a new student center designed specifically for Native American students and a gathering of educators and community leaders who will determine next steps for the grant program.
    The University was awarded a major grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation in January to better serve its Native American student population as well as the region’s Native American community. The award made the University eligible to receive up to $750,000 over the next four years to put toward this effort. The University was one of four universities in New England chosen to participate in Project Compass, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s multi-year initiative aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented populations graduating with four-year degrees. Project Compass is administered by the foundation’s intermediary, the New England Resource Center for Higher Education.
    Throughout this process, the University has been working closely with the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.
    Representatives from these Native American groups — as well as officials including Glenn Gabbard, the associate director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education and the director of Project Compass — will join with community leaders and area educators for a special dinner on Wednesday, Sept. 30, being held to kick off the three-day event.
    On Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 a.m., officials will host a dedication ceremony for the new Native American Educational and Services Center, located in 311 South Hall. Following the Blessing of the Center, meeting attendees will spend the rest of the day Thursday and all day Friday on a major strategic planning effort that will help to determine the work that the program will focus on in the coming years.
    FMI, please contact Myrth Schwartz at 768-9792.