Ireland’s National Treasure to perform at UMPI
UMPI BRIEFS
PRESQUE ISLE — Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Robbie O’Connell will be making an appearance in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Auditorium on Sunday, March 14, at 2 p.m.
Ireland’s top music magazine, Hot Press, has called O’Connell “a national treasure” and “a man blessed with an enviable turn of phrase and a gift for melody bestowed on only the few.”
O’Connell’s performance at UMPI will include traditional Irish songs and stories.
O’Connell was born in Waterford, Ireland, and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, where his parents had a small hotel, according to his Web site. He began to play guitar and sing when he was 13 and soon became a regular performer at the hotel’s weekly folk concerts. He spent a year touring the folk clubs in England before enrolling at University College Dublin where he studied literature and philosophy. During school vacations, he worked as an Irish entertainer in the U.S.A.
In 1977, he joined the Clancy Brothers, with whom he has recorded three albums. Since then, O’Connell has performed both solo and as a member of a number of groups, including Moloney O’Connell & Keane; The Green Fields of America; Clancy, O’Connell & Clancy; and Aengus.
O’Connell has recorded 14 albums for such labels as RCA, Vanguard and Green Linnet and has performed on an additional seven compilation albums.
Tickets for the show are $10 for adults, $2 for students and free for UMPI, NMCC and SAGE students with proper ID. For more information about this concert, contact Carol Ayoob, UMPI director of cultural affairs, at 768-9462 or carol.ayoob@umpi.edu. For more information about Robbie O’Connell, visit his Web site at www.robbieoconnell.com.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host its Annual Job & Career Fair in the Campus Center from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17. Thirty businesses and governmental agencies from the region and across the state are expected to participate in the event.
“The Job & Career Fair provides a unique opportunity for our students and the public to network with employers, discover opportunities and to gain professional employment,” Barbara DeVaney, director of Career Services, said.
The Job Fair is part of a concerted effort to connect employers with University students and to provide the opportunity for them to meet with these prospective employees. Students will be able to learn more about employment possibilities and employer expectations. Most of the employers have or expect to have job openings for full-time, part-time or summer employment and some employers will provide the opportunity for on-site preliminary interviews.
The University also invites the general public, students from Northern Maine Community College and area high school seniors to attend. The Fair, which is free to employers and attendees, is sponsored by the Senior Class and the Career Services Center.
While the primary purpose of the UM-Presque Isle Job & Career Fair is to promote employment opportunities, and facilitate the screening and eventual hiring of qualified employees, an additional benefit for employers is the opportunity to promote their products and services. Most employers have ‘giveaways’ and donate many items for door prizes that makes the Job Fair a festive and fun event.
For more information about this event, contact Career Services at 768-9750 or e-mail barbara.devaney@umpi.edu.
“Local Living Economies: Green, Fair and Fun” is the topic of a free public lecture presented by nationally-known entrepreneur and activist Judy Wicks on Wednesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center, University of Maine at Presque Isle. She will discuss the growing localization movement — transitioning from an economy dominated by multinationals and long-distance shipping to local economies that produce basic needs at home while working in harmony with nature. The public is invited to attend this UMPI Distinguished Lecturer Series talk, as well as a reception with Wicks which will be co-hosted by Women, Work and Community Center in the Alumni Room, Campus Center, immediately following the lecture. For information, call 768-9452 or e-mail susan.pinette@umpi.edu.
Staff and students who oversee the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s radio station, WUPI (92.1 FM), and the campus newspaper, the University Times, cordially invite members of the community to the grand opening of WUPI’s new studio location. The Open House will be held from 3-7 p.m., Thursday, March 11, in Rooms 102 and 109, Normal Hall, at UMPI. Those who attend can enjoy food, drinks, activities, prizes, and may even have the chance to be on a live radio broadcast. For information, contact Assistant Professor of English Dr. Jacqui Lowman at 768-9745 or jacquelyn.lowman@umpi.edu.
HOULTON — A dedication and open house for a new student center designed specifically for Native American students will be held on Wednesday, March 17, at the Houlton Higher Education Center, 18 Military St., Houlton. This Native Education Center and a similar center located on the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus were established to better serve Native American students and community members as part of a major grant to UMPI, in January 2009, from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. The University’s grant program, known as Project Compass, is coordinated by Mr. Eddy Ruiz, Project Compass director of atudent auccess and innovative education for both the Presque Isle and Houlton locations.
Dedication activities begin outside the center at 9 a.m., as Ms. Danya Boyce of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians will oversee native cultural ceremonies that include cleansing/purification of the building, ceremonial prayers and blessing of the site. Following a 9:45 a.m. dedication by UMPI President Don Zillman, all are invited to a day-long open house with refreshments and facility tours. UMPI will provide transportation by van from the University to the dedication for those who wish to attend.
FMI, please call 768-9792 or e-mail myrth.schwartz@umpi.edu.
