Page 2 - The Bell Tower - Fall 2014

A letter from our President
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I introduce this issue of The Bell Tower with a quote by librettist and theatrical producer Oscar Hammerstein II, “A bell’s not a bell ‘til you ring it...,” and boy did we ring the bell this year.
The sound of a school bell is a joyful noise, and with your help, we heard La Cloche de Fer several times over the past two years from our special corner at the top of Maine, and now this symbol of learning and growth rests in a beautiful gazebo on our campus quad. Yet while The Old Iron Bell may rest, our alumni can feel a sense of pride that they were the ones to embrace this “mystery bell” as a rallying point for a comprehensive capital and endow- ment fundraising campaign that surpassed expectations.
Surpassing expectations may even be the theme of this issue of The Bell Tower. Along with the generous support of many of our alums, friends, and Foundation members, we had record breaking donations with the fundraising campaign. The estate of Esther
C. Labbee (1949) provided more than $300,000, and ten months later, Irving Woodlands, LLC broke all precedents with a pledge of $1 million. By the time the campaign ended, it had raised an impressive $5.7 million.
Along with bringing in almost twice as much as the original $3 million we had planned to raise, UMFK bucked another trend of falling enrollments occurring across the nation. UMFK has risen to the forefront of innovative thinking for rural colleges. While other campuses are losing students, UMFK is drawing students in record numbers, growing 22% in the past four years and surpassing UMPI in total enrollment.
Students are coming to UMFK in record numbers from across the nation and around the world to advance their medical education in our accelerated nursing programs. Our sports programs draw students from throughout Maine, the rest of the country and overseas. Increasing numbers of students enrolled in our Rural U program of early college opportunities. Whether through tradi- tional classes or via the digital magic of web-based learning, they all know they will receive a solid education and UMFK’s personal attention. And word has spread that when students graduate, they have mastered skills and knowledge that surpassed their expecta- tions of a few short years before.
We feature a story about one of those students -- a young lady from my own special second home, the Marshall Islands. In this issue of The Bell Tower, you will discover the story of a new baby with the unlikely name of “Maine Pine.” Her birth speaks well to how our faculty and staff provide support for our students as they face the challenges and triumphs of student life.
President Wilson G. Hess and Dr. David Hackett Fischer at Commencement in May.
You will read about a rising sports star, Kimika Forbes, who took soccer skills that she honed at UMFK through multiple USCAA National Soccer Championships to a new height. Kimika caught the world’s attention while playing goalie for her nation’s team and singlehandedly bringing the juggernaut of the US Women’s soccer team to a grinding halt against Trinidad and Tobago during World Cup competition. Sportswriters described Kimika as “a fortress,” an athlete who grew into her skill while playing at a campus named for a fort.
You also will read
. . . how UMFK’s volleyball program has drawn California Dream girls to Maine and become one of the most competitive programs in the northeast;
. . . about the Blake Gallery, which has brought acclaim to local artists as well as drawing work from nationally renowned creators; . . . and about the story of former UMFK faculty member, Dr. Mark Richard, whose research and analysis of the tactics of the Ku Klux Klan in Maine and its impact on Acadians provided a special segue into a celebration of all things Acadian at the World Acadian Congress last August.
We have high expectations every semester. That’s the nature of education. Yet there are some years that the accomplishments of alumni, friends, current students, and faculty stand out more than others. The magazine you hold in your hands is a small narrative of one of those years.
Wilson G. Hess, UMFK President