ORONO — Sen. Margaret Chase Smith will be the guest of honor when the University of Maine dedicates the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy at a noon luncheon Thursday, July 26, at the Black Bear Inn at 3 Godfrey Drive.

Welcoming remarks will be made by Dale W. Lick, university president, and Chancellor Robert L. Woodbury. At 1 p.m., Steven C. Ballard, center director, will speak briefly about the center and its goals.

Legislators, state officials, university system trustees, faculty and administrators are among the 175 people expected to attend.

The center was established in 1989 and was renamed after Smith in May. The center is located in Coburn Hall on the university campus.

Ballard’s comments will focus on the center’s role in public policy analysis and development and the opportunities it offers for cooperation and partnerships between the university, state government, business and civic leaders in the state.