ORONO – University of Maine President Peter Hoff will lead more than 300 UMaine employees who will volunteer their time to help first-year students move into residence halls Friday, Aug. 30.

The extensive welcoming program, known as “The Maine Hello,” has grown in employee participation over the past several years and is part of a series of events that make up Fall Welcome Weekend at UMaine.

“This is a very important and exciting time for these students and their families,” said Robert Dana, UMaine’s dean of students. “We start by lending a hand at the front door and continue all the way through Monday with programs and activities that help the students get acclimated to campus life while preparing to begin classes on Tuesday.”

UMaine expects to enroll more than 1,800 first-year students for the fall semester, making the class of 2006 the largest incoming class in many years. Some 11,000 students overall will be enrolled when classes begin for the semester on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

“Students and families always seem genuinely pleased and frequently surprised when a professor, a staff member or even the president is there to meet them and help out at the residence halls,” Dana said.