ORONO – A series of four lectures will help highlight a new University of Maine project aimed at studying the university’s historic campus and planning for its preservation.

Known as the University of Maine Campus Heritage Project, the initiative is supported by funding from the Getty Grant program. The grant was secured in 2004 by UMaine history professor Martha McNamara, with support from UMaine’s Office of Development and the university administration.

All lectures are free and will begin at 5 p.m. after a reception that begins at 4:30 p.m. at Bodwell Lounge, Maine Center for the Arts. Lectures are as follows:

. The Economics of Historic Preservation, Thursday, Feb. 24, by Donovan Rypkema, of Place Economics, a consulting firm in real estate and economic development services for state and local governments and nonprofit organizations.

. Giving Preservation a History, Wednesday, March 23, by Max Page, assistant professor of Architecture and History at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

. Social Connections as Guides for Preserving Cultural Landscapes, Thursday, April 7, by Paul Groth, professor of U.S. Cultural Landscape History at the University of California, Berkeley.

. The University of Maine’s Historic Preservation Master Plan, Thursday, April 21, by Malcolm Collins, Professor Martha McNamara, Jennifer Jones and Sara Martin of the Campus Heritage Project Team.