ORONO – Four lectures will highlight the educational component of a new University of Maine project aimed at studying the university’s historic campus and planning for its preservation.

The University of Maine Campus Heritage project is supported by funding from the Getty Grant program. The grant was secured last year by history professor Martha McNamara, with support from the university.

The project has two goals. The first is to create an Historic Preservation Master Plan, which will be integrated into the university’s development of a comprehensive master plan.

“Through this process, we will be positioned to create a model for combining historic preservation with campus planning,” said Janet Waldron, vice president for finance and administration. “The UMaine campus is ideally suited for this type of effort because of its natural beauty, historic significance and the fact that much of its original core remains intact.”

The second goal is to educate the UMaine community and others about the value of campus historic preservation. This component includes training staff and student interns and the lectures featuring preservationists.

The lecture series schedule is:

. Thursday, Feb. 24, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. lecture, Bodwell Lounge, Maine Center for the Arts. “The Economics of Historic Preservation” with Donovan Rypkema of Place Economics, a consulting firm for state and local governments and non-profit organizations

. Wednesday, March 23, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. lecture, Bodwell Lounge, Maine Center for the Arts. “Giving Preservation a History” with Max Page, assistant professor of architecture and history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

. Thursday, April 7, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. lecture, Bodwell Lounge, Maine Center for the Arts. “Social Connections as Guides for Preserving Cultural Landscapes” with Paul Groth, professor of U.S. cultural landscape history at the University of California, Berkeley.

. Thursday, April 21, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. lecture, Bodwell Lounge, Maine Center for the Arts. “The University of Maine’s Historic Preservation Master Plan” with Malcolm Collins, professor Martha McNamara, Jennifer Jones and Sara Martin of the Campus Heritage Project Team.

The lectures are free and open to the public.