Planetarium shows

ORONO – To end the school year and the month of May, the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium will hold public viewings of two popular star shows.

The X-Tra Terrestrial Files is set for 7 p.m. Fridays. Have you ever wondered if there is intelligent life on other planets? This show, designed for viewers ages 9 to adult, explores those questions. How many of those planets might be like ours? Friendly investigators Gully and Boulder uncover a variety of mysteries in the X-Tra Terrestrial Files.

Ring World at 2 p.m. Sundays through May 22 features NASA’s most sophisticated planetary probe, Cassini-Huygens and its target Saturn.

Images are now coming from the ringed planet’s family of moons and rings and they can be enjoyed best on the dome at the University of Maine.

Families and visitors of all ages will enjoy a final look at the spring constellations and close-up explorations of alien environments. The cost is $3 per person.

There is no show on May 29, Memorial Day weekend.

Information on current showings is available at umainesky.com and at 581-1341.

Associate provost at UM

ORONO – Susan Hunter, a University of Maine zoology faculty member since 1991, has been named associate provost for undergraduate education at UMaine. In her new role, Hunter will oversee academic and related programs that focus on undergraduates. She will succeed Douglas Gelinas, who is retiring after 37 years of service to UMaine.

“Sue is a highly respected leader in our academic community,” said UMaine President Robert Kennedy. “Undergraduate education is at the core of everything we do at UMaine, and I am confident that it will continue to be a real source of pride under Sue’s leadership.”

Hunter is a Bethlehem, Pa., native who earned a doctorate in physiology from Pennsylvania State University in 1980. After post-graduate study at Case Western Reserve University, she joined the UMaine zoology faculty. She has served as chairman of UMaine’s Department of Biological Sciences and as assistant director for life sciences in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture.

“It’s an honor to be chosen for the position that Doug Gelinas so capably filled,” Hunter said. “Undergraduate education is a cornerstone of the University of Maine and I am looking forward to working with the very talented professionals that direct all aspects of the undergraduate experience.”

In her new role, Hunter will have overall responsibility for a number of critical areas, including undergraduate admissions, student records, student financial aid, the Academic Career Exploration Program, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Institutional Studies and Technical Support Services, International Programs, and the First-Year Academy.

Eastern Maine Community College

BANGOR – Eastern Maine Community College will hold two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 14.

Dr. John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System, will speak at the 9:30 a.m.

Gov. John Baldacci will speak during the ceremony at 1 p.m.

UMaine summer sessions

ORONO – While thousands of graduating college students have moved off campus at the University of Maine, thousands are flocking back to classrooms, summer camps and field seminars as part of the UMaine’s ambitious summer session.

Summer programs involve all of the university’s colleges and academic disciplines, from arts and humanities to business, science and technology. Traditional and nontraditional students of all ages pursue extra credit, bolster professional or technical career interests, or take a class just for fun in a subject they’ve always wanted to explore.

“We have one of the most comprehensive summer programs in the country,” said Robert White, dean of the Division of Lifelong Learning. More than 500 courses are available on the Orono campus, at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, online with a video-streaming option and on television, beamed to more than 100 centers and sites in Maine.

While 79 percent of summer session registrants are degree-seeking students at UMaine, 21 percent are from other colleges and universities throughout the country, with many looking for professional development and career advancement.

Between classes, summer camps and conferences, the Orono campus bustles with as many as 20,000 students and conference visitors. More than 5,200 students have registered for summer session so far – a number White expects to rise above last year’s record-setting 7,200 registrations.

“All UMaine credit-bearing courses are offered in 18 different calendar sessions beginning the Monday after commencement through August,” he said.

Morning, afternoon and evening classes are offered in sessions of three, five, six and eight weeks, staggered from May 9 to Aug. 19.

Educational opportunities run the gamut from summer camps for young people in sports, adventure, arts, music and engineering to professional development courses for school teachers and specialty workshops and seminars in ecology, natural history and history-related arts. Some of the learning takes place on the coast, for instance, at the Darling Marine Center, the university’s marine laboratory near the mouth of the Damariscotta Estuary or the Humboldt Field Research Institute in Steuben.

Graduate and undergraduate courses are available.

Information about the UM summer programs is available by calling the division in Chadbourne Hall at 581-3143, or visit http://dll.umaine.edu/summer. Additional information also is available through the division on such things as career interest, research, study skills, tutoring information, time management, and academic and educational counseling.

New England School of Communications

BANGOR – It pays to be prompt. In fact, that attribute resulted in a $1,000 scholarship for New England School of Communications first-year student Jennifer Stacey Donahue of Blaine.

The scholarship funding is supplied by Nelnet, a lending corporation, and by NESCom as a means of raising awareness of the need to apply for financial aid on time. Nelnet provided $500 and NESCom also provided $500.

Donahue was selected from a list of eligible students who met financial deadlines on time. In addition to her inclination for promptness, she also exhibited outstanding attributes in the areas of scholastic achievement and community service.

In her first semester at NESCom Donahue attained high honors with a grade point average of 3.5.

When she graduated from Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill, she was in the top 10 of her class academically. She also had attained a nurse’s aide certification while attending night classes at Central Aroostook and completed a college level English writing course in the Upward Bound Program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Among her community service efforts were coaching cheerleading at the elementary school level, recruiting for Upward Bound and interning in the public relations office at Aroostook Medical Center. She also participated in the Little Miss/Miss Mars Hill pageant in 2004 with a vocal solo.

At NESCom Jennifer is seeking a bachelor’s degree in communications with an accent on public relations and advertising, or Web page design. She is the daughter of Stephen and Laurin Donahue of Blaine.