University of New England (United States)

University of New England

Former names	College Séraphique (1939–1952) St. Francis College (1952–1978)
Motto	Innovation for a Healthier Planet
Type	Private, non-profit
Established	1831 (1831) [1]
President	Danielle N. Ripich
Provost	James J. Koelbl
Academic staff	254 full-time[2] 198 part time
Administrative staff	495
Students	12,245[3]
Undergraduates	5781
Postgraduates	3070
Doctoral students	1520
Location	Biddeford, Maine Portland, Maine Tangier, Morocco,  United States 43°27′30″N 70°23′15″W / 43.45833°N 70.38750°W / 43.45833; -70.38750Coordinates: 43°27′30″N 70°23′15″W / 43.45833°N 70.38750°W / 43.45833; -70.38750
Campus	Rural
Colors	Blue and white
Athletics	NCAA Division III Commonwealth Coast Conference and ECAC
Nickname	Nor'easters
Affiliations	NEASC (accreditation) [4]
Website	une.edu

The University of New England (UNE) is a private, coeducational university with campuses in Biddeford, Maine, Portland, Maine, USA, and a campus in Tangier, Morocco. The Biddeford campus sits on 540 acres, the Portland campus on 40 acres, and the Tangier Campus on 3.7 acres. During the 2014-2015 academic year 10,371 students were enrolled in UNE's campus-based and online programs.

UNE's institutional history dates to 1831, when Westbrook Seminary opened on what is now the UNE Portland Campus. The UNE Biddeford Campus was founded in 1939 when College Séraphique opened as a high school and junior college for boys of Quebecois decent. In 1952, that institution became a four-year liberal arts college named St. Francis College. In 1978, St. Francis College merged with the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine to become the University of New England. In 1996, the University of New England merged with Westbrook College.^[5] In 2014, UNE opened a campus in Tangier, Morocco.^[6]

UNE is the largest private university in the state of Maine^[7] and the largest educator of healthcare professionals for Maine.^[8] It is organized into six colleges that combine to offer more than 70 undergraduate, graduate, online, and professional degrees. Known predominantly for its programs in the sciences and health sciences, UNE also offers degrees in the marine sciences, environmental science, business, education, the humanities, and many other subjects. Its College of Osteopathic Medicine is the only medical school in Maine, and its College of Dental Medicine is the only dental college in northern New England.

History

In 1939, a boys-only high school and junior college called the College Séraphique was founded in Biddeford by Father Decary and the Franciscan friar of St. Andre's parish.^[9]

In 1952, the school changed its name to St. Francis College and began granting bachelor's degrees with state approval in 1953.^[9] The high school program was phased out by 1961, and the college was first accredited in 1966.^[9][10]

The school became co-educational for the first time in 1967 and the Franciscans withdrew from the administration of the college in 1974.^[9]

To survive dropping enrollment, St. Francis College entered into an agreement with the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine to establish the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine on the same campus, and in 1978 the two merged under the new name of the "University of New England".^[9] In 1996, Westbrook College merged with the University of New England. The merger took place under the terms of the original 1831 Westbrook charter, and the combined institutions became Westbrook College before changing the name back to the University of New England.^[11] The campus of the former Westbrook College is now known as the UNE Portland Campus.

In December 2010, the university received the largest gift in its history -- $10 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation to build the Harold Alfond Forum on the Biddeford Campus, and to support interprofessional healthcare workforce education.

The Alfond Forum, which opened fall 2012, includes a 105,000-square-foot (9,800 m²) athletics complex featuring an ice hockey rink with 900 seats; a basketball court with 1,200 seats; classroom space; a fitness center; and multi-purpose indoor practice courts that can also be used for performances and other events, with a combined seating capacity of 3,000.

This provides the largest gathering space on both the Biddeford and Portland campuses. The complex is located between UNE's new synthetic blue turf field and Sokokis Hall.

In March 2014, UNE launched its $60M "Moving Forward Campaign," the largest in UNE history.^[12]

As of 2016 UNE is a sponsor of IR Tanger, a Moroccan soccer team.

Campuses

UNE offers three distinct campuses that provide students with a range of learning environments. The university’s two campuses in coastal Maine, USA, house undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, while its campus in Tangier, Morocco provides an innovative semester-abroad program delivered to UNE students at no extra cost.^[13]

Biddeford Campus

UNE Biddeford Campus

The Biddeford Campus covers 539 acres (218 ha), with 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of ocean frontage where the Saco River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The 26 buildings on the campus include the Harold Alfond Center for Health Sciences, the Pickus Center for Biomedical Research, and the Marine Science Center.

The Harold Alfond Center for Health Sciences houses Maine's only medical school: The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.^[14]

UNE's Biddeford Campus is also home to the George and Barbara Bush Center, which houses material anchoring the Bush legacy in Maine, including memorabilia on loan from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A & M University. The Center includes a replica of the Oval Office during Bush’s term in the White House and a statue of the former president. Each year, UNE hosts an annual lecture at its Biddeford Campus that is attended by the former president and his family.^[15]

The UNE Biddeford Campus also includes the Harold Alfond Forum, which offers 105,000 square-feet (9,800 m2) of athletic and learning space, including: an NHL-size ice hockey rink with 900 seats, a basketball court with 1,200 seats, classrooms, a fitness center, and multi-purpose indoor practice courts that are also used for performances and lectures.^[16] A $10 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation facilitated the building’s construction and the development of associated programming.^[17]

UNE also owns Ram Island, off the coast of the Biddeford Campus, which serves as a field station for student and faculty researchers.^[18]

Portland Campus

Ludcke Auditorium, Portland campus.

The 41 acres (17 ha) Portland Campus (43°40′59″N 70°17′44″W / 43.68306°N 70.29556°W / 43.68306; -70.29556 (Westbrook College campus, UNE)) is designated a national historic district. It provides a quintessential New England quad in a suburban neighborhood, just a short drive from Portland’s downtown waterfront.

The UNE Portland Campus houses the university's Westbrook College of Health Professions, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Dental Medicine. The College of Dental Medicine, which is housed in the $14.5 million Oral Health Center, enrolled its first class in 2013. It is Maine's only dental college.^[19]

Other features of the UNE Portland Campus include the Art Gallery, the Maine Women Writers Collection, and the Center for Global Humanities. The Center for Global Humanities, which was founded by leading cultural studies scholar Anouar Majid in 2009,^[20] hosts scholars from around the globe for public lectures. Past lectures have featured Noam Chomsky,^[21] Sherwin Nuland,^[22] and Bill McKibben^[23] as speakers.

Tangier Campus

Housed on the grounds of the American School of Tangier, the UNE Morocco Campus opened in January 2014.

In January 2014, UNE opened a campus in Tangier, Morocco, within the campus of the American School of Tangier, the oldest American school in Morocco. The campus consists of two buildings—one for academic programming and the other for student and staff housing. It also includes an outdoor court colored UNE's trademark blue.^[24] Undergraduates take courses delivered in English in the sciences, humanities, and languages.

UNE undergraduates may spend a semester or entire academic year at the Tangier Campus, which offers organic chemistry labs and other facilities that allow students in the health sciences to stay on track with their majors while gaining international experience.

UNE students visit famous Moroccan cities like Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakesh, natural wonders like the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert, and a UNE satellite program in Seville, Spain.^[25]

Academics

The University of New England is an innovative health sciences university grounded in the liberal arts, with two distinctive coastal Maine campuses and unique study abroad opportunities, including programs in Seville, Spain, and UNE's campus in Tangier, Morocco. UNE has internationally recognized scholars in the sciences, health, medicine and humanities; offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs;^[26] and is home to Maine's only medical school and dental school.

It is one of a handful of private universities with a comprehensive health education mission including medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine, nursing and an array of allied health professions. UNE's interprofessional education initiatives prepare future healthcare professionals to practice comprehensive and collaborative team-based care. Both graduate and undergraduate students engage in research and scholarship alongside dedicated faculty who are committed to their academic and professional success.^[27]

College of Arts and Sciences

The UNE College of Arts and Sciences offers more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Popular majors include biology, business, education, environmental science, marine science, marine entrepreneurship, and psychology.

Westbrook College of Health Professions

The UNE Westbrook College of Health Professions prepares students for careers in the healthcare fields, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. Students participate in clinical simulations, inter-professional learning experiences, service learning, and other experiences that enable them to transition smoothly into the workforce upon graduation.^[28]

College of Osteopathic Medicine

The UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine is the only medical school in the state of Maine. Its graduates constitute 25 percent of primary care physicians practicing in rural parts of Maine, and 10 percent of practicing physicians in the state.^[14][29] Founded in 1978, it is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.^[30]

College of Dental Medicine

The UNE College of Dental Medicine is the only dental school in northern New England.^[31] Accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, it offers opportunities for students to treat patients in UNE’s Oral Health Center during their first three years and at clinical sites throughout New England in their fourth years.

College of Pharmacy

The UNE College of Pharmacy is housed in the only facility in Maine devoted exclusively to academic study and research in the field of pharmacy.^[32] The building provides 48,000 square feet of learning space on four floors, including a drug information center, three teaching laboratories, and lecture halls and classrooms equipped with the latest technologies. The college is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

College of Graduate and Professional Studies

The UNE College of Graduate and Professional Studies offers online degrees and certificate programs. In 2015, the college enrolled students from all 50 U.S. states and 27 countries.^[33] Popular programs include degree and certificate courses in education, social work, public health, health informatics, and medical education leadership.

Centers of Excellence

The University of New England has several centers of excellence for research and scholarship.^[34] These university-wide centers build on existing programs in marine science and neuroscience, humanities and interprofessional education.

The centers are designed to provide opportunities for collaborative research and scholarship programs for interdisciplinary, multi-investigator and multi-institutional awards. The centers are also designed to expand undergraduate research at UNE and explore opportunities for future doctoral programs, and include:

• The Interprofessional Education Collaborative
• Center for Excellence in Health Innovation
• Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences (CEN)
• Center for Global Humanities (CGH)
• Marine Science Center (MSC)
• Center for Enrichment of Teaching & Learning
• Human Nature Project
• Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for the study of Pain and Sensory Function

Rankings and accolades

UNE’s programs have received national and international recognition in recent years:

• The 2016 edition of The Princeton Review’s Best 380 Colleges guide ranked UNE among the top 15% of U.S. four-year colleges and universities.^[35]
• The Brookings Institution ranks UNE first among all Maine universities and colleges for its ability to increase students’ career earnings.^[36]
• U.S. News and World Report includes UNE in its list of “America’s Best Colleges.”^[37]
• Forbes includes UNE in its ranking of “America’s Top Colleges.”^[38]
• UNE received the New England Board of Higher Education’s 2015 Maine Merit Award for excellence in innovation.^[39]
• PayScale.com ranks UNE 276th out of 1002 colleges with high salary potential for graduates.^[40]
• College Raptor named UNE “the best hidden gem” among Maine colleges and universities.^[41]
• Online Schools Center includes UNE in a list of “30 Amazing Colleges at the Beach.”^[42]
• Best Master’s Programs ranks UNE among the “50 Most Affordable Online Graduate Schools.”^[43]
• The Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education Ranked UNE 325th among US Colleges and Universities^[44]

Athletics

The Nor'easters are a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) for thirteen of the school's current varsity sports; for men's and women's ice hockey, the Nor'easters belong to the ECAC East League.

The University of New England teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III.^[45] The Nor'easters are a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) for thirteen of the school's current varsity sports; for men's and women's ice hockey, the Nor'easters belong to the ECAC East League.^[45] Men's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, and volleyball. The University announced in December 2014 that it planned to add men's football (2018) and women's rugby (2016) as varsity sports.^[45][46]

There are also many club sports and intramural sports.

Notes and references

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics website

Osteopathic medical schools in the United States
Northeast	Lake Erie COM Pennsylvania New England COM New York Institute of Technology Philadelphia COM Rowan SOM Touro NYC
Southeast	Alabama COM Campbell SOM Edward Via COM Lake Erie COM Bradenton Liberty University Lincoln Memorial Nova Southeastern COM Philadelphia COM Georgia Pikeville KYCOM West Virginia SOM William Carey University
Central	A.T. Still Kirksville Arkansas Des Moines University Incarnate Word Kansas City COM Marian COM Michigan State COM Midwestern Chicago Ohio COM Oklahoma State Texas COM
West	A.T. Still Arizona Burrell COM Midwestern Arizona Pacific Northwest Rocky Vista Touro California Touro Nevada WesternU COMP WesternU COMP Northwest