UMaine College of Education and Human Development

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UMaine College of Education and Human Development

Welcome to the College of Education and Human Development page. We prepare teachers and other specia An official page of the University of Maine.

We prepare teachers and other specialists to apply research-based knowledge and field-tested experience to address the changing needs of schools, children and families.

09/08/2026

Introducing Molly Dyer, a child development and family relations major (early childhood education concentration) and one of our wonderful APPLs (Academic Professional Peer Leaders) this year.

The APPLs are our college's student ambassadors. They played a huge role in helping our incoming freshman and transfer students get acquainted with during Bridge Week and will represent the college at various events and activities throughout the year.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!!" said Molly, when asked what advice she would give to other students interested in becoming an APPL or getting involved with activities or groups on campus. "It’ll give you so many new amazing opportunities!"

Read more at our website: https://umaine.edu/edhd/2026/09/08/meet-the-appls-molly-dyer/

09/04/2026

Faculty Summer Spotlight: A couple of weeks ago, Professor of Higher Education Catharine Biddle traveled to Ballarat, Australia for the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia Annual Meeting. She co-presented with Robert Mitchell from University of Northern Colorado on "What American Rural Schools are Doing Right." She also got to connect with colleagues from Australia, including Melyssa Fuqua, a lecturer at University of Melbourne whose dissertation committee she served on and who visited last year to give a talk!

"I was able to learn about incredible community-engaged research that is happening across Australian rural communities, as well as the country's innovative Community Study Hub model. This model brings rural students together to do asynchronous courses of study from a university of their choice right in their home community with wraparound supports to ensure student success and well-being," said Biddle. "While we achieve some of what this model is able to achieve with free community college here in Maine, there is so much more we could learn from their successes and strong community connection!"

09/01/2026

Meet Finley Marriner, an elementary education major and one of our outstanding APPLs (Academic Professional Peer Leaders) for this school year. The APPLs are our college's student ambassadors. They played a huge role in Bridge Week and will represent the college at various events and activities throughout the year.

"Being an APPL is helping me become a better leader, which will help me be a better teacher when I have a classroom of my own someday," said Finley.

Read more: https://umaine.edu/edhd/2026/08/31/meet-the-appls-finley-marriner/

08/31/2026

The Bangor Daily News published an article last week about Maine Black Bears football punter Anthony Pecorella and his battle against cancer. This summer, Pecorella completed the coursework in our Athletic Administration Graduate Certificate, which is part of our graduate programs in Educational Leadership and is for students interested in becoming certified athletic directors for K-12 schools.

Best of luck to Anthony during the rest of the season in his ongoing cancer treatments!

Read more about his inspiring story here: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/08/27/sports/college-football/umaines-punter-anthony-pecorella-joam40zk0w/

08/28/2026

Bridge Week is in the books! Welcome, Class of 2030!!! Hats off to our Advising Center and the APPLs (student ambassadors) for planning and pulling off such an incredible introduction to for these rock stars who are ready to change the world. Ready or not, classes start on Monday!

08/26/2026

Sean Cavanaugh, a 2013 University of Maine graduate, current Ph.D. student, and a special educator at Calais Elementary School, was one of six educators nationwide selected for an inaugural scholarship from Council for Exceptional Children to attend the Special Education Legislative Summit, held last month in Washington, D.C.

The summit brought together more than 300 special education leaders from across the country for policy briefings, strategy sessions and meetings with lawmakers and legislative staff.

"It was really interesting to talk and share experiences with special educators from other states," Cavanaugh said. "A special education teacher in Las Vegas doesn’t have the same challenges that we have in Calais, Maine. But they still have limited resources. So just talking about some of the issues we’re all facing, what’s different and what’s the same, and hearing about possible solutions that focus on taking care of our students."

Read more about Sean and how has shaped his journey in the classroom and beyond at our website: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/08/umaine-ph-d-student-brings-rural-maine-special-education-perspective-to-national-summit/

08/20/2026

The fall 2026 edition of MAINE Alumni Magazine features an article on the 10th anniversary of the Flagship Match program that includes three alumni of our college:

➡ Jim Winslow '17 from Pittsford, Vermont earned his degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education and stayed in Maine to teach. This fall, he begins his tenure as principal of Orono Middle School, bringing his career full circle in the town where he first arrived as an out-of-state student.
➡ Rebecca Weeks '20 '22G, originally from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, now teaches fourth grade in Portland Public Schools while pursuing an additional certification in multilingual education.
➡ Sam Lenson '18 '20G, from Natick, Massachusetts arrived at UMaine as a punter and kicker on the football team, with Flagship Match and athletic scholarship support helping make attendance possible. After six years teaching physical education in South Portland, he is preparing to begin a new role at Gorham High School this fall.

These are just a few of the stories that highlight the impact of the Flagship Match program, which allows eligible students from New England and beyond to attend UMaine at a cost comparable to their home state’s flagship public university. After ten years it has become much more than a scholarship. For many graduates, it became the first step toward building a life in Maine.

Read more at UMaine News: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/08/they-came-for-college-they-became-mainers/

08/13/2026

Associate dean for academics and student engagement Justin Dimmel is leading a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded project at UMaine to explore whether artificial intelligence can help K-12 teachers turn their creative ideas for lessons and classroom projects into working digital tools.

The team will bring together educators, researchers, technologists, parents and students to explore a teacher-centered environment for creating interactive learning materials with AI-assisted coding tools.

“We want to try to put teachers’ creativity at the center of what we’re going to design,” Dimmel said.

Read more at our website: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/07/umaine-project-explores-how-teachers-can-shape-ai-use-in-maine-classrooms/

07/31/2026

“We believe that reading is empathy operating in its simplest form: imagining your way into someone else’s experience and understanding the ripple effects of their actions.

Reading for pleasure, especially the kind that starts on a parent’s or caregiver’s lap, is one of the earliest and most reliable places kids get repeated practice doing that complex work.

Reading with a caregiver often progresses into children reading on their own, whether with a flashlight in bed or in the middle of the day on the couch.

When children become immersed in a book series on their own, in particular, it can help them develop connections with characters they grow to know, love or scorn. They inhabit a character who isn’t them. They sit with an idea long enough to understand why someone acts the way they do.”

Interested in learning more about how reading for fun builds empathy kids? Read this expert piece, originally published in The Conversation, by University of Maine Professor of Literacy William Dee Nichols and Lecturer in Elementary and Secondary Education Michelle Kearney: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/07/reading-for-pleasure-builds-empathy-in-children-but-fewer-kids-are-picking-up-books-just-for-the-fun-of-it/

Address

5766 Shibles Hall
Orono, ME
04473

Telephone

+12075812412

Website

http://www.umaine.edu/edhd/

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