Motto | North of Ordinary |
---|---|
Type | Public |
Established | 1903 |
President | Ray Rice (Interim) |
Provost | Ray Rice |
Dean | Vanessa Pearson, Interim Dean of Students |
Students | 1,200 |
Address |
181 Main Street, Presque Isle, Maine, United States 46°40′15″N 68°1′0″W / 46.67083°N 68.01667°WCoordinates: 46°40′15″N 68°1′0″W / 46.67083°N 68.01667°W |
Campus | 150 acres (0.61 km2) |
Colors | Blue and Gold |
Nickname | Owls |
Affiliations | NCAA Division III |
Mascot | Snowy Owl |
Website | www.umpi.edu |
The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) is part of the University of Maine System. Located in Presque Isle, UMPI offers studies in career and professional fields, teacher education, health and human services, arts and sciences, and the natural environment. The University also offers associate degrees, articulated transfer arrangements, non-degree certificates, continuing education for practicing professionals, and an online learning project which allows participants to take an online UMPI course for free as long as they are not seeking college credit. Its campus radio station is WUPI and its student newspaper is the University Times.
It was founded in 1903 as Aroostook State Normal School, offering a two-year teacher preparation program. It has undergone four name changes since then. In 1952, it was renamed The Aroostook State Teachers College; in 1965, it became The Aroostook State College; three years later when it joined the new University of Maine System, it was renamed The Aroostook State College of the University of Maine; and since 1971, it has been known as the The University of Maine at Presque Isle.
UMPI currently offers 22 Baccalaureate Degrees from Accounting and Social Work to Art and Environmental Studies, 7 Associate Degrees, 35 Minor Programs and 5 Certificate Programs. In addition, the university also offers a Geographic Information Systems certificate program, a Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician/Community Certification, and a 1-year Teacher Certification Program.
UMPI currently offers three online degree programs in English, history, and psychology.
UMPI's OpenU program allows learners of all ages to take specific online and on-site course for free if they are not currently enrolled in a degree program.
The Northern Maine Museum of Science began in the early 1970s on the UMPI campus. The 40-mile (64 km) long solar system model is one of the largest in the world. Folsom Hall encompasses the Sun of this model and it ends with Pluto, just outside Houlton, Maine.
UMPI's wind turbine began generating clean energy in late spring 2009 after the university reached an agreement with general contractor Lumus Construction Inc. on a $2 million project to install a 600-kilowatt wind turbine on the campus. This agreement established UMPI as the first university in the state and one of only a handful in New England to install a midsize wind turbine, according to officials. The wind turbine produces about 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and saves the institution more than $100,000 annually in electricity charges and saves an estimated 572 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year.