News Releases

USM Welcomes Students and New Faculty

August 30 , 2005

Richard Pattenaude will open his 15th academic year as USM president by greeting new students and their families at the College Ave. entrance to the Gorham campus on Sunday, September 4th, from 11 a.m.-12 noon. Approximately 1,450 students will fill the Gorham residence halls.

USM kicks off the fall 2005 school year with a week of events, to assist new students as they transition to college, as well as upperclassmen returning to USM. Welcome activities begin on Sunday, September 4th on the Gorham campus, and Monday, September 5th on the Portland campus. 

Over 11,000 students are expected on USM's campuses this fall. Enrollment figures remain steady with freshman and transfer numbers slightly higher than last year. Final enrollment figures will be available in October.

Students will attend an opening ceremony from 3:15-3:45 on Sunday, September 4th, where they will be welcomed by President Pattenaude, Dean of Student Life Joseph Austin and student leaders. During the opening ceremony, family members will attend a reception at the Costello Sports Complex.

Following the ceremonies, residence hall students will participate in two days of events as they settle in to campus life before classes begin on Tuesday, September 6th. There will be live music will during an outside evening barbeque on Monday, September 5th.

Thirty-two new faculty and three new deans also join USM this fall. Devinder Malhotra, former associate dean of the University of Akron's Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences in Ohio, is the new dean and professor of economics at USM's largest college-the College of Arts and Sciences. Professor of Business John Voyer is the interim dean in the School of Business while the search to replace outgoing Dean Jack Trifts is conducted. Peter Pitegoff is the new dean and professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law. Pitegoff comes from the University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York (SUNY), where he was the vice dean for academic affairs and professor of law.

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