Latest news with #UNE
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Maine's only medical school to expand in new home
Jun. 3—Dr. Jane Carreiro gestured to several rows of student exam tables in the shiny new home of Maine's only medical school. In that particular classroom on the third floor of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, students will soon be role-playing as doctors and patients to learn how to conduct primary care exams. The $90 million building — which will be showcased in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday — is the cornerstone of a strategy to grow the University of New England's Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program, and connect it to all of the health sciences programs at the university. By moving the medical program from the university's Biddeford campus to the sprawling, 110,000-square-foot building on its Portland campus, the DO program will grow from graduating 165 medical students per year to 200. The first class with 200 students will start this fall and graduate in 2029 before going into their residency program. A $30 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation, $5 million in federal funding secured by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and other fundraising efforts made the construction of the new facility possible. The aim is to try to get more newly minted doctors working in Maine to help ease the health care workforce shortage. "That is our No. 1 goal," said Carreiro, vice president of health affairs at UNE and dean of the medical school. "That's what we are here for, to provide the workforce that we need for patient care in northern New England." The total number of health care practitioners in Maine — doctors, nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants and others working to provide care — rebounded in 2024, increasing to 43,930 from a recent low of 41,110 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But there are continuing shortages of some providers, and demand for care is ever-increasing. In one category of primary care, for example, the number of family physicians working in Maine declined from 710 in 2019 to 630 in 2024. And experts say that Maine's recent population gains, plus its aging population, mean that demand for care has spiked even as the numbers of some providers has declined. James Herbert, UNE's president, said it's not only about increasing the number of graduating doctors, but also getting them to stay here. "Most doctors settle within the general vicinity of where they did their residencies," Herbert said. A residency is a supervised clinical training for medical school graduates, where they learn under a practicing doctor for a few years. "We need more residencies in Maine to anchor doctors in Maine," he said. Herbert said there is no federal money available to increase the number of residencies, so the university is supporting a bill, LD 1311, that would add $2 million in state funding to increase physician residencies in rural Maine. Herbert said the initial proposal was $5 million per year, but it's since been scaled back to $2 million to give it a better chance of passing. The bill is pending in the Maine Legislature. Herbert said while the new building will serve DO students, it will also be used by students in the other health sciences, including nursing, dentistry, physical therapists, physician assistants and pharmacists. The different health sciences programs will work together. Doctors of osteopathy can practice all areas of medicine similar to doctors of medicine, or MDs, and training emphasizes a "whole person" approach to diagnosis, treatment and patient care. "The way we've traditionally done health care education is to have everything siloed — nurses do their own thing, doctors do their own thing, PAs do their own thing. They don't train together. We will be doing more interprofessional education, and learn how to work on interdisciplinary teams," Herbert said. With all medical sciences working at the same Portland campus, having the students and faculty work together across programs will be easier to achieve. "It's a point of pride that at the Portland campus, the University of New England will be the only university in New England where all of its health programs will be co-located on a single campus," Herbert said. Copy the Story Link
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Doesn't actually help': University responds to Albo's HECS cuts
Campus vibes or couch convenience? A new report highlights the growing divide in preferences for university learning formats between younger and older Australians, with mature-age students gravitating towards online study while Gen Z remains attached to traditional campus experiences. The national survey commissioned by the University of New England (UNE) and run by Year13 – a digital platform that helps school leavers – examined the motivations, barriers, and preferences of more than 1,000 Australians considering university study. Young vs mature: A stage-of-life divide The study found a sharp divide between how younger and more mature age students preferred to study. Will Stubley, co-founder of Year13, said younger students in their early 20s are drawn to the communal and social aspects of campus life. 'The research shows Gen Zs really want to head into uni and be in class while Millennials and Gen Xs aren't nearly as keen,' Mr Stubley told 'It's a stage of life divide, where most students in their early 20s with more freedom on their side want to be learning with other students, meeting people and having fun around campus like uni is famous for. 'But going into class quickly loses favour for students in their late 20s and 30s when priorities shift from pub lunches between classes with their mates to their career and family, meaning university study needs to fit in around those central pillars of their life and not the other way around,' Mr Stubley said. This shift is reflected in the survey results, where more than 64 per cent of respondents overall, and more than 70 per cent of those aged 25–54, expressed a preference for online learning. For mature students such as James O'Hanlon, 40, who is currently pursuing a PhD in creative practice at UNE, online study is not just a preference but a necessity. 'Changing economies and employment landscapes has meant that I've had to be flexible and take my career in new directions,' Mr O'Hanlon said. When the opportunity came to formalise his decision with postgraduate study Mr O'Hanlon figured he'd try something new, but with kids of his own and work to contend with flexibility in study became a deciding factor. 'Flexibility and ability to learn at my own pace in my own time are a necessity when coming back as a mature aged student,' he said. Motivations and outcomes The survey found that motivations for returning to study vary significantly with age. While younger mature-age students (25–44) often seek career progression or change, older learners (45+) are motivated by personal fulfilment and a chance to re-engage with education. 'These aren't school leavers,' Mr Stubley said. 'They're experienced adults making calculated decisions. They're asking: What will this cost me? How will it fit into my life? And what's the return?' 'People want to study, but they're pragmatic,' Mr Stubley said. 'Universities need to do a better job of showing how courses fit into real lives and what outcomes students can expect.' Financial barriers loom large The survey also highlighted significant barriers to higher education, with cost standing out as the most cited obstacle. More than half of respondents (52 per cent) said financial concerns hindered their decision to study, and 42 per cent worried about accumulating student debt. Other barriers included full-time work commitments (29 per cent) and family responsibilities (22 per cent). 'Taking study seriously necessarily means other things have to step aside, such as full time employment,' Mr O'Hanlon added. 'The only way to make this work as a mature aged student with kids is often through scholarships or other financial support.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ran on the election promise of wiping 20 per cent off student HECS and HELP loans. However, UNE's executive director of future students Dr Neil Durrant said that debt forgiveness is not the same as 'changing the funding structures which allows students to not have that much debt in the first place.' 'I think clearly those things will be helpful to the students, the prospect of having less debt in the future or this messaging around the government's concern about the debts that students have … ,' Dr Durrant said. '[However] it doesn't actually help universities with the cost of providing education,' he said. 'So when you're looking at the kinds of cohorts of students that UNE is particularly expert in providing education to, they generally tend to be students that have a higher touch as far as support and that's more costly to teach those kinds of students. 
 'So changing the HECS model doesn't actually help universities provide the kind of quality education that we would be looking to provide.' Universities respond to changing demands Dr Durrant said the findings of the report justifies the university's longstanding focus on mature-age and online learners, with a huge 85 per cent of UNE students studying online. 'This research validates what we're hearing from our students every day,' he said. 'They want a high-quality university education that works with their lives, not against them.' However, online study poses its own challenges, particularly around maintaining motivation and engagement. Dr Durrant emphasised the importance of creating a robust digital experience that supports interaction and connection. 'There's a little bit of a catch 22 here with mature age students preferring online study where they've also expressed difficulties with online study in terms of staying motivated in terms of making sure that they had the intrinsic motivation to keep going with online study,' he said. 'And so I think what that signals for universities for us is this clarion call to make sure that the online experience that we provide is really high quality. 
 'It's not a simple matter of just taking what you do in the classroom face-to-face and then somehow magicing that up into something online. It's actually having a really strong focus on what it means for students to study online and how we keep students engaged and motivated.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1st woman to lead Air Force Academy to give UNE commencement speech
Mar. 24—Michelle Johnson, the first woman to serve as superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, will deliver the address at the University of New England's 190th commencement ceremony, school officials announced. Johnson, a retired lieutenant general, served as academy superintendent, a role similar to that of a college president, from 2013-17. Before that, she worked as the deputy chief of staff for operations and intelligence at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Belgium, according to the Air Force. "Lt. Gen. Johnson came from modest means and worked hard and courageously to get to where she is today. Her perseverance and dedication embody what we aim to instill in our students," university President James Herbert said in a written statement. "Her diverse experiences in global affairs, leadership and breaking glass ceilings make her an ideal speaker to inspire our graduates as they embark on their own paths of impact and service." UNE's commencement ceremony takes place the morning of May 17 at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. More information is available at Johnson earned her a master of arts in politics and economics from Oxford University via the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, making her the first female Rhodes Scholar to serve in the Air Force, UNE said. Her military career spanned 36 years and more than 3,600 flying hours, the school said. She carried the nuclear codes for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. After retiring from the academy in 2017, she spent more than two years as the NBA's head of referee operations. Copy the Story Link
Fox News
15-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Cuba still largely without power after nationwide grid collapse
Cuba remained largely without power on Saturday morning, after the island nation's grid collapsed the night before, knocking out electricity for 10 million people and raising fresh questions about the viability of its antiquated generating system. At sunrise, the island's grid operator UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity - around 225 MW, or less than 10% of total demand, enough to cover some vital services like hospitals, water supply and food production centers. Officials said they had begun the process of firing up the country's decades-old generation plants, but gave no timeline for restoring service. Cuba´s grid failed Friday evening around 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) after an aging component of a transmission line at a substation in Havana shorted, beginning a chain reaction that completely shut down power generation across the island, UNE officials said. The grid collapse follows a string of nationwide blackouts late last year that plunged Cuba's frail power generating system into near-total disarray, stressed by fuel shortages, natural disaster and economic crisis. Most Cubans outside the country's capital of Havana have already been living for months with rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. Havana was still largely without electricity on Saturday morning. Light traffic navigated intersections with no functioning stoplights and cellular internet was weak or non-existent in some areas. Abel Bonne chatted with friends on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early Saturday, taking in the fresh sea breeze after a stuffy night without power. "Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on," he said. "This is the first time this had happened this year, but last year it happened three times." Severe shortages of food, medicine and water have made life increasingly unbearable for many Cubans, and people have been fleeing the island in recent years in record-breaking numbers. Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials like fuel and spare parts. A grid official on Saturday morning said Cuba had been unable to update antiquated transmission and generation components because of the restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, vowing to restore a "tough" policy toward the long-time U.S. foe. Havana resident Yunior Reyes, a bike taxi driver, was back on the job Saturday morning despite the blackout, fretting that his food reserves might spoil in the day's heat. "We're all in the same situation," he said. "It's a lot of work."
Al Jazeera
15-03-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Huge power outage in Cuba leaves millions in darkness
Cuba's national power grid has collapsed once again, leaving millions of people without electricity. The grid failed on Friday evening about 8:15pm (00:15 GMT) after a breakdown at Diezmero substation in the capital, Havana, kicked off a chain reaction that shut down power generation across the island, according to officials at operator Union Electrica (UNE). At sunrise on Saturday, UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity – about 225 MW, or less than 10 percent of total demand. Authorities said parallel circuits were helping provide electricity to key sectors, such as hospitals. 'Several provinces have parallel circuits and generator units are starting to be synchronised' with the national grid, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X. The island of 9.7 million inhabitants had already suffered three nationwide blackouts in the final months of 2024, two of them lasting several days. While the latest grid collapse is the first one this year, it also comes as the island battles one of its biggest economic crises in 30 years. Hit by United States sanctions, Cuba has for years relied on subsidised Venezuelan oil, but that supply is increasingly precarious as the government in Caracas grapples with its own economic problems. 'Right now, no one knows when the power will come back on,' resident Abel Bonne told the Reuters news agency on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard early on Saturday. People in Havana have already been living with near-daily power cuts of four or five hours, while those outside the capital have been facing rolling blackouts that peaked at 20 hours a day in recent weeks. 'My God, this is terrible, we're in for a dark weekend,' Karen Gutierrez, a 32-year-old ice cream seller in Havana, told the AFP news agency. Andres Lopez, a 67-year-old resident of the eastern province of Holguin, added that he had not been expecting yet another blackout so soon. 'It really bugs me,' he said. 'Let's see when they get it [the power] back on.' Cuba blames its economic woes on a Cold War-era US trade embargo, a web of laws and regulations that complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of essentials such as fuel and spare parts. US President Donald Trump recently tightened sanctions on the island's communist-run government, pledging to restore a 'tough' policy towards the longtime US foe. Meanwhile, to make up for its electricity shortfall, Cuba is racing to install a series of at least 55 solar farms with Chinese technology by the end of this year. Local authorities have said these facilities will generate some 1,200 MW of power, about 12 percent of the national total.
