Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. V I M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 2 4 12 ainebiz: In addition to being president of the University of Maine, you have the title of vice chancellor of research and innovation. That sounds like two full-time jobs, but what's involved in the latter title? Joan Ferrini-Mundy: e two jobs really do merge and reinforce each other. As president of the state's flag- ship university, I focus a lot on how our research and development mission serves the state of Maine and supports the development of a next-generation workforce of innovators. With the System-wide vice chancellor respon- sibility, I help expand and energize those commitments across our seven universities and the University of Maine School of Law. It's rewarding to support faculty across the University of Maine System to establish them- selves as researchers, bring in their own research funding and engage their students in discovery. at happens by making sure UMaine's considerable research and innovation infrastructure is accessible System-wide. An increas- ing number of undergraduate students are gaining meaningful and authentic experiences in research and scholarship across the System, which they translate to their professional careers. Offering these experiences supports student success after graduation and, as a result, produces talented, innovative workers in our state. MB: In the realm of innovation, how did UMaine come up with the model of having labs adjacent to classrooms? JFM: UMaine is almost 160 years old. From the very beginning, on farms and in forests, the labs where our faculty do research and make discoveries are also places where our students learn and engage. Today, our labs — which include music studios, stages, mountains, glaciers, lakes, oceans, farms, fields and forests in our state and beyond — are places for student learning. As we plan for and build new spaces at UMaine, we are imagining an environment akin to a 'teaching hospital' model. In this model, students will have spaces and classrooms directly adjacent to cutting-edge research and technol- ogy development. is will provide opportunities for them to begin their own cutting-edge science, engineering and discovery as undergraduates with high-quality mentorship from our extraordinary faculty. MB: What's the best way to get more women and more diversity into fields like engineering? JFM: As a woman who grew up in the field of mathematics, I'd note that in my early days as a student, the majority of the relatively few women who were in mathematics (including me) planned to be teach- ers — maybe because it wasn't clear what other options there were. I've been conscious for a long time about the many reasons why the presence of women, people of color and so many other groups is not what it should P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D HIGHER EDUCATION LEADER Joan Ferrini-Mundy President, vice chancellor of research and innovation, University of Maine Joan Ferrini-Mundy, who became president of the University of Maine in 2018, is a math educator by background, so it's not surprising that she's overseen one of the university's largest periods of growth in the engineering and computing field. Under her watch, UMaine unveiled the Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center, a $78 million structure where labs and classrooms are side-by- side, fostering hands-on learning. This summer, UMaine will break ground on the Factory of the Future, a center for innovation on the Orono campus. M advocate for STEM education Joan Ferrini-Mundy has been an B Y P e t e r V a n a L L E N At UMaine, innovation and education go hand in hand

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