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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE awarded Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence grant for 2010-11 academic year

The University of New England has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Grant, enabling it to host Helida Oyieke, Ph.D., as a visiting professor of environmental studies and marine botany for the upcoming 2010-2011 academic year. 

Dr. Oyieke is currently director of research and scientific affairs at the National Museums of Kenya and also teaches part-time at the University of Nairobi.

She holds a Ph.D. in aquatic botany, a M.Sc. in plant physiology and biochemistry, and a B.Ed. in zoology and botany, all from the University of Nairobi.

Her research and professional career encompasses a wide variety of activities in both her areas of specialization, as well as with numerous international and governmental organizations involved in biodiversity conservation and global environmental policy. 

She also has vast experience in directing research programs within Kenya and has consulted for numerous environmental and community-based non-governmental organizations, both within Kenya and abroad.

She holds membership in a wide variety of professional organizations, and is a founding member of the Kenya Professional Association of Women in Agriculture and Environment (KEPAWAE). She has published extensively in academic journals, edited volumes, conference proceedings, and institutional reports.

Richard Peterson, Ph.D., lead author of the grant and associate professor of Environmental Studies, will coordinate Dr. Oyieke's visiting professorship, in collaboration with College of Arts and Sciences Dean Arthur Goldstein and Director of International Education Trisha Mason.

While at UNE, she will teach two courses: Tropical Marine Littoral Plant Communities and Women in Environment and Development in Africa.

She will also serve as advisor to the UNE Center for International Education, help develop a new minor in African Studies, give several public lectures, engage in community outreach to schools and other local organizations, and carry out research for her professional development in collaboration with scientists at UNE, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

For more information about Dr. Oyieke's visiting professorship or to arrange for her to offer a public lecture, visit your school, or meet with your organization, please contact Dr. Richard Peterson at 207-602-2862 or Trisha Mason at 207-602-2451.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.