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Portland and Biddeford, Maine

Gov. Janet Mills honors UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine

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Gov. Janet Mills has proclaimed June 27 to July 3 UNE COM Week in Maine. The week honors the state’s only medical school as a premier osteopathic medical institution and brings awareness to the osteopathic profession.

Gov. Janet Mills is honoring the contributions of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) by proclaiming June 27 to July 3 UNE COM Week in Maine.

“As Governor, I am proud to recognize University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Week in Maine, and I welcome the incoming and current student doctors, faculty, and professional staff on this traditional first day of classes, as well as celebrate the recent graduates of UNE COM who are entering their new careers as physicians,” Gov. Mills stated.

The week honors the state’s only medical school as a premier osteopathic medical institution and brings awareness to the osteopathic profession.

The UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) boasts a 99.4% match rate for residencies for graduates from the Class of 2022, in comparison to the national osteopathic physician (D.O.) match rate of 91.3%. The college recently accepted 178 new osteopathic medical students who will be joining the Class of 2026.

There are currently over 145,000 osteopathic doctors and osteopathic medical students in the United States, and approximately 20% of all D.O.s in active practice work within medically underserved areas and populations.

Nearly 4,000 UNE COM alumni serve the citizens of Maine, New England, the United States, and the globe. Of those who graduate from UNE COM, 30% stay in Maine or return to practice. In fact, UNE COM was recently named the No. 17 medical school in the country for graduates practicing in rural areas by U.S. News & World Report.

UNE COM will soon be able to graduate more osteopathic doctors with the relocation of the College of Osteopathic Medicine from Biddeford to the Portland Campus. The move will allow for a 21% increase in the number of students admitted to UNE COM, and it will bring all the University’s health professions programs onto a single, interprofessional campus — an unprecedented model for a single campus in New England — while facilitating growth of highly demanded undergraduate programs on the Biddeford Campus.

The relocation project has received transformative financial support from the federal government — $5 million was awarded in federal omnibus spending in April — and the Harold Alfond Foundation, which in 2020 gifted UNE $30 million for the COM relocation and related projects.

The newly constructed building on the Portland Campus, expected to break ground this fall, will be called the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences.

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.