University of Maine

The University of Maine (also referred to as UMaine) is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. Having an enrollment of approximately 11,000 students, UMaine is the largest university in the state and is the only institution in Maine classified as a research university (RU/H) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The University of Maine's athletic teams are nicknamed the Black Bears and they are Maine's only Division I athletics program.

University of Maine was founded in 1862 as a function of the Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln. Established in 1865 and originally named the Maine College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, the Maine College opened on September 21, 1868, changing its name to the University of Maine in 1897.

By 1871, curricula had been organized in Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and electives. The Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station was founded as a division of the university in 1887. Gradually the university developed the Colleges of Life Sciences and Agriculture (later to include the School of Forest Resources and the School of Human Development), Engineering and Science, and Arts and Sciences. In 1912 the Maine Cooperative Extension, which offers field educational programs for both adults and youths, was initiated. The School of Education was established in 1930 and received college status in 1958. The School of Business Administration was formed in 1958 and was granted college status in 1965. Women have been admitted into all curricula since 1872. The first master's degree was conferred in 1881; the first doctor's degree in 1960. Since 1923 there has been a separate graduate school.

Near the end of the 19th century, the curriculum was expanded to place greater emphasis on liberal arts. As a function of this shift in focus new faculty hired during the early 20th century included Caroline Colvin, chair of the history department, and the first woman in the nation to head a major university department.

In 1906, The Senior Skull Honor Society was founded to "publicly recognize, formally reward, and continually promote outstanding leadership and scholarship, and exemplary citizenship within the University of Maine community."

On April 16, 1925, 80 women met in Balentine Hall — faculty, alumnae, and undergraduate representatives — to plan a pledging of members to a new honorary organization. This organization was called "The All Maine Women" because only those women closely connected with the University of Maine were elected as members. On April 22, 1925, the new members were inducted into the honor society.

When the University of Maine System was incorporated, the school was renamed by the legislature over the objections of the faculty to the University of Maine at Orono (or UMO). This was changed back to the University of Maine in 1986.