Morning Sentinel
FARMINGTON UMF to offer outdoors major
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BY BETTY JESPERSEN
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 10/22/2009

FARMINGTON -- The University of Maine at Farmington plans to offer a new, four-season outdoor recreation and business administration program that will train students to manage businesses and will provide the hands-on experience employers seek.

The new bachelor of arts degree program will be launched in the fall of 2010 and will include a full semester internship with one of the of the program's industry partners.

The announcement was made Wednesday by UMF President Theodora J. Kalikow at a press conference. Joining her were the managers of Sunday River, Sugarloaf and Saddleback ski areas, UMF faculty who are developing the program, and a UMF senior who has been involved in the school's ski industries program.

"This will be a very extensive program that will prepare people to industry jobs and for leadership in this very important area," Kalikow said.

Kalikow said the new program will have an expanded extracurricular component that will be open to the community that will focus on four-season recreation. It will be under the supervision of James Toner, director of the UMF Fitness & Recreation Center.

UMF senior Alden Giles, 23, an avid skier, snowboarder and mountain biker, said he came to UMF because of its ski industries program and its location.

Although that program was eliminated earlier this year because of budget cuts, the new outdoor recreation major expands the opportunities, he said.

"The location of the school is key and it has allowed me to work in the field while pursuing my degree," he said.

Warren Cook, general manager and chief executive officer of Saddleback Ski Resort in Rangeley, is on the advisory board that has been involved in setting up the initiative.

He has been involved in the ski resort business for more than 20 years and said there is a need for trained people to work in the hospitality industry.

"A four-year degree program is essential to being competitive in this worldwide market," he said.

He said he has learned there are important ingredients in hospitality staffing: "You need people who are ambitious, who take initiative and who are trained."

In the audience was Barbara Woodlee, president of Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, who said she hoped there would be an opportunity for students there to transfer to UMF to pursue the new major. UMF Provost Allen Berger said articulation agreements, or simplified transfer agreements, are being developed.

Frank Engert, UMF professor of business, said the emphasis on business management and outdoor recreation tourism sets the new program apart from similar offerings at other schools in New England.

Students will have the opportunity to take classes on subjects such as retailing operations, financial management for recreation and tourism, and human resource development. They will learn about sales and marketing, administration, environmental and resource economics, and human resource development.

In the field through internships, students will be exposed to a broad range of outdoor activities -- snow sports, river industries, adventure education, camping, hiking, and inland fisheries.

"At UMF, you can literally step off campus and within minutes, be deep in the woods or on high mountain tops. We are immersed in some of the most spectacular scenery and sensational recreational opportunities in the country," Engert said.

For more information, visit http://www.farmington.edu/majors/ORBA.php.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com

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