I first learned of the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study a few years ago as I was working on understanding how stress impacts our health and well-being through the psychoneuroimmunological system. The ACE study was performed in the late 1990s by the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente with 17,000 participants, and the goal […]

As an educator and a father of two school aged boys, I am particularly interested in reports of academic success of students in local schools. Every year around graduation time the Kennebec Journal posts top 10 graduating student lists for local high schools; I review these with great interest. I am interested in students’ college and […]

I still remember the glimpse of the future we Readfield Elementary School second-graders received in class during the throwback year of 1975. A rattling projector beamed a stunning forecast as a narrator blared, “Technology is your friend and our future! In the year 2000, classrooms will amaze and be easily accessed by all.” Various scenes […]

Mainer’s are known for a Yankee frugality. This quality might be seen to be at odds with the idea of “good design.” One might think, incorrectly, that “good design” is just another way to say “costs a lot.” Actually, “good design” is an idea that is about as Maine as one can find. Good design fundamentally […]

As a sociologist, I see the world as consisting of two kinds of objects: individual people or groups and the relationships that exist between them. To understand the social world, we need to track both. To see what I mean, let’s look at Maine leadership PACs, fundraising groups led by members of the Maine State Legislature. On March 8 the […]

As a registered nurse and certified advanced holistic nurse I am interested in healing: for self and for others. What does healing mean and how is it different from curing? Why should we care about healing in healthcare? According to Lissa Rankin, a medical doctor, you can cure without healing, as curing means to eliminate […]

People often use the language of business when discussing education. When using this language, students are considered customers and faculty are considered employees of the educational institution. In lots of ways, this language is appropriate. Faculty really are employees; universities have budgets, revenue and expenses and need to ensure that the bottom line is considered […]

Sometimes, things just feel right, even if that thing is a drastic life change. At the beginning of this year, Tina Bonsant made a drastic change. She left her job of 20 years with the state government to embark on a journey of growth. Food growth, that is. Tina saw a need that she wanted to […]

In the early 1990s I stepped away from college for what I thought would be a year or two break, in order to focus on other things. Little did I know at the time that the other things would turn out to include meeting and marrying my wife, having children and partaking in the oh-so-many […]

Do we really need more architects in Maine? As a professor of architecture in the state of Maine’s only professional architecture program, this is a question I am often asked. The answer is clear to me: of course we do. After all, training the next generation of architects in Maine is what I have spent […]