On August 6, Provost Joshua Hamilton announced the appointment of Holly Parker, Ph.D., as the new director of UNE North: the Institute for North Atlantic Studies. She replaces Barry Costa-Pierce, Ph.D., who is stepping down as director to return to the College of Arts and Sciences as a full-time faculty member, focusing on leading UNE’s Professional Science Master’s in Ocean Food Systems program and the development of an Aquaculture undergraduate major within the newly restructured School of Marine and Environmental Programs.
Dr. Parker is the associate provost for Strategic Initiatives at UNE and the former associate director for UNE North during its inaugural year. She also served as acting director during Dr. Costa-Pierce’s sabbatical leave. She is a four-time representative and two-time presenter at the Arctic Circle Assembly, a member of the 2016 Arctic Council Host Committee, and a former representative to the Maine North Atlantic and Arctic Education Consortium. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the USM Muskie School of Public Service/Research, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Under Dr. Costa-Pierce’s leadership, UNE North established itself as a research and education leader in the region in its first two years, particularly in marine sciences and aquaculture. Through its commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and its growing network of regional partnerships with countries including Iceland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom, UNE North is training a new generation of leaders, informing policy through research, and supporting Maine’s leadership role in the North Atlantic.
Dr. Parker spoke about her enthusiasm in involving more programs in UNE North’s work.
“I am thrilled to be rejoining UNE North as its director and excited to build upon its successes,” she stated. “I look forward to working with UNE faculty, staff, and students from across colleges and disciplines to expand our reach by leveraging all of the University’s strengths — from the arts and humanities to health professions to life sciences to social sciences — to build partnerships, programs, and projects that will create lasting solutions to our shared challenges. By working together across disciplines, communities, and cultures we can and will address those challenges.”
One of her first steps to expand UNE North’s reach is to make a call for UNE North affiliated faculty. UNE NORTH seeks to build an internal network of affiliated faculty to reflect UNE’s broad range of strengths, help grow its programs through interdisciplinary collaboration, and identify opportunities for new partnerships.
UNE NORTH Affiliated Faculty will have:
Research, education, and/or outreach interests that align with the mission of UNE NORTH
- related to the core North Atlantic issues that underpin the UNE North mission and/or
- related Maine and regional interests that could be expanded to include North Atlantic partnerships.
UNE NORTH Affiliated Faculty will contribute to UNE NORTH by:
- participating in working groups, collaborative discussions, forming grant-writing and research teams
- actively seeking ways to collaborate within the UNE North network
UNE NORTH Affiliated Faculty Advantages:
- Expanded opportunities for collaboration
- Access to related disciplines with overlapping interests
- Expanded scope of research funding opportunities
- Ability to partner internationally
- Opportunity to expand opportunities for students and the state of Maine
If you are interested in being an UNE NORTH affiliated faculty please contact UNE NORTH Director Holly Parker at hparker3@une.edu