Unity College (Maine)

For other Unity Colleges, please see Unity College (disambiguation).

Unity College

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Motto	America's Environmental College
Type	Private
Established	September 7, 1965
President	Dr. Melik Peter Khoury
Academic staff	55
Students	650
Location	Unity , USA, Maine,
Campus	Rural, 240 acres (0.97 km2)
Colors	Green and White
Affiliations	NEASC
Mascot	The Ram
Website	http://www.unity.edu
File:Unity College logo.jpg

Unity College is a private, liberal arts college in Unity, Waldo County, Maine, located 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Bangor, Maine and 25 miles (40 km) from the Maine coast. The college offers an undergraduate education based on sustainability science that emphasizes study of the environment and natural resources.

Unity College was named to the Princeton Review list of the 18 leading "green" colleges in 2010 (p. 127), having received the highest possible rating, and was one of 18 U.S. colleges and universities named to The Princeton Review’s Green Rating Honor Roll. [1]

In 2015, Washington Monthly again ranked Unity College in the Top 20 of all U.S. baccalaureate colleges, a list that recognizes schools based on their contributions to Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).

Also in 2015, US News & World Report ranked Unity College No. 9 among regional colleges on its "Best Value Colleges" list, No. 22 for veterans among regional colleges, and No. 28 on its "Best Regional Colleges" list, up from No. 31 in 2014.

The school earned a national Colleges of Distinction designation in 2014-15 by "expanding innovative opportunities to earn college credit by participating in service learning, learning communities, internships, and other new educational paradigms."

Using data from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Unity College was lauded as one of the 32 "greenest universities" in the U.S. in 2015 for achieving "the greatest level of success with green initiatives on-campus and within in its surrounding community."

And Sierra, the magazine of national environmental organization Sierra Club, named Unity College one of its Top 100 "Cool Schools" in 2015.

In 2014, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education named Unity College a Gold member of its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) program, the highest level of recognition in a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance.

Known as "America’s Environmental College," Unity College was the first college in the U.S. to divest its endowment portfolio of the Top 200 fossil fuel producers, helping spark a global movement that, at the end of 2015, encompassed 400 institutions and 2,000 individuals with pledges to divest $2.6 trillion in assets globally, according to Arabella Advisors.

The school has a long-lived reputation for providing recruits to federal and state conservation agencies, and, more recently, for placing students in graduate schools for sustainability science research.

History

The college was founded in 1965 as the Unity Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a faculty of 15 and a student body of 39.

The founders, a group of local business people, were looking for ways to counter economic decline in the adjacent town of Unity. Two years later, it changed its name to Unity College and in 1969 awarded degrees to its first graduating class of 24. The school has continued to grow and has today one of the broadest environmental and natural resources programs in the United States.[2]

Presidents who have led the college into its modern era include Dr. Mitchell Thomashow, Dr. Stephen Mulkey and current President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury.

From 2006-11, Thomashow integrated concepts of ecology, sustainability, natural history, wellness, participatory governance, and community service into all aspects of college and community life. This included construction of Unity House, the first LEED Platinum college president’s residence in North America; TerraHaus, a Passive House student residence; comprehensive campus energy planning; an integrated approach to growing food on campus; and a new academic master plan.

From 2011-15, Mulkey made international headlines with his drive to make Unity College the first college in the U.S. to divest its endowment from the top 200 fossil fuel companies; and to make it the first college in the U.S. to adopt sustainability science as the framework for all academic programming.

Mulkey's tenure also featured the college’s first major philanthropic gift, $10 million; solicitation and stewardship of the second largest gift, $1.4 million; and leading the effort to renovate and modernize all teaching and research facilities, including state-of-the-art IT. Mulkey also designed and created curriculum for the college’s first-ever graduate degree, a professional management program in sustainability science; shepherded work to develop college's first online educational offerings, to be rolled out in 2016, and expanded faculty by hiring 15 terminal-degreed faculty at nationally competitive salaries. Mulkey is credited with reversing a three-year enrollment decline while significantly increasing net revenue per student and maintaining a tuition discount rate below 40%, and with increasing the operating budget from $12M in 2012 to $18M projected in 2016.

Khoury was inaugurated in January 2016 and has inculcated financial sustainability across the operation in order to serve the sustainability mission of the college. Khoury was a major factor in the expansion plans, developing the return-on-investment proposition and articulating it in front of the Unity College Board of Trustees, then working with the business office, marketing staff, financial advisers, and Maine business community to bring the plan from blueprint to market.

As enrollment has stagnated at small, private liberal arts colleges nationally, especially in rural areas, Khoury’s prior leadership as chief financial officer kept Unity College above the financial fray in an increasingly difficult landscape for higher education.

Khoury speaks often about the value proposition in higher education, noting tuition, fees, room and board at Unity College for 2015-16 totaled $36,600 compared to $51,516 at a private, rural four-year Maine college with a similar mission and focus. Yet the recent federal College Scorecard showed Unity alumni earning nearly $10,000 in income more than the alums at the comparative college 10 years after graduation, making a Unity College education an economically sustainable one.

In 2015, Khoury helped develop two new major educational initiatives to be rolled out in 2016: online courses and a Master’s of Professional Science degree, both of which will extend the unique Unity College Sustainability Science curriculum and environmental mission to a wider audience of learners while diversifying Unity’s revenue stream.

A first-generation American, Khoury brings an international and innovative perspective to the highest office at America’s Environmental College. His goals include continuing the school’s positive enrollment trend; continuing to upgrade and repurpose facilities for their highest and best uses; expanding access to a Unity College education to all platforms and to nontraditional learners; and realigning the administration to inculcate sustainability and "leadership in abundance" at every level.

Khoury has made it clear he believes the current model of higher education is not adequate to meet today’s environmental and social challenges.

"For centuries, higher education was separate from real life needs of industry and leadership," he said. "In order to serve in the 21st century, higher education must work with corporations, nonprofits, and world leaders, and prepare graduates to make both a living and a positive impact over a lifetime and around the world."

His experience in higher education is not limited to the board room and executive suite. He has held full-time faculty appointments, coached men’s and women’s soccer, and worked as a director of residence life. Prior to committing to a life of service in higher education, Khoury worked overseas in international business, gaining experience trading with 13 nations while serving as Director of Euro-Gambian Trading with a company based in West Africa.

Khoury holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maine and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

As an executive in higher education, Khoury has earned a reputation as an innovator and education entrepreneur, serving in progressively broader leadership roles since arriving at Unity College in early 2013: first as Senior Vice President for External Affairs, then as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 2015, Khoury added Chief Academic Officer to his responsibilities.

Prior to Unity, Khoury served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Positioning at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa; Vice President for Enrollment Management and College Marketing at Culver Stockton College in Canton, Mo.; Vice President for Enrollment Management at Paul Smith’s College in New York; and Director of Admissions at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

From 2013 to 2015, Unity posted three consecutive years of record enrollment, a 35% increase in annual operating budget, a 300% increase in annual fund giving, and a 10.7% increase in annualized return on an endowment that was higher education’s first to divest from fossil fuels; added two $4.4 million fossil fuel free residence halls (Clifford Hall and Unity 2), and a multi-faceted greenhouse operation dedicated to sustainable agriculture; completed a $1.1 million cafeteria expansion; and planned a $6 million expansion project for fall 2016 that includes a new academic building and new residence hall.

Applications for admission increased 138% from 2012 to 2015: There were 477 applications in 2012, 536 in 2013, 855 in 2014, and a school record 1,133 in 2015. The college enrolled 658 students at the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year, the most ever for the school.

The school has continued to grow and has today one of the broadest environmental and natural resources programs in the United States.

"People outside of Unity College think I’m joking when I say our goal is simply to change the world," Khoury said. "But we’re doing just that, one student at a time."

Academic program

With a curriculum focused solely on sustainability science—a National Science Foundation-backed approach to environmental education—Unity College is an expanding, Maine-grown institution uniquely committed to providing transdisciplinary solutions to a world facing a confluence of environmental, social, and economic crises.

The academic program comprises a broad environmental curriculum, with 18 different majors and eight minors. All degrees focus on environmental or natural resource studies. The college has a reputation for hands-on and outdoor study, and for providing students a gateway to careers working in and protecting the environment.

Placements to graduate schools—particularly in environmental science research, policy, and law, have increased considerably in the last decade—The average SAT composite for incoming freshmen in 2015-16 was 1520—up from 1503 in the prior freshman class—and the average high school GPA in 2015-16 was 3.33—up from 3.21.

Faculty attribute Unity’s success to small class sizes and the very high likelihood that undergraduate students will participate in faculty-led teams conducting research projects, many of which are for the state or federal government. Current or recent examples include examination of the effects of rockweed harvesting on the nearby Maine coast, a study of the spread of the hemlock wooly aldelgid, a major parasite on this important forest tree, a study of Maine lake sediments to help trace the Younger Dryas, anemometric studies in support of community wind power development in Maine, and the discovery of a new species of microscopic tardigrade off the Maine coast.

Unity’s core curriculum is innovative and practical. It includes keystone courses connecting the various disciplines in environmental studies while providing a solid liberal arts foundation — including courses in composition and communication; mathematics; physical, life, and social sciences; as well as humanities and the arts.

Unity also offers its signature Nova program to incoming students. Nova trips are designed to support the transition to Unity College life by emphasizing personal growth, building social connections, and promoting environmental stewardship. All entering students are required to participate in Nova, which fosters significant student growth and makes for a smooth student transition into life at Unity College. Nova trips include a wide selection of outdoor adventure activities, community-building initiatives, and service projects that provide students a chance to give back to the wild and scenic places they’ll be exploring, which include the famed Maine coast, Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park and many exciting points of Maine interest in between.

The majors are: Adventure Based Environmental Education; Adventure Therapy; Art and Environment; Biology; Captive Wildlife Care and Education; Conservation Law Enforcement; Earth and Environmental Science; Environmental Policy, Law, and Society; Environmental Science; Environmental Writing and Media Studies; Liberal Studies; Marine Biology; Parks and Forest Resources; Secondary Education; Sustainable Agriculture; Sustainable Energy Management; Wildlife Biology; and Wildlife and Fisheries Management.

The eight minor areas of study are: Applied Mathematics and Statistics; Botany; Ecology; Environmental Interpretation and Education; Geoscience; Psychology; Sustainable Forest Management; and Zoology.

Alumni go on to careers in environmental policy, conservation law enforcement, animal care and education, renewable energy management, biological research, state park & wildlife refuge management, natural sciences education, wilderness recreation, adventure therapy, and more.

Campus

The campus is located on 225 acres (0.97 km2) overlooking the village of Unity and nearby Unity Pond, with satellite facilities nearby supporting students’ cultural needs, outdoor education, and study of sustainable agriculture.

The original section of the campus consisted of a farm, with several of the farm buildings serving as residence halls, plus classrooms and administrative offices. The original farmhouse now is home to the College Development, and Public Safety offices. Agriculture has returned to the campus through a new greenhouse operation and extensive gardens run by the Veggies for All program, which originated on campus and, in 2010, provided 15,000 pounds of food to the Unity Area Food Pantry.[3]

The Dorothy W. Quimby Library houses a collection of over 50,000 volumes to more than 400 scholarly and general-interest periodicals. The collection has been assembled primarily to support the college's curriculum, but additionally serves as the public library for area towns; its holdings include a large collection of general fiction and children's books.[4]

Gifted to the college in 2007, Unity owns and operates the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts and the Bert & Coral Clifford Field of Dreams.

The Unity College Center for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St., downtown Unity, boasts an eclectic year-round performance schedule that brings outstanding culture in the music, arts, and theater to rural mid-Maine.

The Field of Dreams, located on the shores of nearby Unity Pond, consists of baseball, softball, and soccer fields used by college and local recreational leagues. The Field also has water access, a one-mile walking trail, playground and picnic facilities. Both the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts and the Bert & Coral Clifford Field of Dreams were recognized in 2010 as destinations in the state of Maine by the Bangor Daily News.

Unity College is a leader in the movement toward sustainability, and strives to create a campus where college facilities can also serve as learning laboratories. The campus produces exceptionally low climate emissions of 3,521 pounds per student per year, achieved through a program of phasing out fossil fuels, energy retrofits, and emissions offsets. Unity College uses the CarbonMAP to track and analyze emissions data. All recent and new buildings are or will be low or zero carbon.

The first of these is Unity House, designed and built by Bensonwood Architects of New Hampshire and built in 2008. Unity House is LEED Platinum certified, making it the first college president’s house in the nation with this high standard. The building is due to be repurposed into lab and classroom space for the sustainability sciences in 2016.

The college completed TerraHaus in 2011, the first net-zero-carbon college residence hall in the U.S. built to the Passive House standard, a comprehensive system featuring a very well insulated, virtually airtight building primarily heated by passive solar gain. The Passive House standard represents the highest international standard for energy efficiency.

In 2013, Unity College acquired McKay Farm and Research Station, formerly Half Moon Gardens, a multi-faceted greenhouse operation in nearby Thorndike. The facility serves as a direct extension of the 225-acre campus, providing the community with educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. Students use the facility and related coursework to develop and model replicable solutions for environmental challenges, in addition to creating a marketplace presence to serve the community. Students learn invaluable business management and administrative skills necessary to operate a successful agricultural business.

In 2013 and 2014, the college opened two new $4.4 million fossil fuel free residence halls -- Clifford Hall and Unity 2—both built to LEED Silver standards. A third, also built to LEED Silver standards, exclusively for first-year students, will open in Fall 2016. In the same period, Unity completed a $1.1 million cafeteria expansion and a $6 million expansion for fall 2016 that includes a new academic building to support student success plus the third new residence hall in three years.

The growth has added tax dollars and personal spending to the Maine economy. Unity College now brings more than $10 million to Maine each year in tuition and other payments. In recent years, the college, the fifth-largest employer in Waldo County, added 25 new full-time positions—even as small, rural colleges retrenched nationally and the overall number of liberal arts schools declined.

Unity College contributes to a better Maine with numerous service learning projects, such as hosting New England’s largest environmental career fair for all, and the PeaceJam leadership conference for high school students interested in conflict resolution. The Unity College Bear Study—a unique undergraduate research partnership with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife—has garnered crucial habitat data and international attention. A student-led survey helped the Town of Winslow craft a waste management plan. Volunteers annually raise funds for local and global hunger relief.

Approximately 27 percent of food served in dining halls is locally sourced; more than one quarter of the student body is from Maine; and all recent construction employed local contractors. Nearly 75% of Unity College students live on campus, forming a close-knit and inclusive residential community housed in 10 residence halls.

Sports

Unity College (mascot the "Rams") competes in the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) which is a Division II member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). The men's varsity sports are: Basketball, Cross-Country, and Soccer. The women's varsity sports are: Basketball, Cross-Country, Soccer and Volleyball. Additionally Unity College has a number of club sports (Woodsmen's Team, ice hockey, indoor soccer and ultimate Frisbee), plus intramural sports.

The Unity College men's and women's cross-country teams both won the 1996 NSCAA (National Small College Athletic Association) National Championship meet held at Michigan Christian College in Rochester Hills, Michigan. These were Unity College's first-ever men's and women's national championship teams. The NSCAA was the predecessor of today's United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). In 1992 the Unity College women's cross country team won the NAIA Division 5 New England Championship meet held at Johnson State College, Vermont.

External links

• Unity College official website
• Unity College Campus Sustainability website