The University of New England is joining forces with the Maine Public Health Association to give students hands-on training in tackling complex health challenges.
The collaboration will link students from the school’s new Institute of Public and Planetary Health with a statewide network of public health organizations, providing experience with issues from climate change to an aging population.
Launching this spring, the initiative will bring together students in public health, nutrition, marine science, climate change leadership, medicine and business to work in teams with the Maine Public Health Association.
“Climate change affects food systems, food systems affect chronic disease, and communities need workers who can see these connections and work across industries to find solutions,” said Gwendolyn Mahon, UNE provost, senior vice president of academic affairs and acting director of the new institute. “The challenges facing Maine and the world are too complex for any one field to solve alone.”
The Maine Public Health Association, which represents a network of more than 80 organizations statewide, will provide students with access to mentors and field experience at hospitals, environmental groups and community nonprofits.
“This is about giving tomorrow’s health professionals and business leaders real-world experience,” said Rebecca Boulos, the group’s executive director. “They’ll develop practical skills like advocacy and systems thinking while building relationships with professionals already doing this work.”
The University of New England has campuses in Biddeford and Portland, which house Maine’s only medical school, as well as overseas in Tangier, Morocco.
Among Maine’s largest colleges and universities, UNE was ranked No. 7 in the most recent Mainebiz Book of Lists, with 2,082 undergraduate students. Rankings were based on undergraduate full-time enrollment in fall 2025.
