UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

Richard Roberts, M.S.

Richard Roberts is Executive Director of Academic Program Support and Online Learning for the Division of Lifelong Learning (DLL) at the University of Maine. He has worked in higher education for almost eleven years serving students in a variety of roles such as advising, academic success coaching, teaching, curriculum development, and student success programming. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in educational policy studies, both from the University of Kentucky.

Richard’s higher education experiences have mirrored his passion and commitment to student service with opportunities to work on a variety of student success programming initiatives. He was a first-generation college student who struggled during the early years of his undergraduate degree, returning to finish after a significant amount of time out of school.

In addition to his overall higher education experience, Richard had some unique opportunities to work with students on the transition from undergraduate to graduate programs, helping students seek out programs that are a good fit, and navigating the application/admissions process from start to finish.

Prior to joining the UMaine DLL team, Richard worked with students in degree completion, graduate program selection, and application, career preparation, and student success strategies and programming. He also worked in a pre-professional advising and recruitment role, helping students apply to and gain admission into various health care fields such as medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, physician assistant, and communication sciences and disorders.