UMF dedicates curriculum materials center to longtime professor, friend

FARMINGTON – Family, friends and University of Maine at Farmington faculty members packed into the Bjorn Lounge in the Kalikow Education Center Friday, in order to recognize the contributions of a pioneering special education professor.

Loraine Spenciner, a longtime faculty member and Farmington native, passed away in October 2015. An early developer of UMF’s Special Education program, Spenciner was lauded for being years ahead of her time in the field of Early Childhood Special Education, co-authoring text books and receiving international recognition that brought her to the Beijing Institute of Technology in China and the National Institute of Education in Singapore. She was one of handful of the professors that first espoused bringing Special and General Education students together at the same site for integrated programs.

To help accomplish this goal, Spenciner began researching and gathering a large collection of assistive technology devices. These devices enable students with disabilities to successfully receive their education in general education classrooms, and show their strengths and abilities when they participate in assessments. They can range from computer programs and technology to lower-tech tools; in a 2010 interview with the Daily Bulldog, Spenciner recounted one student in Bejing adapting a pair of chopsticks with an eraser to make it easier for the child to eat.

With the help of grant funding, Spenciner enabled the creation of UMF’s Assistive Technology Collection, currently housed inside the Kalikow Education Center. The center also includes a donation of more than 7,000 books contributed by Marcia Nash, former UMF education faculty member. It is a collection of resources that has formed the basis for other colleges to create their own collections, according to Lance Neeper, Assistant Professor of Special Education.

“Loraine’s work was ahead of her time,” he said Friday.

Sue Thorson, Associate Professor of Special Education Emerita, described Spenciner as hardworking, supportive of her students and fun.

“She modeled for her students what it means to be a good teacher,” Thorson said.

Spenciner’s husband, Jay Spenciner, was also present with other family members. He said that Loraine Spenciner, who was born in Farmington, had loved the area and the college.

“She loved being here,” he said. “She loved Farmington. She loved the school.”

UMF President Kathryn Foster dedicated the curriculum materials center to Spenciner. The center had been previously dedicated to Kalikow, Foster noted, but last week’s dedication of the entire building to the former UMF president had cleared the way to name the collection after Spenciner.

“For the vision and the content of this center,” Foster said, “it’s also appropriate that we make this dedication today in Loraine’s name.”

Additionally, Katherine Yardley, Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Education, Health and Rehabilitation, presented two students with the newly-created Loraine Spenciner Scholarship. Deirdre Deosedlo of Winthrop and Brittany Jones of Salem, N.H. received the scholarship, which was established at UMF in 2015 through the lead generosity and intent of Spenciner, as well as through contributions from her family, former colleagues and friends.