BIDDEFORD — The University of New England has announced that the inauguration of Dr. James Herbert as the sixth president of the university will be held at 11 a.m.  Saturday, Sept. 9 on the Biddeford Campus.

The ceremony will be held on the lawn of the Alfond Center for Health Sciences, where greetings to the new president will be given by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and the President of Drexel University John Fry, among others.

Herbert, who took office on July 1, came to UNE from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he served as executive vice provost and dean of the Graduate College.

He previously held a variety of administrative roles at Drexel, including interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, head of the Department of Psychology, interim head of the Department of Biology, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Program, director of the Ph.D., Program in Clinical Psychology, and president of the University Faculty.

He is replacing Herbert Danielle Ripich, who retired at the end of June, as UNE’s president.

“I am deeply honored to play this role in the next chapter of UNE’s unique and remarkable story,” said Herbert, “It’s a story steeped in the history of courageous people who were dauntless in their efforts to build and grow an institution of higher learning.

“Throughout the years, the university and its predecessor institutions continuously upheld the values of dogged determination and inclusivity while delivering on the promise of education and the personal fulfillment that comes with it,” he said. “I know that that spirit of UNE is ever-present and will push us forward, together, to a bright, bright future.”

Besides Collins and Fry, attendees of the inauguration will include other elected officials; delegates from various colleges and universities; and UNE board members, faculty, staff and students.

Maine Poet Laureate Emeritus Wesley McNair will address the audience, and members of Herbert’s immediate family will perform a musical interlude prior to the investiture of the new president and his following remarks.

The University of New England is Maine’s largest private university, an innovative educational community with two distinctive coastal Maine campuses, a vibrant new campus in Tangier, Morocco, and a robust offering of degree and certificate programs online. 

UNE is home to Maine’s only medical and dental schools—part of a comprehensive health education mission built on a pioneering interprofessional approach that includes pharmacy, nursing and an array of allied health professions.