SOUTH PORTLAND – The University of Southern Maine’s Department of Conferences has won the nation’s top award for conference planning and management for its coordination of the 2003 International Conference on the History of Cartography, co-sponsored by USM’s Osher Map Library and the Harvard Map Collection.

It was held June 2003, in Cambridge, Mass., and in Portland.

The Outstanding Institutional Achievement Award for 2003, presented to USM by the Association for Collegiate Conference and Event Directors International, cited the conference organizers’ expertise in coordinating multiple conference locales, developing effective electronic registration, and providing detailed assistance in housing and travel information for a largely international audience.

“We are so grateful for this recognition,” said USM Director of Conferences Elizabeth Morin. “It says that we’re setting the pace for how conference operations are being run in a worldwide arena.” The USM Department of Conference plans nearly 20 major conferences annually.

Morin noted that USM’s limited on-campus conference facilities have prompted planners to be resourceful in developing a wide network of off-site contacts. “Ultimately, that has been our strength,” she said. “We have developed expertise in working with hotels, meeting sites, transportation and food services, all of which came into play during this conference.”

The Association for Collegiate Conference and Event Directors International, established in 1980, is a leading professional association for college conference directors and professionals.