FARMINGTON — In continued recognition of the University of Maine at Farmington’s 150-year contribution to public higher education in Maine, UMF will present the Farmington Forum Series, “History — Why It Matters.”

This final academic focus of the celebratory, year-long forum series explores important milestones in the past and how they help  understand who we are today. The free and open to the public presentations will run from April 7 to 16 at various UMF venues.

Allison Hepler, UMF professor of history, said, “The Farmington Forum Series began with education, the heart and soul of the Farmington State Normal School in 1864. We end with the recognition that UMF’s past — and the contributions of each student, faculty member and community participant — bring a perspective that centers us in this place today.”

Alan Taylor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, will begin the series with the keynote address, “Freedom, Slavery and the Civil War of 1812.”

A Maine native, Taylor is a historian with expertise in early American history, he and has written on colonial America, the Revolution and the Early American Republic. His 1996 book, “William Cooper’s Town: Power and the Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic,” won the Pulitzer, the Beveridge and the Bancroft prizes.

Maine Archivist David Cheever will be the next presenter in the series with “America’s Civil War: The Most Disruptive and Transformative Event in Maine History.”

Cheever has worked in education, government and the media. He has won numerous awards from the Associated Press and the Maine Publishers Association.

Other presenters include Annette Kolodny, UMF Libra Scholar; Anne Marie Wolf, UMF associate professor of history; Michael Schoeppner, UMF visiting assistant professor of history; and Lisa Brooks, former UMF Libra Scholar.

The series is extending a special invitation to social science alumni to “Come Home to UMF” for the offering of history events. The series is sponsored by the UMF Department of History.

For additional details and information on student, staff and alumni activities, visit http://umf.maine.libguides.com/historymatters.