FARMINGTON — University of Maine at Farmington President Kathryn A. Foster has invited the campus community, UMF alumni and members of the public to the celebratory naming of the university’s Education Center as the “Theodora J. Kalikow Education Center.”

The dedication takes place at 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 26, on the Farmington campus at the corner of High and South streets.

The University of Maine System Board of Trustees authorized the naming at its September 2016 board meeting.

Kalikow served as UMF president from 1994 to 2012. She is the longest-serving UMF president since the school became a four-year college in 1945. Committed to putting student success first and foremost, Kalikow strengthened the academic experience at UMF with a renewed focus on experiential learning, internships and undergraduate research.

During her time at UMF, the university was recognized as “One of America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report for 15 consecutive years, as one of 20 outstanding colleges selected as national models of educational effectiveness and by the U.S. Congressional Record for its efforts to make an environmentally sustainable campus a reality.

Kalikow was an early signatory of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment and was awarded the Green Building Leadership Award from the Maine Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council for her pioneering role in advancing environmentally-responsible buildings in Maine.

Completed in 2007, the UMF Education Center was awarded LEED-Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The 44,500-square-foot building is the home for UMF’s College of Education, Health and Rehabilitation.

The building uses geothermal energy for heating and cooling and recycled and sustainable materials throughout. In its first year of operation, the facility was proven to save 70 percent in annual energy costs compared to a structure of similar size built with traditional building methods in the 1970s.

Prior to the ceremony, tours of the building will take place beginning at 3 p.m. A public reception will be held at the North Dining Hall in the Olsen Student Center immediately following the ceremony.

The public is also invited to attend ongoing Arts Week events at the Emery Community Arts Center and Merrill Hall beginning at 6 p.m. and continuing into the evening.