The University of Maine is the principal research and graduate institution of the state of Maine. It offers a comprehensive program of undergraduate study that is enriched by the resources of its university setting. The university is one of seven institutions in the University of Maine System; each institution complements and collaborates with the others in the System to fulfill the needs of public higher education in the state of Maine. The University of Maine has statewide responsibility for those educational, research, and public service programs associated with its designation as Maine's land-grant university and sea-grant college. In the spirit of its land-grant heritage, the university is committed to the creation and dissemination of knowledge to improve the lives of its students and Maine citizens in their full social, economic, and cultural diversity.