Office of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources and Engagement

Office of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources and Engagement (SPIRE)

In December 2022, the Office of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources and Engagement (SPIRE) was officially announced, rebranding the Office of Innovation and Economic Development (OIED) to more fully reflect UMaine’s work in these areas. Building on the legacy of OIED, SPIRE is wholly focused on fulfilling the university’s service mission through a strong emphasis on strategic partnerships, as well as corporate and community engagement.

SPIRE is led by vice president of strategic partnerships, innovation, resources and engagement Jake Ward, in close collaboration with associate vice president of strategic partnerships, innovation, resources and engagement Renee Kelly. Two of UMaine’s key industry service centers, the Process Development Center and the Advanced Manufacturing Center, have joined the Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research as part of SPIRE. All three facilities cater to existing and emerging sectors that are critical to Maine’s economy, and their organization under SPIRE has created new operational efficiencies, as well as new opportunities to serve the state’s businesses. SPIRE also includes affiliated staff members focused on food innovation and forestry, both of whom maintain close ties to external partners in their respective sectors.

In addition to managing development of UMaine research innovations and intellectual property, and supporting entrepreneurship across the University of Maine System, SPIRE leads corporate engagement for UMaine with the help of a new team member. John Burns, longtime managing director of Maine Venture Fund who also spent more than a decade as second vice president of investments at UNUM, joined UMaine as director of corporate engagement in 2022. He is supported by corporate engagement events and programs manager Taylor Boucher, a recent graduate of UMaine’s MIRTA accelerator program program and an MBA candidate at UMaine’s Graduate School of Business. SPIRE’s corporate engagement team is focused on expanding broad and deep relationships with a set of key corporate partners and developing strategic plans for UMaine’s ongoing engagement with the business community in Maine and beyond.

Two recently hired special assistants, Katie Gloede and Kerry Chasteen, work directly with Ward and Kelly on logistics, scheduling, and special projects for a rapidly evolving office with many moving parts.