UMaine to Launch Online “Building a Vibrant Economy” Presentations
Contact: Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
BANGOR SAVINGS BANK SPONSORS “VIRTUAL CONFERENCE TO SHARE EXPERTS” VIEWS ON MAINE’S ECONOMIC STRATEGY
ORONO — Beginning Monday, January 26, four University of Maine professors will present research-based perspectives on topics that can help Maine citizens and policymakers gain deeper understanding of issues affecting Maine’s economic future. The presentations will be posted online at UMaine’s “Building a Vibrant Maine Economy” website.
Sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank, this “virtual conference” will also feature commentary by Cianbro, Inc. President and CEO Peter Vigue and State Economist Catherine Reilly. UMaine President Robert Kennedy and Bangor Savings Bank Senior Vice President Yellow Light Breen provide introductory comments. The site includes links to other online UMaine resources related to economic development.
“This is an important subject and it would certainly be appropriate for a traditional in-person conference where people would travel from all around Maine to a single location to hear these presentations,” says John Mahon, dean of UMaine’s College of Business, Public Policy and Health. “Given the economic and other pressures our state’s business and community leaders currently face, we conceived this idea as a way to convey the information in a format that will allow those who are interested to access it at their convenience.”
In addition to the School of Economics and College of Business, Public Policy and Health, the university’s College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture and UMaine Cooperative Extension are participants in this initiative.
“Without a vibrant Maine economy, based on the right fundamental long-term strategies and investments, our customers and neighbors across Maine cannot prosper and neither can out company,” says Bangor Savings Bank Senior Vice President Yellow Light Breen. “With Maine’s economy now facing serious challenges, it is more timely than ever to launch this effort using modern technology and creative thinking to bring the expertise of UMaine experts to as many Maine leaders as we can, to frame the discussions of how Maine must focus and invest over the long haul to prosper.”
The first of the four presentations, with School of Economics Professor Todd Gabe discussing “The Knowledge Economy,” will be posted at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26. The others will appear on the website according to this schedule:
– Maine’s Brain Gain, Prof. Gary Hunt (Feb. 2)
– Bottom-Up Business Innovation, Prof. Terry Porter (Feb. 9)
– Investing in Maine’s College Students, Prof. Philip Trostel (Feb. 16)
Each presentation is approximately 20 minutes in length, produced in a lively question-and-answer format hosted by Jim McConnon, a professor in the School of Economics and UMaine Cooperative Extension.