UMaine gets $10M gift for engineering building, media report

The Associated Press, Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Maine Public, Mainebiz, WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) reported the University of Maine has received a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor to help build its engineering education and design center. The gift is the largest single nonestate donation in the university’s history, the BDN reported. UMaine is in the midst of a lofty fundraising campaign, Vision for Tomorrow, with a goal of $200 million. The donation brings that amount over $148 million, the BDN article states. The engineering center is the top priority of that campaign, according to UMaine’s president. “This investment builds on the remarkable growth and success of UMaine engineering,” President Susan J. Hunter said. “The engineering education and design center [EEDC] will help the College of Engineering expand its capacity to help meet student demand and Maine’s need for engineers,” Hunter added. Since 2001, the undergraduate engineering program has had 70 percent growth in enrollment. Dana Humphrey, dean of the College of Engineering at UMaine, told Maine Public the facility will be the center for the college’s undergraduate engineering education programs. He said the new building will allow students to be educated for the modern world and allow collaborative learning. U.S. News & World Report, The Seattle Times and National Post carried the AP article.