Morning Sentinel, News Center Maine report Skowhegan couple revealed as $10 million donors to new engineering center

Morning Sentinel and News Center Maine adapted a University of Maine news release reporting Skowhegan natives E. James “Jim” Ferland and Eileen P. Ferland have been revealed as the anonymous donors who gave $10 million to help build the new Engineering Education and Design Center at UMaine. The new facility, to be named in honor of the couple, will house the biomedical engineering program and department of mechanical engineering, as well as teaching laboratories and space for engineering majors to complete their senior capstone projects, according to the release. The gift, announced at the UMaine Alumni Association’s 2019 reunion dinner, helped the University of Maine Foundation set a record for giving totals — $17.4 million in private support from more than 350 individuals, corporations and foundations. “The Engineering Education and Design Center will transform engineering education at UMaine, and for the state, fostering an even more collaborative community of learners, teachers and partners,” said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “This new facility will help fulfill a critical need by educating engineers for Maine and beyond, and it aligns with the University of Maine System plan for research and development.” The new center “will give UMaine the capacity to educate up to 3,000 engineering students to meet the demand for our graduates from companies in Maine and beyond,” according to Dana Humphrey, dean of the UMaine College of Engineering. Portland Press Herald carried the Morning Sentinel article, and Mainebiz also reported on the naming of the center.