Strong campus

In response to Tuesday’s Bangor Daily News article on the University College of Bangor (UCB), I would like to clarify in unmistakable terms that the University of Maine at Augusta is committed to developing a strong and responsive campus in Bangor to meeting the needs of the people of eastern Maine. At no time has the university ever considered closing the College of Bangor, nor have there even been discussions of that possibility. In fact, UMA recently has approved two new programs in Bangor — Landscape Horticulture and Animal Medical Technology-Veterinary Science.

UMA at Bangor (also known as UCB, the College of Bangor and Bangor Community College) is a vital economic and educational component of the higher education community of the region. The campus shortly will come into $1.8 million from the sale of some UMA-Bangor property. Those funds are dedicated to the restoration of the campus for the College of Bangor. Near the end of summer, the university will form a committee to review how best to utilize those funds for the benefit of UMA-Bangor. This university committee will be comprised of members of the faculty, staff and student body, as well as representatives of the chancellor’s office, the city of Bangor, the Chamber of Commerce and Eastern Maine Technical College.

The committe’s charge will be to look at all of the options available for the redevelopment of UCB. Those options include, but are not limited to, renovating existing facilities on the current site; building a new campus at the current location; relocating the college to downtown Bangor; or perhaps co-locating at EMTC. The committee will then advise me as to the advantages and disadvantages of each possible choice.

Only after a thorough discussion of the options will UMA make a decision on how to reinvest in the future development of the campus. Owen Cargol President UMA-Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, Augusta