ORONO – Thinking of Maine as a place of opportunity, both educational and entrepreneurial, was the message Gov. John Baldacci shared with students at the University of Maine on Wednesday.

The governor spoke to the UM community to stress the importance of educational and business opportunities in the state, as well as to open up the lines of communication between administration and students.

“I wanted them to know where Maine is headed, what the opportunities are going to be in our state,” Baldacci said.

The event was part of UM’s Guest Lecture Series, sponsored by Student Government Inc.

“We basically wanted a time for students to talk to the governor about some of the issues students are facing,” said Loren Bowley, coordinator of the lecture series and a senior English major at UMaine.

Baldacci recently was in Ireland for a weeklong trade mission in hopes of tapping into new business opportunities overseas. University of Maine administrators also took part in the trade mission. In sharing the experience with the UM audience, Baldacci stressed that “Maine sells itself” both in terms of the state’s resources and its people. “You’re not going to find any finer people, harder-working people, or more productive people,” he said.

One of Baldacci’s goals for the trade mission was to find new markets for Maine agricultural and manufacturing products. Improving trade lines to Europe also will open doors to Asian markets, he said. Trade routes now appear to go around Maine, and Baldacci hopes to change that.

By working with nonprofit organizations to make scholarship funds more readily available and promoting Maine’s community colleges, the governor said he also hopes to improve the educational opportunities Maine offers.

“More learning and more earning go together,” Baldacci said. He wants more earning to take place in Maine and said the state’s investment in research and development – in which the university plays a large role – is one way to ensure that happens.

“We want to make sure you stay here not because you have to, but because this is a great place to try out opportunities,” he said. “I realize that future industries are going to be created out of [the university’s] research.”

Baldacci said it’s important for administrators to listen to and work with the students because it bodes well for both parties.