Great investment for Greater Bangor

A short while ago, the city manager of Bangor labeled the University College of Bangor “… the hidden jewel of the system.” For many years, this quiet treasure has been providing the citizens of the greater Bangor area with responsible access to higher education. The campus prides itself on thorough diagnostic testing prior to first semester registration to ensure proper course sequencing for initial ability levels. The institution offers a variety of convenient and relevant courses leading to practical academic degrees – a sensible admixture for busy adults seeking improved employment and ultimate career satisfaction.

University College of Bangor is now completing its 36th year of operation. The campus is located on 42 acres and occupies ten buildings of the former Dow Air Force Base. An additional three buildings are leased to agencies within the community.

One of three campuses of the University of Maine at Augusta, UCB (or BCC, the sentimental acronym for Bangor Community College that is still often used by area residents), has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade. The campus has expanded from seven associate degree programs and 700 students in 1995 -the initial year of the campus affiliation with UMaine, Augusta – to 28 programs (13 associate degrees, five baccalaureate degrees, and 10 certificates). The official Fall 2003 enrollment was 1,130, the highest head count in the history of the campus.

The student profile of UCB is pure Maine, and especially pure greater Bangor. Over 92 percent of our students reside in the Region 3 area (comprised of Penobscot, Piscataquis and Hancock counties) and 100 percent are Maine residents. Seventy-five percent of our students are first generation college attendees, more than 60 percent are nontraditional (24 years of age or older) and many have families and are employed in the community. Nearly eighty percent are women – typically mature adults with family responsibilities who desire to improve their life chances via a small, friendly, and accountable educational access institution.

When UCB students graduate (incidentally, our May 2004, graduation class will be the largest in our history with over 175 diplomas being awarded in twenty distinct majors), nine out of ten of them remain and invest their futures in the area. Many of our graduates gain employment from a community agency that served as a source for their academic program internship. Seven out of 10 UCB graduates have experienced at least one “on-the-job” mandatory credit course in earning their degrees. This past year, 142 separate community agencies engaged our degree students in an internship experience.

In addition, the students in our dental health programs assist in offering clinical services to the public. Since 1971, when the campus had 300 students and only one graduate, more than 30,000 students have enrolled at UCB and 6,011 of them received a diploma from here. The city solicitor is a graduate of UCB, as is the postmaster of Bangor, as are most of the area chiefs of police, and countless numbers of law enforcement officials (including a former head of the Maine State Police, Malcolm Dow. Go to any area dentist and you’ll soon discover at least one dental hygienist and/or assistant at your side (my dentist in Hampden employs four UCB graduates).

In 2000, WBRC Architects and Engineers crafted a dynamic Campus Master Plan for UCB. Many of the recommendations of the plan have now been accomplished.

Maine Avenue passers-by have witnessed the remodeling of Camden Hall into our state-of-the-art science building. Four old former dormitories have been razed and a landscaping project is underway. Bangor Hall has been remodeled to house the Admissions Office, Interactive Television Center and Campus Dean’s Office. A new and attractive campus entryway was constructed and our mascot, the Maine Moose, sits atop the new entrance – a majestic sculpture by a former UCB student and renowned artist, Forrest Hart.

A second campus sculpture by Andreas von Heune will be constructed this summer. The gym has been equipped with all new exercise and athletic equipment and is now our Fitness Center for students, staff, and the community. The College Center has been refurbished with new computer classrooms, a ballroom (open to numerous community rentals), and Bullwinkle’s – a cafe run in conjunction with the culinary arts program students and faculty of the Penobscot Job Corps. UCB also has provided a “plush” new headquarters for the Women, Work and Community Center – a vital assist and access agency for area women seeking a new start in their lives.

UCB is a “tuition-driven” campus (as is the institution of UMA). This means that the operational budget of UCB is principally accounted for by the payments of the enrolled students and not predominantly by the state appropriation and, ultimately, by the UMaine system’s funding formula. UCB-UMA receives the smallest portion of the system’s appropriated allotment and these appreciated dollars are spent prudently with the student utmost in mind. UCB is easily the most cost-efficient campus in the system (how many other campuses with 1,100 employ only one full-time, on- campus administrator?) and its affiliate, UMA, the most efficient, publically financed, higher educational institution in New England.

I very respectfully ask the parties responsible for the UMS Strategic Reorganization Plan to collaborate with the Community College of Maine representatives, the state Legislature, and the governor for purposes of developing a unified seamless educational system: a system whereby effective and efficient campuses are not sacrificed and the educational tax dollar is dispersed more evenly for more Mainers across all regions of the state. I understand that attempts are being made to merge the community colleges with the UMaine system and rid the state of its dualistic educational bureaucracies. I salute that attempt.

Perhaps, one day in the near future, a vice chancellor for community colleges and outreach services can be a reality? With the unification into a single public k-16 educational system, the UMaine system could better afford to provide access and quality to all the citizenry of Maine.

When a viable educational campus dies, similar to the death of a valued friend, we who remain also die a little and the loss is immeasurable. UCB is your campus and I sincerely hope you desire to maintain this gem for the people of the Bangor area. UCB is a wonderful investment for the greater Bangor region. It provides a myriad of opportunities to a distinctly motivated segment of people who opt to raise their levels of aspiration via an accessible, personal, and quality education.

On May 5, representatives from the UMaine system will visit UCB to hear opinions and concerns. I would hope that the citizens of this area who are interested in the UCB campus will attend. The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the College Center Ballroom.

Tracy R. Gran is dean of the campus at the University College of Bangor.