Unobskey College to serve Maine, Canadian students

How is it possible for someone living in the farthest reaches of Maine -for example, in the city of Calais, along the Canadian border – to get the same quality of public services as someone living in central or southern Maine? This is a question that has long vexed public policy-makers in Maine.

It turns out that people across the border have been asking the same question. How is it possible for someone living far from New Brunswick’s population centers – for example, in the town of St. Stephen, along the U.S. border – to get the same quality of public services as someone living in St. John and Fredericton?

The answer to both questions is the same. We can both do better by working together. And this is exactly what President Bill Beardsley of Husson College is achieving through his new college in Calais. The new college will serve students from Canada and the U.S. with master’s degree programs in business, education, criminal justice, and psychology, taught on-site by Husson faculty; a full range of courses and degrees provided through distance learning by the University of New Brunswick, under the bold leadership of President John McLaughlin; a doctor of divinity program offered by the Bangor Theological Seminary; and journalism courses from the New England School of Communications. The courses and degrees will complement, and not compete with, existing offerings of the Maine Community College and University of Maine in Calais.

How is this possible? How is it possible to make a new college with expanded courses and programs succeed in a spot where previous efforts at higher education have proven difficult? It will be possible because the new institution will serve a market area twice the size of previous efforts. It will serve students along both sides of the St. Croix River Valley, a total of 30,000 Canadians and Americans. A market twice as large can support twice the programming.

We are honored that President Beardsley is naming the new institution the Unobskey College, in recognition of our gift which is helping to establish it. We have given to many causes in our life, but nothing means more to us than supporting higher education in Calais. The University of Maine facility currently on the site, named the Unobskey School, has created opportunities for many men and women in Calais in the past seven years, under the leadership of Gayle Moholland. The new college builds upon her efforts.

An international border is a big deal if you work in the State Department or the Homeland Security Department in Washington. It’s not a big deal if you live along it. I was born in St. Stephen, and grew up in Calais. Residents of St. Stephen and Calais work, play, shop, date and marry, back and forth across the border. Now, with the Unobskey College, we will get higher education back and forth across the border as well.

This is a template for what can be done all across the U.S.-Canadian border, from Seattle to Eastport. It is also a template for further efforts in Calais and St. Stephen. We are working on an international Franklin Roosevelt Trail on both sides of the St. Croix River. We will continue to promote the idea of a toll on the new international bridge that could support education and economic development on both sides of the border. The Unobskey College is just a start.

We want to thank Husson President Bill Beardsley once again for his vision, and University of New Brunswick President John McLaughlin for his courage. We thank President Imes of the Bangor Theological Seminary and President Thom Johnston of the New England School of Communications for joining in. With leaders like these, Maine and New Brunswick can be confident of continuing to accomplish great things in the future.

Sidney and Nancy Unobskey are married and live in San Francisco, California, and Robbinston, Maine. Sidney is an international real estate developer who grew up in Calais. Nancy is a licensed clinical social worker and lifelong supporter of women’s health, children and the arts.