PRESQUE ISLE – Mary Anne Alhadeff believes in education from “K to gray.”

The president and chief executive officer of Maine Public Broadcasting Corp. spoke Monday during the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s first business associate’s luncheon of the year.

Alhadeff delivered her speech about the value of liberal arts education on the institution’s 100th anniversary.

The day also was marked with a “groundbreaking” ceremony for UMPI’s new $9 million Health and Physical Education Complex.

About 200 people attended the ceremony, according to Erin Benson, UMPI director of public relations.

Instead of a regular groundbreaking, participants were asked to throw a stadium cup of water into the delineated area for the building, symbolic of the water that will be in the facility’s new swimming pool.

During the luncheon, Alhadeff stressed the importance of lifelong learning during her speech and correlated such learning to liberal arts education.

“When I graduated from college, people used to say, ‘A liberal arts education doesn’t prepare you for anything,'” she said. “Well, this month, I’m celebrating my 24th anniversary in public broadcasting, and I can honestly tell you I’ve used my liberal arts education every day of my career.”

The CEO said she believed liberal arts is an education for the sheer love of learning, which has become “a fundamental need not just in my business, but in all businesses.”

A liberal arts education, she explained, commits students to lifelong learning. They also learn “the basics” – critical thinking and how to write. In many cases, Alhadeff said, employers can teach workers the rest.

The CEO was speaking from experience.

Alhadeff earned her bachelor’s degree in education and French studies at the College of Saint Catherine, St. Paul, Minn. She taught French for three years and then moved on to Twin Cities Public Television, also in St. Paul, as a production assistant and secretary. In 24 years, Alhadeff has worked her way “up the public broadcasting ladder” to president.

“You can always learn on the job,” Alhadeff said in an interview after the luncheon.

Alhadeff’s colleague Bonnie Adams, Maine Public Broadcasting’s director of major gifts, who worked in the private sector before moving to public broadcasting, added: “Maine people are very open to taking you in as long as you have the nuts and bolts, and if you have the attitude, enthusiasm and drive.”

Alhadeff described the affinity that exists between public broadcasting and liberal arts.

“Our mission is to engage the minds and enrich the lives of all the people of Maine,” she said. “We deliver educational content from ‘K to gray,'” meaning kindergarten to old age.To encourage lifelong learning, the corporation provides noncommercial, nonviolent programming for children and educational programming for all ages. She said such programs instill a love of learning in the young and inform Mainers of what’s happening in their state. The programs also provide academic content – from arts and humanities to social, natural and physical science – and the opportunity for critical thinking.

“Because of this, we consider public broadcasting to be a liberal arts education,” Alhadeff said.

The CEO said the corporation is expanding such education by working with the Compact for Higher Education, a cooperative effort of the Maine Development Foundation and the Maine Community Foundation.

“We realized we needed to increase the number of people attaining two- and four-year degrees to improve the economic development climate in Maine,” Alhadeff said.

Maine Public Broadcasting will dedicate one of its four digital cable channels for informal and formal educational programming to encourage economic development in Maine, Alhadeff said.

The corporation also will work to encourage higher education in traditional ways, the CEO said.

“We will continue our role in promoting Maine colleges and universities to help people learn about educational opportunities here,” Alhadeff said.

NEWS reporter Beurmond Banville contributed to this report.