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By Ernest Scheyder
For The Maine Campus
In June of this year, voters in Maine went to the polls to decide on a referendum that would have permitted the passage of the bond issue to “stimulate job growth and renovate facilities [in the state of Maine].”
Worth $34 million, the bond was a hot topic, especially since the state is in the middle of a $250 million budget deficit and the state constitution dictates that the budget must be balanced each year, according to Rep. Jay MacDougal (R-North Berwick) and Rep. Jonathan Thomas (D-Orono).
By a wide majority, and voted to give the funds to the university to build an Advanced Manufacturing Center.
Five million dollars of the bond is designed to be allocated to the University of Maine for the express purpose of constructing the AMC. Another $4 million of it will go to the University of Southern Maine and the remaining funds are to be used at various educational and societal institutions statewide, according to www.maine.gov.
The bond originated in the state legislature where it was sponsored in the business and economic development committee by Richardson (D-Brunswick). It was supported extensively by Rep. Jonathan Thomas, a 2001 UMaine graduate, who also is on the business and economic development committee.
Once the issue made it to the floor, it was decided to send the matter to referendum by a 116-21 vote. Since it was a bond, it will have no bearing on the state’s budget. Maine has one of the highest bond ratings in the nation, according to Thomas.
MacDougall, who was opposed to the bond issue, voted not to send the matter to referendum.
“Our educational priorities should be in the budget. When they are not, state spending exceeds our means and negatively impacts our economy,” MacDougall said. “State funds allocated to the University System must mirror the growth of the economy so the state budget remains balanced and the economy can expand to provide the job opportunities necessary for our young people to stay in Maine after graduation.”
Thomas, who did vote for the bond to be sent to referendum, feels the AMC will play an important role in linking the state even more closely to the university.
“Public universities play a big role in economic development in any state, especially Maine,” Thomas said. He said he sees the AMC as becoming a magnet to attract small and medium-sized corporations to the state to enhance the work force.
The concept of an Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of Maine came about largely due to the efforts of Larryl Matthews, Dean of the College of Engineering. Matthews said his vision was to have the AMC become a training ground for future engineers to work, learn and listen to gain the “real world experience” as a complement to the classroom.
The center will be filled with machinery that incorporates both modern technology and practicality. It will follow the general pattern set by the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center and be open for walk-ins by approved members of the university who will be able to use their MaineCard to access the machine terminals, Matthews said.
The AMC will be run by faculty members, but their role will be mainly supervisory.
The center will follow a system where upperclassmen act as team leaders and supervise underclassmen learning with and under them.
Matthews estimates the AMC will employ 40 students at any one time. Businesses that need special materials or products made will be able to come to the AMC, place an order and have all facets of the project handled in the center by students.
“We’ll support research on campus and do our own research. We want to make it a campus resource and state resource,” Matthews said.
UMaine President Peter S. Hoff and the University Planning Committee have yet to decide on a location for the AMC, but Matthews expects it to be located in the new engineering quad area renovation.
The project calls for the area to be transformed into a mini-campus center complete with a replica of the former Wingate Hall tower at its center. The replica will have the original tower bell in it. Wingate Hall was the original home of the College of Engineering and even today the word ‘Engineering’ can be found chiseled into its exterior.
Matthews said he hopes the quad area will become a place for all students, especially those in the College of Engineering, to commingle and interact, discovering more about each other while learning in the process. He expects the AMC to be completed by 2004, and the whole engineering quad some time thereafter.
“Give us five years,” Matthews said with a smile.
Bangor Daily News