Case for Support

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

IN 1872, ENGINEER BENJAMIN GOULD was the first graduate of the University of Maine. Since then, Maine engineers continue to hold important and influential positions in Maine’s economy and beyond.
The University of Maine College of Engineering has seen remarkable growth — 70% growth in undergraduates since 2001. As a result, our faculty and facilities have reached capacity. Starting in fall 2016, the college had no choice but to cap enrollment in its most popular programs.

“The Engineering Education and Design Center will transform engineering education at UMaine, fostering an even more collaborative community of learners, encompassing our students, faculty and alumni, employers, research institutes, business and industry partners, and academic collaborators across Maine and beyond. The creative solutions they will generate will improve our economy and enhance our lives in ways we have yet to imagine.” 

Joan Ferrini-Mundy
President, University of Maine

The next step for the college is to build infrastructure to serve the demand from incoming students and need from industry for our graduates. With a job placement rate approaching 99%, economic and labor statistics in Maine support this growth.

A key to our growth is the construction of the Engineering Education and Design Center, which will provide additional classrooms, laboratories and student work space. The team of WBRC and Ellenzweig is hard at work on the design. Thanks to the strong commitment of the state legislature and UMaine’s leadership, we have $50 million toward the estimated $80 million construction cost. The new Engineering Education and Design Center will be located in the heart of the current engineering district on campus, enabling maximum utilization.

This building represents Phase II of the college’s facilities plan. Phase I, completed in 2016, addressed critical safety and maintenance issues for current buildings.

Universities across the country are in a similar situation. In New England alone our peer institutions (public flagship universities) are currently investing nearly $1/2 billion in similar upgrades to their engineering capacity. UMaine and Maine are positioned to continue to be leaders in engineering. Your investment in our students and facilities will help secure that position.

College of Engineering
COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS

The College of Engineering
is a UMaine Signature Area of Excellence

99%
placement rate for UMaine engineering graduates

30%
growth in engineering employment in Maine since 2006

87%
engineering degrees granted in Maine are from UMaine

1,530
job postings for engineers in Maine 2019

$90,150
average salary of an engineer working in Maine

3,350
projected number of replacement engineers needed in Maine in the next decade

“The move to EEDC in Fall of 2022 will bring the excitement and nerdy giddiness of starting my research lab all over in a state-of-the-art facility. The space will reflect the cutting-edge research I do.  Finally, there will be a space providing an awe-inspiring tour of biomedical engineering research for both young and old. This will serve as the beacon for biomedical engineering education and innovations in the state of Maine. With the keys to the new labs; we are embarking on a historical journey;  we are the pioneering stewards of biomedical engineering in Maine.”

Professor Karissa Tilbury
College of Engineering

EEDC Timeline