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USM LAC Leadership Gifts Announced

November 16, 2007

Leadership gifts totaling $100,000 have been received to help fund completion of the classroom portion of the new wing at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College (USM LAC).

The gifts from The L&A Fund and The JTG Foundation are the first to be announced as part of a $1 million capital campaign, the first in the Lewiston-Auburn College’s history.

In late October, USM LAC and community partners celebrated the grand opening of "Learning Works,” which is the hub for College for ME-Androscoggin.  This collaborative program includes a range of community-based services and programs designed to remove barriers that prevent area residents from achieving their higher education goals.

The $1 million fund-raising campaign, combined with passage of Question Three on the November 6 ballot, will provide funds for completion of the second story of the new addition, where a variety of classrooms and learning spaces will allow even more to happen on site.

“The generosity of these lead donors underscores that LAC has become much more than an institution of higher education located in the L-A region,” said USM Interim President Joseph S. Wood in acknowledging the gifts. “The College is a critically important partner with, and resource for, Lewiston, Auburn and the surrounding region.  The current expansion, funded though a combination of public and private monies, will help ensure that LAC has the capacity to continue being a strong partner in the region’s ongoing development.” 

“The Lewiston-Auburn campus has given many local students the chance to improve their lives,” said Irving Isaacson of The L & A Fund. “Our gift will help many others have the same opportunity and allows us to give back to our hometown.”  Isaacson, a resident of Auburn and founder of The L&A Fund, is a longtime attorney and community leader.

“Access to higher education is so critically important to individuals, to Lewiston and Auburn and to our state,” said John T. Gorman, founder of The JTG Foundation. “We hope this gift helps Lewiston-Auburn College meet a growing demand for an education that people need and deserve,” said Gorman, a resident of Yarmouth and a grandson of L. L. Bean.

Additional gifts will be announced when the campaign officially kicks off early in 2008. The campaign is scheduled to conclude by June 30 of 2008.

Lucien Gosselin, president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, and Betty Robinson, professor and former dean of LAC, are co-chairs of the campaign committee. Gosselin in 1991 was one of LAC’s first graduates. He also holds a master’s degree from USM’s Muskie School of Public Service.  Robinson was the first faculty member hired at USM LAC in 1988. 

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