University of Southern Maine

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Community leaders spearhead University's plan for "Transforming USM"

April 12, 2005

USM's plans to change the face of its Portland campus received a major boost today, April 12, with the announcement that the University fund-raising campaign's volunteer co-chairs and their families have made significant gifts exceeding $1.5 million to the University.

Carol Wishcamper and Richard McGoldrick are co-chairs of "Transforming USM: The Capital Campaign." Joe and Carol Wishcamper of Freeport have made a gift of $1.5 million, while Richard and Carolyn McGoldrick of Cape Elizabeth have also made a significant gift to the campaign.

The centerpiece of the $25-million campaign is University Commons, a complete redevelopment of University-owned land that runs between the Abromson Community Education Center and the Glickman Family Library, bordered by I-295 on one side and Bedford Street on the other. The Commons will be the building site for the national headquarters of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which offers programming for citizens ages 55 and older; the USM Muskie School of Public Service; an expanded Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education; and a redesign of the Glickman Family Library so that the main entrance faces campus, rather than Forest Avenue. The Commons also will feature landscaped, public open space. The complex will ensure that USM has the physical capacity to better serve students and the public.

The Wishcampers' gift will be used to complete a new home for the Muskie School, and also will support other goals of the $25-million campaign. In honor of that gift, the new home for the USM Muskie School of Public Service will be named The Wishcamper Center. The McGoldricks' gift will support the entire Commons effort.

"The extraordinary generosity of the Wishcampers and of the McGoldricks provides a tremendous boost to our goal of becoming recognized as one of America's best public, regional universities," said USM President Richard L. Pattenaude. "This announcement reflects a growing recognition of this University's role in the community and the quality of what we are doing. In a very real sense, these gifts are to the people of Maine, because the margin of excellence they provide will allow us to enhance the quality of education for our 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students and for the thousands of other citizens we serve through public service and continuing education programs."

In addition to accomplishments in the business communities, both families have made longstanding commitments to education and community service.

Joe Wishcamper is manager and president of The Wishcamper Group, LLC, and several affiliated real estate development and management companies. A former chair of the Maine State Board of Education, Carol Wishcamper is an organizational consultant with expertise in team building, strategic planning and leadership development. The Wishcampers have been active in the Nature Conservancy of Maine and the Maine Community Foundation, among many other organizations.

Richard McGoldrick is chairman and owner of Commercial Properties, Inc., a full-service real estate firm in Portland that he founded in 1978. Carolyn McGoldrick is an educator. Both Richard and Carolyn have been active in community and educational organizations, among them the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Portland and North Yarmouth Academy.

"Study after study have shown a correlation between a high-quality university and a region's social and economic health," said the Wishcampers. "We feel honored to be able to support an institution that has the potential to contribute so much to the economic and cultural vitality of Maine communities."

"We've built a business in this community and have had the opportunity to be a part of many civic organizations," said the McGoldricks. "As a result, we have seen the positive impact that a public university has not only on the region's economy, but also on the lives of its people. Our intent is for this gift, and indeed this campaign, to help USM become an even more significant resource for the community and the state for a long time to come."

Design work on University Commons will start this spring. The architect, working with a committee of faculty, staff, students and community representatives, will develop plans to the point where they can be submitted to the city of Portland for consideration. Development of the entire Commons is expected to take several years.

USM completed a successful $21-million capital campaign in December 2002, much of which was used to support scholarships and to complete the top floors of the Glickman Family Library. The new $25-million "Transforming USM: The Capital Campaign" is expected to run until December 2006. In addition to University Commons, campaign goals include a larger endowment and Annual Fund to support academic programs, scholarships, and operating budgets.

Editor's Note: For more information, call Bob Caswell of USM Public Affairs at 780-4200 (o), 939-2377 (cell), 839-2026 (h); or e-mail, caswell@usm.maine.edu

Additional information on the donors appears below.

Joe and Carol Wishcamper:
Joe Wishcamper is manager and president of The Wishcamper Group, LLC, and several affiliated real estate development and management companies. He is a former commissioner of the Loring Development Authority (formerly Loring Air Force Base). Joe founded and served as the first president of the Maine Real Estate Development Association, and is a former board member of the Cumberland County Civic Center. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System and on the Board of Trustees of the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, and is a former board member of the WolfeÕs Neck Farm Foundation, Portland Stage Company, and the Portland Concert Association. Joe also served as chair of The Nature Conservancy of Maine, the Susan Curtis Foundation, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. In 2000, he became the 32nd member of the Junior Achievement Maine Business Hall of Fame.

A former chair of the Maine State Board of Education, Carol Wishcamper is an organizational consultant with expertise in team building, strategic planning and leadership development. She served as Maine State Board of Education chair from 1983 to 1990, and was appointed by both Governors Brennan and McKernan to various statewide policy commissions, including the Commission on Maine's Common Core of Learning. She has served as chair of the Freeport School Committee, as a trustee of the College of the Atlantic and Waynflete School, and as a board member of the Maine Community Foundation. In recent years, she has co-chaired the Center for Cultural Exchange's Capital Campaign and The Nature Conservancy of Maine's campaign for saving the St. John River and other conservation projects. Carol is a former chair of The Nature Conservancy of Maine and board member of the Maine Philanthropy Center. She has been named a recipient of The Nature Conservancy's National Oakleaf Award for Service.

The Portland Rotary named the couple Paul Harris Fellows, one of Rotary International's highest awards, for significant contributions in support of the goals of Rotary. In fall 2004, The Spurwink School and The Spurwink Institute named them the 18th Annual Humanitarians of the Year in recognition of contributions to enriching the lives of others. The Wishcampers have two grown sons, Henry and Rick.

Richard and Carolyn McGoldrick:
Richard J. McGoldrick is chairman and owner of Commercial Properties, Inc., a full-service real estate firm in Portland, Maine founded in 1978. Commercial Properties is involved in the brokerage of commercial and industrial property, with the bulk of its activity concentrated in Maine and New Hampshire. The firm represents clients such as UnumProvident Corp., Rothschild Realty, Konover Co., Fleet Bank and Key Bank, Shaw's Supermarkets, Irving Oil, Central Maine Power, Bass Shoe, U. S. Postal Service, McDonald's Corp., Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Hannaford Bros., InterMed and many other companies. Dick also is a principal in several other business ventures including Silver Street Properties, Inc., Silver Street Development Corp. and Interstate Self Storage, LLC. Among his community involvement, Dick is a former chair of the board of the Finance Authority of Maine, former board president of the Maine Real Estate and Development Association, and a former board member of the Park Danforth Home for the Aged. Dick currently serves on the board of Coastal Ventures and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Bangor Savings Bank.

Carolyn McGoldrick is a former elementary school teacher with teaching experience in both Massachusetts and Maine and an educational consultant with a special emphasis in the area of self-esteem. She is a former board member of the Breakwater School and The Chewonki Foundation. Carolyn currently serves on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Portland and North Yarmouth Academy.

Recipients of USM's 2003 Community Service Award, the McGoldricks are the parents of two grown daughters, Katherine and Meghan, and proud grandparents of three-year-old Charlotte.

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