Harold Alfond Foundation Pledges $7.5M to Drive Transformational Change in Professional Graduate Education

The Harold Alfond Foundation has announced a $7.5 million challenge grant to the University of Maine System to support the Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies. The grant represents the largest private gift to a multi-campus effort in the University System’s history.

The Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies (the Maine Center) will combine the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programs into a single MBA program within the new Graduate School of Business. It will also bring the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service graduate programs and its Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy together as a unique consortium to maximize cross discipline opportunities for students.

The grant is a major step forward for the System’s One University Initiative which aims to streamline its administrative functions and align its resources to best support all Maine families, businesses and communities. The Maine Center will attract and retain an increased number of students who seek a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to graduate education.