WATERVILLE, February 2017 – Thomas College and the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce will host a Business Breakfast on “Education, Economics, and Our Community”. The breakfast will be held on Thursday, March 9, from 7:15 to 9:00 a.m. in the Spann Student Commons Summit Room on Thomas College’s campus at 180 West River Road in Waterville.
Laurie Lachance, President of Thomas College, Richard Hopper, President of Kennebec Valley Community College, and Ruth Jackson, Vice President of Communications of Colby College, will discuss the economic impact of their recent investments in our communities.
Lachance is Thomas College’s fifth President and the first female and alumna to lead the College in its 122-year history. From 2004-2012, Laurie served as President and CEO of the Maine Development Foundation. Prior to MDF, Laurie served three governors as the Maine State Economist, and before joining state government, she served as the Corporate Economist at Central Maine Power Company. A frequent author and speaker on leadership, education, and the economy of Maine, she holds an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College, an MBA from Thomas College and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Laurie was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014 and has been the recipient of several awards, most recently being recognized by Maine Magazine as one of the 50 Mainers Charting the State’s Future and making the Mainebiz NEXT list as a trailblazer in her industry. Laurie chairs the Board of Educare Central Maine, is a Trustee of Foxcroft Academy and a Board member of Educate Maine.
Hopper, President assumed his post at KVCC in April 2013. Over the past three years he has overseen major investments in college infrastructure and programming. These include the new Harold Alfond Campus in Hinckley, Maine with state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, and the latest technology, including the new KVCC Center for Science and Agriculture. He has also overseen the implementation of several multi-million-dollar Department of Labor grants that have transformed information technology and other infrastructure. Under Dr. Hopper’s leadership KVCC has launched a new Honors Program, a rigorous option for students seeking a challenge and wishing to set themselves apart. Prior to KVCC Dr. Hopper’s research and career focused on higher education worldwide with a dedicated emphasis on access and equity for the poor. Dr. Hopper has 31 years of professional experience in teaching, higher education administration, economics of education, and international development. His formal academic training is in economics (George Washington University), international affairs (Geneva, Switzerland), and education policy (Harvard University).
Jackson is Colby’s chief communications officer, providing vision, direction, and leadership for the College’s internal and external communications. She oversees the strategic planning behind, and the development and creation of, Colby’s communications and marketing programs, including the website, Colby Magazine, advancement and admissions materials, media relations, social media, and internal communications. A Maine native and a graduate of Brandeis University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Jackson previously worked in independent-school communications and as an editor of a consumer magazine. She began at Colby in 2004 as assistant director of communications for news and information, became director of communications in 2013, and was appointed vice president in 2015.
Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce holds monthly informative presentations on a variety of educational business topics at Thomas College’s Spann Student Commons. The cost of the Business Breakfast is $18 for members, $25 at the door & for non-members and the general public. Breakfast is included with the reservation. To register, e-mail programs@midmainechamber.com or phone 873-3315.
The sponsors for the Business Breakfast are AT&T; People’s United Bank; Higgins & Bolduc Insurance; Nicholson, Michaud & Company; O’Donnell, Lee, McCowan & Phillips, LLC; the Morning Sentinel, a division of Maine Today Media, Inc. radio sponsor MIX107.9; and, Choice Investments as our TV sponsor.