News Releases

"Opening Day" at USM Abromson Community Education Center

April 15, 2005

After three years of planning and construction, "Opening Day" has arrived for USM's Joel and Linda Abromson Community Education Center.

"Opening Day" events, all of which are free and open to the public, will be held from 12 noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 26, in the Abromson Community Education Center, Bedford Street, Portland. Events include Red Sox World Series highlights on the big screen in Hannaford Lecture Hall; a ribbon cutting at 2:30 to open officially the Alumni Skywalk; a lecture by USM professor Mike Brady on "Baseball and American Society"; and ballpark snacks. For more information or access inquiries, please call 780-5900, or visit www.usm.maine.edu/conferences/abromson/opening

The center on the Portland campus includes classrooms for community and professional continuing education programs; the 500-seat Hannaford Lecture Hall; a 1,200-car parking garage and the Alumni Skywalk; a covered pedestrian walkway that crosses Bedford Street, connecting the Community Education Center to a plaza between Luther Bonney and Masterton Halls. In addition, the center provides a distance education classroom, computer labs, as well as spaces for educational meetings and events.

It is named in honor of the late Joel Abromson and his wife, Linda Abromson of Portland. Linda Abromson served as mayor of Portland, city councilor and is a former Democratic candidate for Congress. Joel Abromson was elected four times to the Maine Senate. Both have been active in a wide range of community and public service organizations.

The Abromson Community Education Center is the headquarters for USM's Division of Community and Professional Education, including the offices for the Center for Continuing Education, the Department of Conferences, and the Institute for Family-Owned Business. The division offers noncredit, continuing education courses, workshops and special programs to nearly 84,000 people each year. Though designed to house the university's community outreach programs, the center also will host campus events.

The cost of the entire complex -- approximately $25 million -- will be paid through a combination of a 2001 state bond, campus fees, and private and federal funds.

The center incorporates many environmentally friendly, green design features, including recycled sheetrock; native maple wood paneling; locally manufactured bricks; and extensive use of natural light. Thanks to an anonymous donor, USM also is using solar-electric generating panels to help power the house lights in Hannaford Lecture Hall. In addition, geothermal wells are the source for a space conditioning system that heats and cools the building. The system uses a water loop and heat pumps to transfer energy between the building and the ground to regulate indoor temperatures without the help of fossil fuels. Excess water from the system, along with storm water, is used to flush the facility's toilets, thus minimizing the use of potable water and helping to reduce storm water runoff into the city's storm system.

"The public opening is an exciting time for us," said USM President Richard L. Pattenaude," because this center reflects USM's commitment to educational outreach. It also is an anchor of a larger complex --University Commons-- a complete redevelopment of University-owned land that runs between the Abromson Community Education Center and the Glickman Family Library. That complex is the focus of our new capital campaign, Transforming USM."

>more news releases