The Muskie School of Public Service launched the Don Nicoll Memorial Lecture Series on October 28, 2025 with an evening that reminded everyone why public service matters. This series is in honor of Don Nicoll, a long-time advisor to Maine state government and other public institutions, including the University of Maine System and former U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie. Don also served both as Chair and member of the Muskie School Board of Visitors.
Dr. Richard Maiman started the evening with a tribute to Don Nicoll’s remarkable career, the event shifted into a lively conversation about what it means to serve Maine’s communities today. Panelists Terry Sutton, Member of the Board of Preble Street, and Charles “Wick” Johnson, Chair of the Augusta Homelessness Task Force, shared firsthand insights to one of the state’s most urgent issues: homelessness. Moderator Jennifer Hutchins, Executive Director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, guided the evening’s discussion. You may view the full event here.
We invite our alumni, students, faculty, and the broader professional community to engage with forthcoming events in this series, with the second event held on November 13 focused on leadership and purpose in public service, featuring Peter J. Crichton, author of Leading with My Glass Half Full. Drawing on a 35-year career in public service, Crichton shares personal stories and practical lessons on resilience, collaboration, and community impact.
Carolyn Arcand, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Muskie School of Public Service, joined Peter Crichton to offer insight from her research and moderate a panel of Maine practitioners working across government and nonprofit sectors. This event explored what it takes to lead with integrity and optimism in today’s complex public arena. The panelists included Neal Allen, Muskie Board of Visitors member, former Director of the Greater Portland Council of Governments, Larissa Crocket, Muskie Board of Visitors member, and MPPM Advisory Committee, and Executive Director, Neighborhood Housing Trust, and former Assistant Town Manager, Scarborough, ME, and Joshua Reny, Assistant City Manager, South Portland and MPPM advisory committee member.
You may view the full event here.