Every great community deserves a great University — and great takes grit.
We believe that great and grit go hand in hand. Great takes passion, the dedication to academic excellence we see in our students and faculty every day. It takes hustle and heart, the drive we see in our talented, first-generation trailblazers. It takes equity and inclusion, the values we see in the diverse community around us.
It takes grit to be great. That’s what we’re building here at the University of Southern Maine.
“As a first-generation college student myself, I understand the grit and determination embodied in our incredibly talented University of Southern Maine students. I invite you to join me at this critical moment in USM’s history –– the final year of our largest and most comprehensive fundraising campaign ever –– and help make great things happen. Together, we will build the great university our students, our community, and our state deserve.”
Dr. Jacqueline Edmondson,
USM President
Explore the Campaign
The Great University Campaign will transform the student experience at the University of Southern Maine for generations to come. Learn how we are investing in our students, academic programs, and campuses in ways that will impact our community and the future of Maine.
Scholarships & Student Support
We’re raising funds to support scholarships and meet our students’ essential needs, while providing the kind of transformative experiences that will further their aspirations. Learn how your donation to Scholarships & Students Support will change lives.
Center for the Arts
Designed to integrate the visual and performing arts, this stunning facility will become the new home of the Dr. Alfred and D. Suzi Osher School of Music, a USM program of excellence. Giving to the Center for the Arts will help bring to our community signature spaces for the arts in every form.
Career & Student Success Center
USM’s new center for student and employer engagement will put career readiness and community at the heart of the student experience. Your gift to the Career & Student Success Center will support this iconic, sustainable building on USM’s reimagined Portland campus.
Programs of Excellence
Your support for key programs and facilities will make a profound difference in the future success of our students. Funding priorities include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, athletics, new centers for learning and research, internship and career-building opportunities, and other Programs of Excellence.
Campaign News
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Oakhurst Dairy’s gift addresses food security and student success
The University of Southern Maine Foundation (USM) has received a gift of $250,000 from Oakhurst Dairy that includes $125,000 to support completion of the newly named McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success on the Portland campus. The remaining $125,000 will address an issue of rising concern on campuses across the country, the rapid increase in student food insecurity.
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USM Invites the Public to “Take A Seat”
With the launch of USM’s Great University Campaign, the USM Foundation has announced a new way to support one of the campaign’s key initiatives: the Center for the Arts, slated to break ground on the Portland campus in spring 2023. The “Take A Seat” program offers donors the opportunity to name a seat in the Center’s Performance Hall or the flexible Arts Lab.
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Letter from the President
“Every Great Community deserves a great university.” At the University of Southern Maine (USM), we believe that grit and greatness go hand in hand. Our students come to us with talent and creativity. Many are balancing jobs and family while pursuing their degrees. Many are first-generation college students, as I am myself. What sets our […]