In The News
Bath Savings Gift Supports New Student Center at the University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine Foundation announced it has received a generous leadership gift of $500,000 from Bath Savings, a Maine-based mutual savings bank that has served Midcoast and Southern Maine communities for more than 170 years. Their contribution to USM’s Great University Campaign will support completion of the recently named McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success (The McGoldrick Center), now under construction on USM’s Portland campus.
In recognition of Bath Savings’ commitment, USM will name the Center’s prominent front entrance the Bath Savings Portico. The architecturally striking portico features diagonal mass timber framing and serves as the Center’s “front porch,” connecting the dynamic community hub with a one-acre campus quad, an expanse of green space where there was once a paved parking lot.
“We are a community bank that is committed to investing in the people, places, and institutions–like USM–that are essential to the growth and vitality of Maine,” said Glenn Hutchinson ’80, ’89G, president and CEO of Bath Savings. “As an alumnus of USM, a member of the Board of Visitors, and a local employer, I know how deeply important this university is to the economic wellbeing of our region. The new Center will bring students and employers together to help build careers and strengthen the future of Maine.”
As University of Southern Maine President, Dr. Jackie Edmondson, commented “We’re thrilled that USM’s longtime friends and supporters, Bath Savings, will be partnering with us on the completion of the McGoldrick Center. With their incredibly generous gift, Bath Savings is helping us put career readiness and community at the heart of the USM student experience.”
The McGoldrick Center is one of the four priorities of USM’s $46 million Great University Campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in the University’s history. In addition to innovative new facilities such as the McGoldrick Center and a planned Center for the Arts on the Portland campus, the campaign also prioritizes student scholarships and the University’s programs of excellence.
The public phase of the Great University Campaign, now in its third and final year, launched on September 21, 2022. With $43.5 million raised to date, the University has made unprecedented progress toward its $46 million campaign goal and is now inviting public participation to help cross the finish line.
About the McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success and Bath Savings Portico
Slated to open in 2023, the McGoldrick Center is a three-story, 42,000 square-foot space that is sustainably designed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Silver certification. It will overlook the new campus quad, recently named the “Bean Green,” in recognition of a major gift from L.L.Bean.
The new building will serve as a central campus crossroads, where students, faculty, alumni, and employers like Bath Savings can connect and collaborate. With dining facilities, meeting and conference rooms, student activity rooms, and an expanded Career & Employment Hub, the Center is among the most environmentally sustainable buildings on USM’s transforming Portland campus.
Outstanding sustainability features of the Career & Student Success Center include the use of low-carbon technologies and green building materials such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, a 30kW rooftop solar photovoltaic array tied to the electric grid, and innovative energy-efficient building and site design.
Distinguished by its soaring, south-facing portico, the newly named Bath Savings Portico forms an inviting “front porch” to the campus. The iconic columns of the newly named portico are diagonal mass timber, making a clear statement that USM embraces sustainable and renewable low-carbon building technologies, while welcoming all in an informal, accessible manner.
The McGoldrick Center is adjacent and connected to a new, 580-bed Portland Commons residence hall that will meet leading-edge Passive House sustainability standards and is on track to become the 2nd largest Passive House university building in the country. It will provide attractive, affordable housing for USM students and residential staff and will feature a half-acre, semi-private green space for studying and group gatherings.
For more information about the USM Career & Success Center, Campus Green, and Portland Commons residence hall, please visit: Portland Campus Development Project.
About the University of Southern Maine Foundation
The USM Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with the University to support the aspirations of students and the strategic vision of USM. Now in its third decade of service, the Foundation is raising the critical funds needed to increase scholarship resources and achieve ambitious goals, as it helps to catalyze transformation at the University of Southern Maine.
About Bath Savings
Bath Savings has been banking on the coast of Maine for 170 years. Ten full-service banking offices are located from Damariscotta to South Portland. Visit www.bathsavings.bank or call 1-800-447-4559 to learn more.