The Maine Community College System today announced investments totaling $6.2 million in the programs and services it provides to rural Maine. Fueled by a $3.5 million gift from the Bernard Osher Foundation, the investments will enable the colleges to dramatically increase the number of community college scholarships available to rural Maineresidents, expand distance learning opportunities, and increase rural high school students’ access to the community colleges.

The Osher gift is designed to be matched by $1.5 million in other funds, bringing the total endowed scholarship fund to $5 million. In addition, major gifts from TD Banknorth ($200,000) and the Betterment Fund ($150,000) will help launch BringCollegeto ME, a program designed to deliver targeted community college degree programs on an intermittent basis to rural parts of the state.

The investments are in response to a statewide listening tour of rural Mainethat was conducted by MCCS President John Fitzsimmonsbetween July and November of this year.Motivated by concerns about the growing gaps in educational attainment and income between urban and rural Maine, Fitzsimmons set out to determine how Maine's community colleges could better serve the workforce and economic development needs of the state’s rural areas.

"Rural Maineis facing a significant workforce development challenge," Fitzsimmons told those gathered for the announcement in Augusta."We are making a commitment to be rural Maine's partner in building an educated and skilled workforce."

In making the announcement, the MCCS also released a report detailing both the findings of the statewide listening tour and its recommendations.