A $100,000 allocation from the state’s contingency fund will maintain operation of the Katahdin Higher Education Center, at 1 Dirigo Drive in East Millinocket, as community leaders and state partners work to determine a sustainable long-term plan for the facility.
Gov. Janet Mills announced the allocation this week.
For business and industry, programs include customized training, including apprenticeship training information.
“For several years, the Katahdin center has played a longstanding and essential role in the region,” said Lee Umphrey, president and CEO of Eastern Maine Development Corp. “During the closing of the paper mills, the center was a place for relief and support for mill workers and today it’s a place of opportunity for all.”
Katahdin hub
The Katahdin Higher Education Center was opened in 1987 as a joint initiative of Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine System to bring in-person and distance college classes to northern Penobscot County.
Today, the center functions as a central access point for higher education, workforce training and child care in the Katahdin region.
“For nearly four decades, the Katahdin Higher Education Center has helped working families in the Katahdin region pursue a degree, earn a credential, access training and access child care for their children as they build a better future close to home,” said Mills.
Close call
Earlier this year, the University of Maine System said it would end its partnership with the center as part of a system-wide effort to reduce its physical footprint.
The one-time bridge funding provided by the state to the Maine Community College System will keep the center open, including on-site child care services, while a long-term plan for the facility is developed. As a result, the community college system formed a working group focused on keeping the center open for years to come.
The center, northern Penobscot County’s only institution of higher learning, provides access to higher education courses, academic advising, tutoring, placement testing, course registration, financial aid counseling, workforce training and other student support services. It’s also home to the Katahdin Region Child Development Center, a partnership of Bangor community action agency Penquis and the Katahdin Higher Education Center.
Established in 1987, the center is an off-campus facility of Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor and serves central Maine. It offers interactive television and onsite classes.
