The University of Southern Maine is bringing its business resources together in Portland to create a one-stop shop for Maine companies seeking support in business, research and workforce development.
Activities of USM’s School of Business are moving to the school’s Wishcamper Center, alongside the university’s Office of Commercialization and near the Portland office of the Maine Small Business Development Center.
Advisors with Maine Small Business Development Centers provided more than 8,200 hours of one-on-one advising to 2,076 Maine entrepreneurs and small businesses in 2025.
USM’s arrangement with the USM’s Small Business Development builds on a partnership that began in 1977, when USM was one of eight universities selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration to test a model combining federal, state and university resources to help entrepreneurs. USM has hosted the program ever since.
“The University of Southern Maine‘s strength has always been its people and their deep connection to Maine and its communities,” said USM President Jacqueline Edmondson. “With this effort and a continued partnership with the SBDC, our faculty, staff, and students are positioned to shape a more dynamic and resilient economy across our state by being more accessible to industry.”
Edmondson was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2026.
About the university
The University of Southern Maine is a public university with 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students taking courses online and at campuses in Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston-Auburn.
USM was ranked No. 3 among Maine’s largest colleges and universities in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists, based on full-time undergraduate enrollment in fall 2025.
