USM enrollment up; nursing program awarded $500K

At the University of Southern Maine’s annual Opening Breakfast on Thursday, President Glenn Cummings announced that enrollment at the school has increased and that students in its nursing program will receive $500,000 for scholarships.

Cummings told the group of 500 USM staff and faculty gathered on the Gorham campus that applications for the 2016-17 academic year are up 14% over last year, according to the USM Office of Public Affairs. Admittance is also up 6% and new enrollment has climbed by 3%.

"Our calling is to open our doors and to support every student to success. It makes USM the most important university in America," Cummings said, according to the school. "That is our why. That is why we exist. Because if we really believe in the American dream and if we really believe it is going to happen peacefully, it's going to happen through education. It is why I am here. It is why I wake up every morning happy to be with you."

The $500,000 gift from the John Boyne foundation will provide an endowed scholarship for students interested in caring for the elderly in health-deprived areas. This is just the latest gift to the school from the foundation since 2007.

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