Weekly Column: Investing in Students is Investing in Maine

February 20, 2007

Imagine you are serving in the Maine National Guard and your orders are to rebuild a bridge in rural Afghanistan. You arrive at your site, and build a camp. Suddenly, enemy forces fire a rocket propelled grenade and it explodes—shredding the fabric of your tent. Fortunately, you and your team remain unharmed because your tent included a “modular ballistic protective system” designed by researchers at the University of Maine. The protective system is a series of lightweight laminate panels that can protect soldiers from deadly blasts just a few feet away when added to structures like tents.

The tent scenario is an example of technology that is real, and currently under consideration by the Pentagon to help protect troops in the field. If the Pentagon agrees to move forward with a contract, then a Maine company born out of Maine R and D research will produce and manufacture the modular ballistic protective system creating new highly skilled jobs.

This technology would likely not have been possible if it had not been for the creative genius of engineers and Maine Taxpayers. You see, through legislative initiatives and bonds supported by Maine Taxpayers, we have supported nearly $80 million in University based research since 1997. This research has in turn leveraged nearly $305 million additional federal funds. In addition to the millions of dollars generated through investments, the research and development work has generated 717 full-time positions within Maine, generating employment, additional economic activity, and tax revenues for local and state coffers.

Of course, the University of Maine is not the only place where great things are happening in education. Right here in Kennebec County, the University of Maine at Augusta and Kennebec Valley Community College are providing more options to our local residents by offering an affordable and accessible education. Improving access to education has come just in time because according to surveys by the Maine Chamber of Commerce, Maine businesses have 6,000 jobs yearly that need filling from workers with an associate’s degree or higher.

Thanks in part to work by the Legislature and Governor Baldacci four years ago, we are getting closer to meeting that need. In 2006, for example, we graduated 2,000 skilled workers from our two-year colleges. In fact, since 2003, enrollment has soared 47 percent at our community colleges and 95 percent of those who graduate stay and work right here in Maine.

Close to home, we are seeing the powerful effect a strong community college and university system can have working with our business community. Mid-State Machine Products in Waterville and Winslow, for example, worked closely with KVCC to design a program that would train workers they needed to fuel expansion plans. Those plans include new contracts for manufacturing engine components for tanks and someday wind turbines.

Mid-State is a real success story because just five years ago it had to cut its workforce by nearly a third due to market pressures. Now, thanks in part to a collaboration with KVCC, Mid-State said it expects to have more workers employed than it did before its restructuring.

Mid-State’s story also highlights an important point that companies doing business in Maine need access to more highly skilled and educated workers. We have done a great job over the past five years increasing access to higher education, but there is more work to do. We must break down one of the biggest barriers to going to college, and that is the cost. That is why I have proposed legislation summarized as the Thirteenth Year Bill, which would help provide tuition assistance after financial aid has been credited for students attending their first year of college at one of our public colleges or universities.

Research demonstrates that students who successfully complete their first year of college go on to complete their degree program. For this reason, I suggest that we invest in not only research and development, but also the students who are capable of filling the highly skilled jobs that will make Maine more competitive and a destination point for businesses in the years to come.

Libby Mitchell is the Senate Majority Leader in the Maine Senate. She represents the communities of Augusta, Vassalboro, China, Oakland, and Sidney for District 24.