PRESQUE ISLE – Timothy Crowley, president of Northern Maine Community College, was recently honored for his 25 years’ of service and leadership to both the college and the Aroostook County community.
Photo courtesy of Northern Maine Community College
ATHILL HEBERT, right, chair of the NMCC General Advisory Council, presents President Timothy Crowley with an engraved clock plaque marking his 25th anniversary with the institution. Joining Hebert in honoring Crowley is Brian Hamel, chair of the NMCC Foundation.
“It is unusual today that an institution of higher learning can boast that its president has been a member of the team that has moved the college forward for a quarter century,” said Athill Hebert, chairman of the NMCC General Advisory Council. “We are fortunate. For Tim Crowley, Northern Maine Community College is not just a stop along the way on his professional journey. It is his life’s work and passion.”
Hebert joined with NMCC Foundation Board chair Brian Hamel in surprising Crowley with a tribute acknowledging his 25th anniversary with the college at the recent NMCC Foundation annual dinner. The two leaders expressed sentiments on behalf of the more than 40 volunteer directors that serve on both the College Advisory Council and Foundation Board.
“Tim’s leadership and outreach to the region’s business and community leaders has been key to NMCC’s responsiveness to The County’s needs, which makes the college a primary resource for local employers,” said Hamel who, as a former member and chair of the Maine Community College System board of trustees, chaired the presidential search committee that appointed Crowley NMCC president eight years ago. “As a result of the work of the administration, faculty and staff on this campus, NMCC is regarded as a leader in the Maine Community College System. There are many times when the work being done on this campus has served as an example throughout the state as innovative, efficient and effective.”
Crowley is NMCC’s seventh leader. He first joined the campus community in 1985 as dean of students. In 1991, he was named vice president and academic dean. He succeeded former NMCC president Durward Huffman as college leader in 2002.
Under his leadership at NMCC, program development and the expansion of program delivery have both advanced significantly. New programs added to the college inventory during his tenure as president include precision metals manufacturing, medical assisting, medical coding, and, most recently, wind power technology – the first associate degree program of its kind to be offered in New England.
The college has also received and delivered programs via distance learning technology, particularly in the health care field. This technology has been used to bring medical radiography training to Aroostook County, as well as to deliver nursing and other courses to the northern and southern regions of The County and to Washington County.
In addition, Crowley oversaw the college and NMCC Foundation’s first-ever major gifts campaign, which raised over $2.5 million to support scholarships and instructional technology, as well as to help the college meet emerging community needs. He has also strengthened collaborative efforts with other institutions of higher education in order to both make the most of college resources and to provide greater benefits to NMCC students and graduates.
“Tim has capably led this campus and has laid the foundation for a strong and bright future. His leadership has positioned the campus for sustained and attainable growth, as a leader in energy efficiency and alternative energy, and as a model of fiscal efficiency in a challenging economic time, which is especially noteworthy,” said Hebert. “He understands the college’s important role in the economic development of this region and, along with his leadership team and others on campus, effectively mobilizes this institution to meet those needs.”
Crowley currently serves on the board of directors of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress and the Life Flight Foundation. He served on the board of the Aroostook County Action Program for 14 years and was on the boards of Cary Medical Center and Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development.
He earned his baccalaureate and master’s degrees at the University of Southern Maine, and completed the Harvard University Management Development Program in Higher Education in 1991.
Crowley and his wife, Mary, reside in Caribou. They are the proud parents of two sons.
“Aroostook County is home for Tim and his family. He understands the challenges and issues we all face here in The County. He also understands and harnesses the tremendous positive energy and many assets of our part of the state,” said Hebert. “Ultimately, he has had a key role in touching and improving the lives of so many who have come through the doors of NMCC and who have had the pleasure of calling Aroostook County home.”
