PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Officials from Northern Maine Community College received a special visit on Thursday from the recently appointed president of the Maine Community College System, David Daigler.
Daigler, who previously served as the system’s chief financial officer and vice president, assumed his current role on Jan. 20 after previous MCCS President Derek Langhauser accepted the position as Gov. Janet Mills’ chief legal counsel. Since then, Daigler has been visiting the seven campuses in the system to better understand their unique challenges and discuss how to best move forward with academic programming and workforce development.
“The biggest challenge that a campus like NMCC faces is recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce,” Daigler said. “With the unemployment rate low in the state right now, we need to focus on attracting students who already have jobs and find ways for them to develop skills they need for future careers.”
According to the Maine Department of Labor, the current unemployment rate in the state is 3.1 percent. This means that more people are employed than unemployed and are less likely to seek out higher education, workforce training or jobs. As the Bangor Daily News recently reported, the unemployment rate could account for the 1.8 percent decrease in student enrollment across the MCCS since 2011.
David Daigler, the recently appointed president of the Maine Community College System, listens as NMCC student Autym Malone talks about her experiences on campus, while students Morgan Thibodeau (second from left) and Kianna Caissie look on.
(Staff photo/Melissa Lizotte)
But Daigler said he has been impressed with NMCC’s connections to local business and education leaders, which have helped the college attract and retain students of various ages and professional backgrounds. With Aroostook County’s trends toward out-migration of traditional-aged college students, he plans to work with NMCC to further outreach efforts and programs geared toward older students who already work full time.
“NMCC’s biggest strength is its connections to the community,” Daigler said. “That’s something we can continue to build upon. There is still a September to May calendar with a few late-start programs, but I think there’s room to develop more diverse options for students to learn specific skills within shorter periods of time.”
NMCC currently offers such programs through its 12-week mechanized logging operation in collaboration with the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and its 230-hour commercial driving academy.
During his visit, Daigler met with administrators, instructors and students to receive their input on the campus’ successes and challenges and how the community college system can play a role in future success. NMCC Dean of Students William Egeler said that over the years he has thought of Daigler as a strong supporter of the system’s individual campuses and is hopeful that he will help NMCC’s future remain positive.
“He’s always been a strong supporter of community colleges,” Egeler said. “His visit to campus is a great opportunity for him to see the unique challenges our campus faces.”
Daigler noted that NMCC officials have been supportive and helpful during his transition to MCCS president and that he looks forward to using his new role to develop deeper relationships with his Aroostook colleagues.
“I’ve always enjoyed visiting Aroostook County. I find it remarkable how genuinely welcome people have been every time I’ve come,” Daigler said. “We live in a world where it’s easy to use conference calls to have conversations, but if you really want to develop those relationships, you have to engage people one-on-one.”
