Ex Officio Member
Carol Parmelee

I am honored to be Dean of the Muskie School and I am excited and amazed at the number of programs happening at this School. Among my many goals for the coming months, I would like to highlight two here: 1) getting the word out about the Muskie School's programs and 2) finding opportunities to build collaborations with others in the state. In the past six months, I have talked to many community and business leaders from Portland to Bangor about the School's achievements and contributions. I have met with Joe Grey, the city manager of Portland, made presentations to groups including the Maine Legislature, gave a speech aired on Maine Public Radio, and attended conferences both in and out of Maine on behalf of the School. I have also been working hard to forge stronger links with the larger USM community, and, in particular, have helped forge USM's relationship to the federal legislative process.

This outreach is important for the School's visibility as well as the building campaign's efforts. The campaign is reaching the half way mark, and we are excited about the many people that are a part of making this project become a reality. You will see from this Campaign Update, there are a lot of opportunities being developed that will generate a busy and successful year for the campaign. I appreciate your warm welcome and look forward to working with you to make this vision of a Muskie building a reality.

Special Gift Announcement

Muskie Family -- $40,000
The Muskie Family, located from Washington, DC to Maine, has pledged a significant gift to the Muskie Campaign. Their gift will name the Chair's Office of the Institute for Health Policy in honor of the Senator's daughter, Martha Muskie. Martha's career included working for the U.S. Department of Education, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Autoimmune Association. She has accomplished this despite being afflicted with the disease Lupus. Her ongoing commitment to public service is a wonderful example of the legacy that all the members of the Muskie family have carried on in serving our country. continued on reverse

"My family and I would like to heartily thank and commend the faculty and staff for its hard work and didication to the mission and evolution of the Muskie School. My father would be so gratified by the progress and successes that the Muskie School has achieved thus far." -- Edmund (Ned) Muskie, Jr., youngest son of Senator Muskie

New Campaign Committee Members

Neil Rolde
Mr. Rolde is a former legislator, historian and author on many topics including Maine history, the environment and health care. Recently he published a book, "The Interrupted Forest: A History of Maine's Wildlands." He is active on various nonprofit boards, and we welcome his experience and enthusiasm. Mr. Rolde is currently organizing the explor atory committee to honor former Maine Governor Ken Curtis at the Muskie School.

Chris Harte
Chris Harte is a private investor and an active volunteer serving on many national and local nonprofit boards. He is the former president of the Portland Press Herald. We appreciate his insights and willingness to be a part of this campaign.

Honoring Families and Individuals

Creating mini-campaigns to honor public servants or families of public servants has generated much interest. To date, the building campaign includes five campaigns being organized to honor people who have been public servants in our state. These campaign's goals are focused on raising $100,000 or more.

Ken Curtis Committee A group of Ken Curtis's friends are beginning to discuss the possibility of honoring Mr. Curtis at the Muskie School. Ken Curtis was a two term Governor in Maine and is known for improving state government by emphasizing innovation and performance. He has served Maine in many ways as well as our country, including serving as U.S. Ambassador to Canada under the Carter Administration. If you are interested in being a part of this effort or have ideas of people who might be interested, please contact the campaign office.

The Muskie Building and the USM Community Education Center

USM received $8 million from a bond initiative this spring to build a Community Education Center next to the Muskie School building. Muskie and USM will explore the funding opportunities for technology for this entire complex. This center will complement the Muskie facilities: Muskie will have a 250person auditorium with sophisticated communications technology and the Education Center is planning to have a 500-person auditorium for large events, such as convocation as well as a 1,200 car parking facility. Both facilities will be used as overflow meeting space for the numerous conferences held in conjunction with USM and Muskie.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who has made pledge. In particular, we want to thank the members of the Campaign Committee for continuing to pursue potential supporters for the campaign. We are grateful for each and everyone's commitment to ensure a permanent home for the Muskie School!