Ask Andrew Egan what he\u2019s most looking forward to in his new job and he lights up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students,\u201d he says. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Effective August 13, Egan will be vice president of academic affairs and head of campus at the University of Maine at Machias, and faculty, staff and students are looking forward his arrival.<\/p>\n
Egan will arrive on campus in mid-August, fresh from his Peace Corps position in Liberia where he\u2019s been teaching at a forestry college. His extensive background in forestry, along with his experience teaching and working in economically challenged rural areas, has prepared him well for the work ahead at UMM, he says.<\/p>\n
His experience includes work with disadvantaged children and people struggling with substance use disorders, and conducting training with and for Navajo people in New Mexico for jobs in the forestry industry. He has worked as a logger and tree marker, a tenured forestry faculty member at University of Maine in Orono and an administrator at Pennsylvania State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cWashington County is working to more clearly define itself, and I understand that,\u201d he says. \u201cAt UMM, it\u2019s our responsibility and our privilege to be connected within this region and be part of the solution to challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egan and his wife were living in Orono when their daughter was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love Maine and feel very connected to it. It has a wonderful quality of life, and that\u2019s important to us,\u201d says Egan, who is a runner, cyclist and long-distance swimmer. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to getting to know this area better.\u201d<\/p>\n
For UMM, the two most important priorities are student success and community partnerships, he says. \u201cIf we focus on those two things, most of the rest becomes easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
This summer, UMM will begin its second year in the primary partnership with UMaine, and it will be important to realize the full potential, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of my job here will be to make sure that the relationship benefits both institutions,\u201d Egan says. \u201cBoth campuses have tremendous strengths and the partnership must remain mutually beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ask Andrew Egan what he\u2019s most looking forward to in his new job and he lights up. \u201cThe students,\u201d he says. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get to know them.\u201d Effective August 13, Egan will be vice president of academic affairs and head of campus at the University of Maine at Machias, and faculty, staff and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"academic-area":[],"umaine-feed":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-4597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n