New USM student center fueled by $500,000 gift from Bath Savings

Courtesy/USM From left, Jacqueline Edmondson, president of USM; Glenn Hutchinson, president and CEO, Bath Savings; and Ainsley Wallace, president and CEO of USM Foundation, at the site of the future Bath Savings Portico. The distinctive “front porch” of the new McGoldrick Center is now under construction at the university's Portland campus.

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By Alexis Wells

A $500,000 donation from Bath Savings will support the new McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success, now under construction at the Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine.

In honor of the bank's gift, USM will name the center's front entrance the Bath Savings Portico. It will feature diagonal mass timber framing and serves as the center’s “front porch,” connecting the community hub with a 1-acre campus quad and an expanse of green space where a parking lot was previously located.

"As an alumnus of USM, a member of the Board of Visitors, and a local employer, I know how deeply important this university is to the economic well-being of our region," Bath Savings President and CEO Glenn Hutchinson said in a news release. "The new center will bring students and employers together to help build careers and strengthen the future of Maine."

University of Southern Maine President Jackie Edmondson commented: “We’re thrilled that USM’s longtime friends and supporters, Bath Savings, will be partnering with us on the completion of the McGoldrick Center. With their incredibly generous gift, Bath Savings is helping us put career readiness and community at the heart of the USM student experience.”

When completed in 2023, the three-story, 42,000-square-foot McGoldrick Center will overlook the new campus quad, recently named the Bean Green in recognition of a significant gift from L.L.Bean.

The new building will comprise dining facilities, meeting and conference rooms, student activity rooms, and an expanded career and employment hub. It is being billed as a central campus crossroads where students, faculty, alumni and employers can connect.

The McGoldrick Center is one of four priorities touted in USM's $46 million Great University Campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in the university's history. The public phase of the Great University Campaign is now in its third and final year. The university has made unprecedented progress toward its goal with $43.5 million raised towards its $46 million campaign goal.

Bath Savings ranked No. 10 on the Mainebiz list of largest Maine-based banks, published April 4, with assets of $1.23 billion and 14 offices.