PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Northern Maine Community College students and faculty returned to campus as the fall semester got under way Monday, Aug. 27.
“This is always an exciting time of year,” said NMCC President Tim Crowley. “The students are the reason we are here, and it brings a whole other level of energy to campus having both the students and the faculty back.”
One new full-time faculty member has joined the College campus this semester. Jennifer Graham joins the arts and sciences department as an English/communications instructor. She is teaching sections of Introduction to Communications, Speech, Introduction to Composition, and English Composition.
Graham, who has been teaching part-time for a number of years, says she is glad to now be in the classroom full-time. She has been an adjunct English instructor at NMCC since 2003, teaching at the College’s off-campus site in the St. John Valley. She served as an adjunct English instructor for the University of Maine at Fort Kent during that same time.
She has also taught English over the years for SAD 27 Adult and Community Education in Fort Kent, at Fort Kent Community High School, and at Washburn District High School.
Graham is a 1996 graduate of Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, earning her bachelor of arts in English, with a minor in gender studies. She earned her master’s in English writing from Hollins College in Virginia in 1997.
She has had poems published in “Echoes,” “Delta Epsilon Sigma Journal,” “Into the Dark,” “Potato Eyes,” “Cymbals,” and “Vermont Literary Review.”
“Jennifer has been a great instructor for us for a number of years in a part-time capacity,” said Alan Punches, NMCC vice president and academic dean. “We’re looking forward to having her on campus as a full-time faculty member. She is a great addition to the team of professional faculty we have at NMCC, working together to prepare our students for careers and for continued education.”
As students and faculty returned to campus, they got their first look at some changes on campus, including a refurbished Christie lobby. In addition to cosmetic changes, which brighten the main entrance area and make it more welcoming, better signage has made it much easier for those who are new to campus to find their way.
Also assisting in directing students and visitors is the addition of an information window in the lobby. The new window allows people to have direct access to a friendly face for assistance, while allowing that person to still be situated in a working office and perform varied other tasks as needed.
“This was an area identified by both our employees and our students as needing attention,” said Jason Parent, director of development and college relations, who is coordinating the information window services. “We engaged the campus last semester to get a consensus on what changes were needed and what would work best. We were then able to take action this summer, thanks primarily to a great deal of work from the College’s IT, maintenance and custodial staffs.”
Parent also credits the work of the student financial aid office in assisting to recruit student workers to staff the information window.
