Timothy Crowley
to help lead nationwide webinar
PRESQUE ISLE — Northern Maine Community College President Timothy Crowley is one of three presenters who will lead a nationwide webinar focusing on how community colleges are leading rural-based green economy initiatives.
The webinar, hosted by the American Association of Community Colleges, the Sustainability Education and Economic Development (SEED) Center and the Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center, is planned for Thursday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Crowley will join Bill Hagy, director of alternative energy policy for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Robin Kahonawich, sustainable agriculture coordinator at Central Carolina Community College, for the hour-long live event.
Community college leaders, economic developers and others from across the country are expected to participate in the web-based seminar. Discussion will center on how renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture offer real and very viable economic opportunities for rural regions.
After providing an overview of the region and college, Crowley will present on NMCC’s efforts to train a new workforce for jobs in alternative energy and how that work enhances regional economic growth for an emerging industry. Among the areas he’ll cover is the college’s key role in the Mobilize Northern Maine initiative, a comprehensive planning process involving representatives from the Northern Maine Development Commission, workforce development, the business community, non-profits, government and higher education.
He will also talk about NMCC’s wind power technology program and other curriculum in alternative energy and energy conservation, as well as highlight the recently created Northern Maine Center for Excellence in Alternative Energy Training and Education. Aside from learning how community colleges are implementing programs to bolster rural-based green economies, the webinar will provide information on how the USDA is supporting such efforts.
The invitation to be a featured presenter in the webinar was extended to Crowley and NMCC by Todd Cohen, director of the Washington, D.C.-based SEED Center after the college was featured on their website as “Colleges in Action” in early October.
SEED is the first national coordinated strategy to support community colleges in building the green economy. It was created by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges, and ecoAmerica, a non-profit that uses consumer research and strategic partnerships to create large-scale engagement programs that build awareness, understanding and action for climate and environmental solutions among mainstream Americans.
Crowley, NMCC’s seventh leader, first joined the campus community in 1985 as dean of students. In 1991, he was named vice president and academic dean. He succeeded former NMCC president Durward Huffman as college leader in 2002.
Under his leadership at NMCC, program development and the expansion of program delivery have both advanced significantly. New programs added to the college inventory during his tenure as president include precision metals manufacturing, medical assisting, medical coding, and, most recently, wind power technology — the first associate degree program of its kind to be offered in New England.
Crowley serves on the board of directors of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress and the Life Flight Foundation. He served on the board of the Aroostook County Action Program for 14 years and was on the boards of Cary Medical Center and Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development.
He earned his baccalaureate and master’s degrees at the University of Southern Maine, and completed the Harvard University Management Development Program in Higher Education in 1991.
Crowley and his wife, Mary, reside in Caribou. They have two sons.
