Published: September 8, 2025
USM hosted its annual Opening Breakfast ceremony on August 28 in Brooks Dining Hall on Gorham Campus. Faculty and staff attended to usher in the 2025 academic year.
The event kicked off at 9 AM with attendees conversing around tables full of fresh fruits, savory bacon, and an assortment of pastries. Seating became scarce as people settled in and the speeches neared. President Jacqueline Edmondson spoke first, highlighting good news within the university. Including that last year, USM achieved its highest fall-to-spring retention rate for first-year, full-time students in more than a decade at 91%. The University has ended the fiscal year with a slight surplus for two years, cutting the structural budget gap from $10.3 million to about $5 million.
In addition, the Crewe Center for the Arts opened this Fall with an added distinction of being an All-Steinway School,
meaning the center demonstrates a commitment to exceptional education by being provided with Steinway pianos. The Crewe Center is the first in Maine and the 250th in the country. This miraculous feat could not have been done without the support of Daniel Crewe to Suzi Osher, as well as the fundraising provided by the USM Foundation. The ribbon-cutting of the Crewe Center of the Arts is slated to be on October 3rd, followed by the inaugural President’s Concert that evening.
The Esports Arena, located in Lower Brooks, opened with the support of Town and Country Federal Credit Union. President Edmonson highlighted the extreme growth and achievements happening on campus, mentioning that this year, the USM has two students with prestigious Fulbright awards, along with a faculty member who was awarded one. The president closed her speech off with an optimistic quote by Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
Following the President’s speech was one by Provost Adam Tuchinsky, who thanked every hard-working faculty and staff member present in the hall. He welcomed six new faculty members to the university. Provost Tuchinsky highlighted the importance of education and educators’ roles in offering guidance through the pillars of success to students and staying true to academic visions despite external forces and stressors, spotlighting a series on American Democracy led by President Edmonson. He emphasized his goals of academic reform to suit the unique and untraditional lives of those reflected on campus. Dr. Nate Hamilton was invited to the stage to be recognized as the university’s second Presidential Scholar. The University Store’s Vernon Tarbell was recognized with the inaugural President’s Impact Award.
The ceremony ended with a performance of the university’s Alma Mater, “Southern Maine is Coming Home”.
