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The 51Ʒ�� held a press conference announcing its partnership with Bangor Savings Bank to create an online professional development program, on Thursday, July 9, at 11 a.m., in the quad on UNE’s Portland Campus.

51Ʒ��President Danielle Ripich addressed attendees, providing details about the program and the benefit it will have on students, businesses and the surrounding community.  Bangor Savings Bank President and CEO Robert Montgomery-Rice also gave statements and answered media questions.

“Leaders from academia and business must do more to help young professionals develop the competencies they will need to keep up with the demands of this rapidly changing landscape,” says Ripich. “We must work together to cultivate potential leaders and lay the groundwork for their success as employees.”

The goal of this pilot program is to combine education and business to benefit the community as a whole. Students will be able to engage in integrated learning experiences, Bangor Savings Bank will employ a variety of resilient, innovative workers, and the state of Maine will benefit from an enhanced retention rate of young professionals.

“We are so pleased to work with the 51Ʒ��, an extraordinary institution,” says Montgomery-Rice. “The progressive thinking of UNE’s leadership has helped bring to life a model that will serve both our organizations and the State of Maine for many years to come. At Bangor Savings Bank, we will continue to look for opportunities like this to contribute to the vibrancy of our state through workforce development.”

“We feel very fortunate for the opportunity to collaborate with Bangor Savings Bank on this venture,” commented Martha-Velerie Wilson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies at UNE. “This is a great opportunity to support growth in Maine, while helping the next generation develop a solid foundation of skills that can be applied not only in the workplace, but in all other areas of their lives as well.”