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PORTLAND, Maine

President Danielle Ripich selected as 2016 Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year by ‘Mainebiz’

Danielle Ripich
Danielle Ripich

In the March 21, 2016 issue of Mainebiz, 51ƷPresident Danielle Ripich, Ph.D., was named as one of three Maine Business Leaders of the Year, taking top honors in the nonprofit business category.

Featured as a leader who “came up with a novel way to approach an existing product,” the article notes the rapid growth of the university under Ripich’s leadership. Since becoming president, enrollment has increased by 70% and the university has expanded to include a campus in Tangier, Morocco as well as three new colleges and the Oral Health Center.   

The article notes Ripich’s achievement of several goals in her 10-year strategic plan, including national recognition. This objective has been met on several occasions, with the naming of 51Ʒto Forbes' list of America's Top Colleges for 2014 and its top ranking among Maine colleges and universities by the Brookings Institution.   

Mainebiz also cites Ripich’s development of online professional programs as a way in which she is creating innovative learning opportunities. These new courses provide a way for high school and college students, as well as adults to “brush up on skills, learn new ones or even get the basic courses going in order to change professions,” Ripich states. 

51Ʒ the 51Ʒ

The 51Ʒ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.