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51Ʒ�� (UNE) President Danielle Ripich, was honored by the Maine business publication Mainebiz as a Business Leader of the Year in the nonprofit category at a reception held at the Portland Country Club on May 5, 2016.

Ripich was recognized for the international prominence that she has brought to 51Ʒ��in the past decade through the addition of the university’s College of Pharmacy, College of Dental Medicine, Oral Health Center and a new campus in Tangier, Morocco. The award also acknowledged her accomplishments in buoying the university’s student population by 70 percent and increasing its operating surplus by $127 million.

“She has set the pace for other universities,” said Mainebiz editor Peter Van Allen, who presented Ripich with the award.

Van Allen also applauded Ripich for working collaboratively with Bangor Savings Bank to launch an online professional development program that addresses two of the Maine economy’s challenges: workforce development and skills building.

Upon accepting the award, Ripich credited the university’s accomplishments to a board of trustees and a senior leadership team who support bold initiatives and who foster the vision central to UNE’s success. “You have to have a vision,” said Ripich, “and at UNE… we call it ‘the deep water strategy.’ We sail for the blue waters. We go after things.”

Ripich was featured in the March 21 issue of Mainebiz. She was previously named a “Mainebiz Woman to Watch” in 2011.