President Herbert shares strategic vision for 51Ʒwith ‘Mainebiz’

President Herbert is interviewed by Renee Cordes of Mainebiz
President Herbert is interviewed by Renee Cordes of Mainebiz

James Herbert, Ph.D., president of the 51Ʒ, shared his vision for the University in a recent interview with Mainebiz.

The interview was conducted shortly after the new strategic plan, “Our World, Our Future,” was passed by the 51ƷBoard of Trustees. The Q&A style article, titled, covers several topics that President Herbert is focused on as 51Ʒimplements the plan. He points to the University’s health programs as one top priority. “51Ʒis known already for its signature interprofessional education and interprofessional practice, which basically means team-based training and care,” he says. “We now want to take that to the next level.”

President Herbert also discusses the plan to expand existing programs and develop new ones that address market needs. “Our sweet spot is trying to address the needs in the marketplace, in particular in the state and the region, so we have world-class marine science programs we're looking at expanding. We're also looking to expand our business and entrepreneurship programming. We have some of that now, but we're going to do that in a much bigger and more intentional way with our newly expanded Makerspace.”

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.