The University of Maine system has appointed Grace Garland as program director for the UMS TRANSFORMS initiative, funded by the historic commitment of $ 240 million fof the Harold Alfond Foundation in Maine and its public universities. Garland joins the leadership team led by UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy, University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and UMS Vice-Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Legal Director James Thelen.

UMS TRANSFORMS offers new opportunities for student support, faculty development and innovative collaborative study programs to advance Maine’s economy and workforce in partnership with the public and private sectors.

The Harold Alfond Foundation’s $ 240 million investment in the University of Maine system is the largest ever for a public higher education institution in New England and was the 8th biggest gift never made it to a US public higher education institution at the time of its announcement.

Garland has extensive experience in higher education administration, in the US and UK

She previously served as a consultant for the Graduate and Professional Center at the University of Maine at Portland, where she worked on strategic planning, interdisciplinary programming and promoting links with workforce development initiatives at state and system level. She returned to Maine in 2012 as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Bowdoin College. Previously, she worked for 15 years at the University of Oxford, holding senior positions in research and academic administration, including as Head of Research Services for the University’s Medical Sciences Division and senior tutor at Merton College, Oxford. She holds a BA in English from Bowdoin College and an MA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to be a part of this historic initiative to transform public higher education for our students, our communities and the State of Maine,” said Garland. “Now is the time to connect and leverage our many strengths across the University of Maine system. The initiatives supported by the Harold Alfond Foundation grant offer excellent avenues to catalyze this vast transformation, and I hope our work will create energy and momentum that ripples through the years to come.

Garland is from Yarmouth, Maine and lives in Cumberland Foreside with her husband Tim and daughter Elizabeth. She enjoys running and spending time on the beautiful coast of Maine.