Saturday, September 28, 2013
Guests:
Laurie Lachance,
President
On July 1, 2012, Laurie G. Lachance, M.B.A., became the 5th president of Thomas College. Her appointment made history at Thomas as she is the first female and first graduate of the college to hold this position.
Thomas College was founded in 1894 as a business school and for decades provided Associate and Bachelor Degrees in Accounting and all areas of Business Administration and Management for the people of Central Maine. In the early 1970s, the college began a 40-year period of growth and transformation by relocating the campus from Silver Street to the banks of the historic Kennebec River.
Since that time, the college has greatly expanded its academic offerings, adding an array of Computer Science and Technology courses, Arts and Sciences degrees in Education, Criminal Justice, and Psychology (which now account for nearly half of all majors), and Master of Business Administration Degrees and Master of Science Degrees in the area of Education.
Thomas is dynamic and growing, with the size of the campus and the student body more than doubling in the past decade alone. In addition, the college has made annual investments in new buildings and infrastructure, including the opening of two, state-of-the-art turf fields in September 2012 that the College has opened to the entire sporting community of Central Maine. Since President Lachance began her tenure, the faculty and administration have launched eight new Baccalaureate and Master programs in such areas as Cyber-Security, Project Management, Educational Leadership, Literacy, and an MBA with a concentration in Health Care Management.
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Dr. James Libby,
Academic Dean and Professor
Degrees: Ph.D., University of Maine;
C.A.S, University of Maine;
M.B.A., St. Bonaventure University;
B.S., Nasson College
Dr. Libby has been a faculty member at Thomas College since 2002. He has written four books, including Super U: The History and Politics of the University of Maine System and a 2009 publication entitled, Buxton, along with several newspaper contributions and guest editorials. Dr. Libby is also a former two-term State Senator and two-term State Representative, serving in the Maine Legislature from 1992-2000. In 2002 he received 33.3% of the vote in the state-wide gubernatorial primary election.
Dr. Libby has served on the board of directors for the Maine Community College System, the Waterville Opera House, and the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates Program, and was a member of the Southern Maine Area Agency on Aging Advisory Committee. He is a former political consultant for WGAN Radio in Portland, Maine. Dr. Libby chaired the Department of Business Administration from 2007 to 2012, and has also served as Internship Director, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, and Head Golf Coach during his tenure at Thomas College.
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Lucy Campbell Pelsma,
Lucy joined Thomas College in April 2013 as the Assistant Dean of Alumni and Career Services.
In this role, Lucy oversees both Alumni Relations and Career Services for the college. Prior to Thomas College, Lucy worked at Sankaty Advisors, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital, as a Senior Associate of Investor Relations.
Previously, Lucy was an Assistant Vice President at OFI Institutional Asset Management where she spent two years in institutional sales and client relationship management. Prior to that, Lucy worked with family offices and high-net worth investors in BNY Mellon’s Private Wealth Management group. Lucy received an M.B.A. from Boston College and a B.A. Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in Economics from Wheaton College.
Lucy has served as the President of the Young Professionals Board for Big Sister of Greater Boston and is on the Leadership Council for Year Up.
