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V O L . X X X N O. X I V J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 2 4 18 H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N / P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S O ver the past five years, enrollment in the University of Maine at Augusta's nursing pro- gram has grown from 50 students to 320 — and demand for more training seems to be unquenchable. Meanwhile, there's a growing need for cybersecurity training, both for students and in the larger community. UMA has plans underway to grow enrollment for the nursing program and to expand access to cybersecu- rity training, with the construction of a 20,000-square- foot facility called the UMA Capital Center. e new center will accommodate almost 400 nursing students. It will house three patient simulator laboratories, compared with the one avail- able now, and numerous other amenities. A virtual security operation center called the UMA Maine Cyber Range, will move in from a smaller facility on campus. e center will also include virtual reality capabili- ties, along with collaboration and community spaces. "Having this location to expand UMA's workforce development offerings will allow our nursing and cyber- security to continue to grow and meet the demands of Mainers desiring a quality education in high-demand fields," says Jenifer Cushman, UMA's president. Repurposed retail space e project involves repurposing a former academic space at a shopping center called Marketplace at Augusta at 14 Marketplace Drive. e space was once occupied by a Staples store. In 2012, it was redeveloped into classroom space for Kaplan, a for-profit university. In 2018, Kaplan was acquired by Purdue University Global, which operated there until it closed. e existing classroom configuration and its location across from UMA's main campus make the facility a good fit for the Capital Center, says Jonathan Henry, UMA's vice president of enroll- ment management and marketing — and the per- son who came up with the Capital Center name, to reflect UMA as the only public university in the state's capital. "We were attracted to it because it was already built as an academic environment," says Henry. "e other piece was the visibility. If you go to a movie theater or a store, you have to drive right by this place." e Marketplace at Augusta, Maine's largest open-air shopping center at 1.3 million square feet, is owned and operated by Massachusetts-based mixed-use developer WS Development, which has worked out a long-term lease with UMA. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY From left, Jon Henry, vice president of enrollment management and marketing; Jenifer Cushman, UMaine Augusta president; Brenda McAleer, associate provost and dean of the College of Professional Studies; and Shannon Gauvin, assistant professor and director of nursing, in what will be the student lounge where UMA is renovating space at the Marketplace for the Capital Center in Augusta A CAPITAL PROJECT UMA's new Capital Center will house growing nursing and cybersecurity programs B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r

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