Mainebiz

October 3, 2016

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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 O C T O B E R 3 , 2 0 1 6 Each has an environmental story to tell: Cliff ord Hall is a residential building heated with biomass pellets, Unity 2 is warmed by heat pumps and so on. Khoury had the president's house, already outfi tted with solar panels, converted to an academic building. e new buildings were paid for with bonds, operating dollars and cash reserves. "We are building the infrastructure. We're becoming an economic driver in Maine," Khoury says. "Maine has 'Vacationland.' I want Maine to become 'Educationland.'" Infrastructure is a word Khoury uses frequently. He includes in the defi nition fi scal strength; the physi- cal aspects of the campus, including buildings and the outdoors; up-to- date technology; and humans — the faculty and staff . " at will lead to academic excel- lence, fundraising success and higher enrollment," he says. He describes himself as a non-tra- ditional academic. One of his degrees is from the University of Phoenix. "I've been hired into newly cre- ated positions. I see it as a sign higher education needed to change. I've been brought in to be a change agent," Khoury says. But one way to change things is by lending an ear. " is is going to sound weird, but listening to people is really important," he says. Often change can be scary. "Until people see how they fi t into that change, change dies. You have to build trust," Khoury says. He cites an example when he discussed restructuring a department. "People hear 'restructuring' and they think layoff s. But we added 25 posi- tions," he says. Khoury has already been successful in bringing in donations to the college. Gifts often come from "people who are not alums, but they believe in what we're doing. It's less about donations and more about investment and part- nership," he says. "We're not getting $1 million checks. We're doing all of this on the margin." P e T e r Va n A l l e n , M a i n e b i z e d i to r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t p V a n a l l e n @ mainebiZ.biZ and @ MainebiZEDiTor Unity College 90 Quaker Hill Road, Unity President: Melik Peter Khoury Founded: 1965 Enrollment: 700 students Contact: 207-509-7100 / Unity.edu FOR GROUP BENEFITS AND BUSINESS INSURANCE, JOIN THE FA M I LY AT We treat our employees like family, so we offer them a voluntary benefits plan from a family-owned company: Chalmers. —Patricia Weigel, President & CEO Norway Savings Bank Call us at 800-360-3000 or visit ChalmersInsuranceGroup.com Like us on "The Chalmers Advantage Voluntary Benefits Program enables us to offer a benefit of real value to our employees—discounted home, auto and other insurance—at no cost to us." Call Dean DeMario to learn about our full range of group benefits: 800-360-3000 Since 1978, we've been providing 'em. Seven Locations in Maine / 207.989.4824 / ces-maine.com / Engineers w Environmental Scientists w Surveyors Sensible Solutions Since 1978, we've been providing 'em. Solutions

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