In 1980, I was a business major discovering new worlds through the pages of the Wall Street Journal. Scanning the articles and ads one day, my eyes rested on a photo of a Navy ship under the words “ahead of schedule and under budget.” A great statement for a company that means business.
That summer I traveled with a friend all the way to Maine in my Ford Pinto. I remember crossing a bridge shortly before we arrived to pitch our tent at a campground in Damariscotta. Looking down from the bridge, I was fascinated by the sight of several large ships that, given my landlubber background, made me think of the opening footage of the 1960s sitcom McHale’s Navy.
More than three decades later, Bath Iron Works invited me as president of Southern Maine Community College to tour their facilities and discuss the many ongoing collaborations between BIW and SMCC. Admittance to the shipyard required safety apparel. While everyone else satisfied the requirement with steeltoed work boots, a few eyebrows were raised by my steel-toed penny loafers.
Many things at the shipyard impressed me. I had the memorable experience of climbing aboard the USS Michael Murphy, while it was still under construction. Also impressive were the dozens of collaborative projects we discussed. Here’s a sample:
— Consulting with BIW engineers and designers, SMCC developed a Marine Design Certificate.
— With funding from Maine Quality Centers, SMCC and Central Maine Community College will train up to 132 Maine residents for new BIW positions in marine electronics.
— Hundreds of BIW employees travel to SMCC’s Midcoast campus in Brunswick for team building and communication skills training.
— Under BIW’s apprenticeship program, SMCC teaches credit classes on site, including economics, organizational development and communication.
— Our entire electrical engineering degree program may be offered at BIW in 2014 and our advanced composites laboratory in Brunswick offers new collaborative opportunities.
— BIW engineers and managers serve as adjunct faculty for SMCC.
— BIW made a generous donation that enhanced the classrooms and laboratories of our Mid-coast campus.
— We’ve trained hundreds of BIW welders. Talks are under way for a collaborative welding instruction lab in Brunswick.
When BIW needs training, when their employees need to prepare for new jobs or new technologies, or when the company wants to hold an event in a campus environment, they turn to SMCC. We have supported every level of their work force — mechanics, welders, engineers, esigners, directors and VPs.
I’ll be back at the shipyard Oct. 19 to stand proudly with SMCC faculty and staff at the christening of the USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s newest destroyer. Several more ships, representing several billion dollars, are to be built in Bath during the next few years.
It’s true: Bath-built is best built.
And SMCC empowers people to respond to a changing world.
Look what we’re doing together.
RONALD G. CANTOR is president of Southern Maine Community College.
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