Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler has announced that he plans to step down from his position by the end of the 2026-27 academic year.
Daigler has been president since 2019 and has been working for the system since 2003.
Daigler notified the MCCS Board of Trustees on Wednesday during their regular meeting held at Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC).
“It’s the right time for the system, the state, and me personally,” said Daigler.
“We have new state leadership coming in, we have successfully made the Maine Free College scholarship permanent, our workforce programming is incredibly robust, and our leadership team is strong,” he said.
“Together we have ensured that Maine’s community colleges are delivering on their promise to be affordable, accessible,” he said, “and the single best way for Mainers to get the skills they need for good jobs in today’s economy.”
“It has been my greatest privilege to work alongside the outstanding people at Maine’s community colleges to make these colleges, our communities, and the entire state a more prosperous, kind, and supportive place for all,” said Daigler. “The power of education to transform the lives of those striving to improve and become more informed and engaged citizens cannot be underestimated.”
Daigler also noted during his remarks that by notifying the board now of his intention to step down, it ensures that the members have time to conduct a thorough search and smoothly transition to his replacement.
The board will begin searching for a new president immediately.
Click Here to Read the Full MCCS Press Release
Sen. Susan Collins (R) reacted to Daigler’s announcement in a press release shared Thursday, praising him for the work he has done in the role over the past several years.
“Dave Daigler has been an exceptional president of the Maine Community College System and a tireless advocate for Maine students and educators,” said Sen. Collins. “I have always appreciated his steady leadership, deep understanding of Maine’s workforce needs, and commitment to expanding educational opportunities across our state.”
“Under President Daigler’s leadership, Maine’s community colleges have strengthened their role as engines of economic growth, now serving more than 33,000 people each year,” she said.
“I’ve appreciated working with Dave to expand short-term workforce training programs, strengthen Pell Grants and the TRIO program, and make important investments to modernize and develop new infrastructure, equipment, and programs throughout the system,” Collins continued.
“His work has helped tens of thousands of Mainers gain the skills they need to succeed while supporting the businesses and communities that depend on a well-trained workforce,” said Collins. “I thank Dave for his years of dedicated service to the State of Maine and wish him all the best in his future retirement.”
So everyone that works for the Community College System does it for free? Or is it the usual, take it from workers to give it away? I would imagine he has no taxpayer funded retirement, since everything is free. It is a good thing laws can be changed. The next governor, hopefully a Republican, is going to be busy rolling back this spending.
The graduation rate at Maine Community College in South Portland is 30%.
It’s a grant funding money pit. Very corrupt.
Graduation rates at community colleges — nationally — can be deceptive for a variety of reasons starting with the fact that a lot of kids go to the community college for one year and then transfer to a regular college. They do this for three reasons, first they may be taking remedial courses with the stuff they didn’t learn in high school, second they may not think that they can actually do college of work and this convinces them they can, and third there are still a lot of places in Maine that are very small towns and the big college may get kids. I once had a student who was intimidated by the size of the town of Machias, I don’t think she’d ever been off Beal’s Island before.
And then there are kids that just want a certification in welding or to learn the new electrical wiring code or something like that. They’re not gonna bother with a degree nor why should they?
And then if you’re interested in, say, the Civil War and they had somebody teaching a course in the 20th Maine next fall, you might take it out of general interest, but have no desire to get an AB in history. If you were a high school, social studies teacher, you might take the same cost to get your license renewed, but you already have a BA you don’t want an AB.
So a 30% graduation rate for community college, in and of itself, tells you pretty much nothing.
How about a simple “Thank You” to all the past generations of trade students who paid for their education and helped build these schools and the system as a whole and then continue to do so for life as hard working tax payers. Stop patting yourselves on the back as politicians and administrators and give credit where credit is due. This is wrong.
“working for the system” Perhaps it would be better fraized; Legalized plunder.