The project was made possible through a transformational $30 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the largest in UNE’s history, and a $5 million federal appropriation championed by Maine’s senior U.S. Senator Susan Collins.
UNE’s investment in the Portland Campus for the Health Sciences extends beyond infrastructure.
Through a dedicated and nationally renowned approach to interprofessional education, the University is cultivating a future-focused model for preparing health professionals equipped to meet the evolving needs of patients, communities, care systems, and the biotechnology workforce in Maine and across the nation.
The new center allows UNE to increase medical
school enrollment by 21%, from 165 to 200
students per class, helping to address Maine’s
critical shortage of physicians.
“We know that we have a special responsibility to
Maine and its communities,” said UNE College of
Osteopathic Medicine Dean Jane Carreiro, D.O. ’88.
“More Maine doctors are educated at UNE than anywhere else,
and, with this new facility, we will now be graduating 35 additional doctors every year. That means 200 doctors entering the medical workforce every year at a time when Maine and the nation desperately need more physicians.”
Designed to reflect best practices in medical education, the building features flexible classrooms, team-based learning spaces, patient simulation labs, and advanced technology to support real-world clinical decision making. Faculty and students across disciplines will collaborate in settings that mirror today’s health care environments, fostering the habits of communication and coordination that lead to better patient outcomes.