Show 138: CEO of Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies Eliot Cutler

Show Information

Show: 138
Air date: Saturday, 27 June 2015
Guest: Eliot Cutler
Host: Steve Woods (Stevoe)
Studio Contributor: Debi Davis
Executive Producer: Emily Sullivan

Eliot Cutler has a long, storied political career. He worked for decades in Washington, DC under Senator Muskie and continued to his work in DC overseeing policies and budgets for multiple agencies. After two gubernatorial campaigns in Maine, Cutler is taking on a new project: creating a professional graduate center that will combine the UMaine Law program, the USM and UMaine Orono MBA programs, and the USM Muskie School of Public Service.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, recently welcomed former gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Cutler (right).

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, recently welcomed former gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Cutler (right).

Cutler joined Stevoe recently to discuss his new endeavor, named the Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies. The idea was sparked during one of Cutler’s speeches on education in January 2009. It then caught steam as the Chancellor of the UMaine System, Jim Page, decided to see if it was feasible. Cutler was brought on board as the CEO of the new center earlier this year. His job, until September 2016, is to create a business model, find funding, and to work out how the center would operate.

The main idea behind the graduate professional center is to give students a more well-rounded, community focused education. The schools were finding that the law graduates had little business experience and the business students had little law experience; knowledge in both areas is crucial for students to succeed in their careers. Cutler hopes the center will bring faculty and students together so they can learn from each other: students will explain their needs to the professors. Nowadays, students are more aware of what employers are looking for in potential hires, where the professors are less aware.

The schools will all work together to make education affordable and accessible to Maine students. Cutler believes that in order to increase business in our state, it has to start with well educated, well rounded, well prepared students and that is the goal of the Maine Center of Graduate Professional Studies.

The idea is still new and information is still limited, so for more information keep your finger on the pulse this fall to hear more.


Posted on Monday, June 29th, 2015 and filed under Show Recaps.