University of Southern Maine

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The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a multi-campus public university and part of the University of Maine System. USM's three campuses are located in Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston (Lewiston-Auburn College).

Among the seven units of the University of Maine System, USM has the highest total number of enrolled students (without regard to full- or part-time status) at 11,382 as of the 2004-5 academic year with an average age of 28.3.

USM originated in 1878 as Gorham Normal School, later called Gorham State Teachers College and then simply Gorham State College. In 1969 that institution merged with the University of Maine at Portland (previously Portland Junior College) and became the University of Maine at Portland-Gorham (UMPG or "Po-Go U"). The name was changed to University of Southern Maine in 1978. USM is a major educational engine in the overall growth and development of economic, civic, and cultural life in southern Maine. USM offers baccalaureate and master's degree programs as well as doctoral programs in Public Policy, and School Psychology.

USM is among the “best Northeastern colleges,” according to The Princeton Review’s 2006 listings. The current president of USM is Richard Pattenaude.

Famous USM graduates include actor Tony Shalhoub (1977), the novelist Lois Lowry (1972), research scientist Raymond Stevens (1986), and former president of New York Times Walter Mattson (1953).