Topsham resident Lynn Lockwood has been elected president of Midcoast Senior College. Freda Bernotavicz, Leona Dufour, Bruce Hauptli, Jay Kuder, Craig Snapp and Bill Vanderwolk were elected to the board of directors.
Lockwood worked at the Baltimore County Library for 25 years and was director of the Auburn Public Library for five years. Lockwood has been a member of the Midcoast Senior College board for five years.
“The past year has been an incredible year for the College,” Lockwood said. “We decided early in the pandemic to move all classes to Zoom, but it took a lot of training and adjustments to get there. But we succeeded because our executive director, Donna Marshall, was willing to take on the challenge, and our faculty members were flexible and willing to make the change.”
“Zoom has been a revelation to us,” she continued. “It is very popular with students. We enlarged our student body with people who had problems getting to the in-person classes. Zoom also brought us students from other parts of Maine and across the country.”
The college plans to go back to in-person classes, but will also continue to offer online classes on Zoom.
Other goals that Lockwood would like to see the college work on during her tenure involve creating a long-term plan for the college that refines how courses will be presented to students, more comprehensive communication to the community and the feasibility of a digital library.
Lockwood also highlighted the on-going success of the Senior College annual fund drive: “Even in this difficult year, people came through for the college. Even when they did not know when in-person classes would return, they supported us. We are so grateful.”
Midcoast Senior College offers non-credited courses in history, literature and science, and also on the early history of coastal Maine, nature and gardening. For more information, visit midcoastseniorcollege.org.
“The college offers something to retirees that no one else does,” Lockwood said. “Classes are stimulating and popular. Our courses sell out very often.”
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