FARMINGTON – F. Celeste Branham, University of Maine at Farmington vice president for student and community services, was recently appointed by Gov. Paul LePage as a commissioner representing the Lewiston area to the Maine Commission for Community Service.
The commission builds capacity and sustainability in Maine’s volunteer and service communities and is represented by a bipartisan group of 25 citizens who are appointed for three-year terms and represent every region of the state. Branham has been assigned to the commission’s task force on service learning—a teaching and learning strategy that enriches classroom learning with hands-on experience and meaningful community service.
“I am honored to have been selected to serve on the commission that helps Maine students, from kindergarten to college, connect what they are learning in the classroom with real-world experience,” said Branham. “By teaching students early how their academic lessons relate to real-life application, service learning enriches students’ education, gives them new workplace skills and encourages life-long civic participation.”
Actively involved with the development and management of student services in higher education throughout her 31-year career, Branham is committed to helping students throughout the state add to their experiential learning and work credentials through volunteerism and service to the community.In addition to her appointment with the commission, Branham is leading the development of the new UMF Partnership for Civic Advancement. The Partnership will promote experiential learning opportunities for UMF students through service learning, internships, undergraduate research, leadership training and education, and volunteerism and promote and strengthen regional development.
At UMF, Branham oversees all student services, helping provide students with the best overall learning environment. Previously, she served as Dean of Students at Bates College until 2005 and was a consultant with the New England Association of Small Colleges and Universities Reaccreditation Evaluation Team. Branham also served, by gubernatorial appointment, as chair of the Maine Commission for Women. Her term led to the ratification of an equal rights amendment by the Maine State Legislature and the passage of the first Family Medical Leave Act in the nation. She is concluding her term as Co-President of the Board of Trustees for the Center for Preventing Hate and has just begun a term as Co-President of the Board of Directors for the Western Maine Community Action agency.
She received her master’s in public administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and received certificates in Management Development from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and in Leadership for the 21st Century at the Harvard University Kennedy School.
Established in 1994 by Executive Order, the Maine Commission for Community Service is the state government partner of the Corporation for National and Community Service—the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Volunteer Generation programs.
