Laurie G. Lachance, a pathbreaking college president, economist and champion of career readiness, will be honored with the prestigious Weston L. Bonney Education Leadership Award for 2024, Educate Maine announced.
Lachance, the first female president of Thomas College, was also the first woman as Maine’s state economist and first female CEO of the Maine Development Foundation. She is being recognized for her achievement in both education and business and for her work making education and career training more equitable.
“Laurie Lachance led Thomas through significant growth and multiple innovations to better prepare its students for successful careers,” said Dr. Jason Judd, executive director of Educate Maine, which administers the award. “But her own remarkably successful career also includes significant service to all Mainers. She understands that education is foundational to a robust economy.”
Among the innovations at Thomas under Lachance’s leadership (2012-2024) are accelerated three-year undergrad programs, online degree programs, and electives to prepare students for the business world (including a unique golf program that acknowledges the social aspect of business networks). Thomas guarantees its students will graduate with job offers; about 99 percent do.
Lachance, from a modest background in Dover-Foxcroft, was herself a first-generation college student at Bowdoin College, and understood well the challenges of leading a business-focused college where a significant number of students are the first in their families to attend college, and more than 95 percent of students get some type of financial aid.
Many of the innovations pioneered under her leadership have been aimed at making college affordable, including free college classes offered to high school students and programs across every discipline to earn a degree in three years.
“Laurie helped forge more pathways to success and made them more equitable and achievable for Thomas students,” Dr. Judd said. “She has worked tirelessly to improve access to higher education for high school students and adult learners.”
The award will be presented at the annual Education Symposium on Dec. 13.
About the award:
In 1998, the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education (MCEE) established the MCEE Education Leadership Award. In 2010, the award was renamed the Weston L. Bonney Education Leadership Award in honor of longtime MCEE board member Wes Bonney. Bonney, who died last year, was President and CEO of Peoples Heritage Bank, was a founding member and former chair of MCEE, and served as a member of the State Board of Education. At the core of his work was an unyielding demand for equity in education. In 2011, the Maine Coalition of Excellence in Education and the Maine Compact for Higher Education merged to become Educate Maine. Educate Maine continues the annual Leadership Luncheon tradition by honoring an individual, group, organization, or Maine company that demonstrates leadership, commitment and vision in ensuring that all Maine students have access to quality education and opportunity to achieve academic success. Each recipient, past and present, embraces and embodies the qualities demonstrated by Wes Bonney.
