ROCKPORT, Maine — A Rockport college has received a 14-acre donation worth more than $1 million that will connect the campus to Route 1.
Maine Media Workshops + College announced the donation in a news release on Wednesday. The gift will serve as the cornerstone of a bold plan for future growth, and it reflects a trend of growing, positive momentum for this midcoast Maine educational center for visual storytelling, according to the news release.
The donation was made by HomeFed Corporation, which its largest shareholder is Leucadia National Corporation, which has a long history of providing financial support toward Maine Media’s mission, Maine Media reported.
“This is a major milestone in the continuing growth of Maine Media Workshops + College as a nonprofit institution,” said President Meg Weston. “It is further evidence of broad community support that is making a difference to the students that come here from all over the world.”
The receipt of this land is integral to fulfilling Maine Media’s campus master plan. The plan calls for a new home for Maine Media’s young artist programs, new housing for those students, a media arts and technology center and a handicapped-accessible student welcome center, among other things.
Some of this growth has already begun, the college reported. Maine Media renovated the ground floor of its Ernst Haas Building and created the new Book Arts Studio and Alternative Process Darkroom, paired with an outdoor teaching space.
Founded in 1973 as Maine Photographic Workshops, Maine Media Workshops + College has evolved into a creative center for visual storytellers across many disciplines. Offering immersive photography, filmmaking, and multimedia courses in weekend and weeklong workshops, multiweek intensives, one-year professional certificate programs and a three-year degree program, Maine Media attracts more than 1,600 students each year.