By David Harry

Staff Writer

Dr. James Ortiz, who has presided over Southern Maine Community College for nearly a decade, announced earlier this month he will retire in July.

Ortiz formerly was vice president for student and academic affairs at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. He began his work in Maine as the school shifted from Southern Maine Technical College to become part of the Maine Community College System.

In the past decade, the South Portland-based college has expanded to about 7,000 students from about 2,900 and opened programs in Brunswick and at high schools in Naples and South Hiram. Liberal arts courses have been added, but Ortiz said the demand for technical learning is high and requirements to learn trades are more sophisticated.

Q: Why did you decide to retire?

A: I have been in this career for a long time. My wife and I have talked about doing things “later.” I am 68, going on 69, and we kind of came to the conclusion that if we are going to do things later, now is the time. I really love this job, but the college has its own momentum now. I want to get out of the way before I become a hindrance.

Q: How would you assess the growth since you have been at the college?

A: Some of it has been planned, some just occurred. We planned to grow about 10 percent a year. Then the recession came, and growth was much greater than we expected. It has been a challenge; we are using every inch of the campus. We were planning to go to a weekend college in about two years. This September, because of the demand, we started on Saturdays. In 2002, our budget was maybe 60 percent appropriations from the state and about 20 percent tuition. Now the appropriations are about 32 percent and student tuition is about 35 percent. It provides financial stability in these difficult times.

Q: Was it difficult to shift from mostly technical programs to liberal arts?

A: Around the turn of the century, there was a study that determined if Maine were to grow, it had to increase the number of college graduates. So it became a stated goal. We were in some instances very selective at Southern Maine Technical College. In order to be admitted, you had to be very sure of what you were interested in. If we were going to increase the number of people going into higher education, we had to provide the access.

There was a lot of apprehension we were going to give up the technical programs and become another liberal arts school. I think what occurred is when we brought in students who wanted to come to college but were not really sure of what they were going to do, all of a sudden they would meet technical students and realize they were studying for very good-paying jobs in the technical field.

Q: How has the recession changed the demographic of students?

A: The numbers of recent high school graduates has really jumped up. When I first got here, you would look out at the change of classes and see an older population. Now you see a young population. The older population is still here, but there are so many younger people coming to classes. 

Q: Has  your community college education made this closer to your heart?

A: I wasn’t planning on going to college at all. Community college made the American ideal that if you work hard and get an education you get better a reality. Every (college) where I have gone to work, I want to be sure we are the entry to the American ideal. It doesn’t matter to me where people go to college, our job is to get them interested in college. 

In many instances, people will come here and say “I only want to go to school for two years and get a job.” What happens a lot is they come here say, for machining, and they think, “why can’t I become an engineer?” I also think what the economy has done is families may say “Wait a minute, it costs $10,000 for two years instead of $50,000 for a year at a private college.”

Q: Has there been a substantial change in the rate of minority students attending the college?

A: The rates have pretty much stayed around 10 percent, but we have gone from 2,800 to 7,000 students. I think we have more minorities because more of the students are identifying themselves as such. We have seen this as very positive because of what they bring with them. Maine is the most homogeneous state, so (the increase) gives our students another way of looking at the world. We have made some adjustments, we put in place the class where people can kind of acculturate. 

Q: How well are the students from Maine schools prepared to come here?

A: It is a big issue. Math is the big problem. Our math starts at algebra, and we have a test we give. About 60 percent of the people we test have to take some support course prior to algebra. All the programs are very demanding. Why do we require algebra for someone who is going to work on an automobile? Well, working on an automobile is very computer-oriented. You have to measure the metrics of how the car is functioning. It’s not just taking the engine out.

About three years ago, (Scarborough-based) R.J. Grondin came to us and said we need a program to train heavy-machine operators. 

We asked how they trained them before, and they said, “you know, we gave them a shovel for a couple of years and let them work their way up slowly.” Now, you can’t do that. The machines are $1 million and computer-operated. Now we have a program where they spend 90 hours on a simulator before they touch a machine.

Q: Does the business community come to the school?

A: When I came in, the automotive program had not been updated – they hadn’t reached air conditioning yet and we had very few students. We had to close the program. Then I got a visit from the Maine Automobile Dealers Association who said they did a study and knew we could run the program if we got the equipment. That was $250,000. And I thought that was that. 

Then one of the owners got up and said “if all you need is $250,000, then the program can achieve more than that. We will provide cash and we will provide you with leadership.” Without businesses, we would not be where we are.

Q: How do you assess the college’s relationship with the city?

A: I think it is very beneficial now. Our dean of finance is a former finance director for the city. If you look at it, our campus is almost a park. On weekends, the community is drawn to the campus. The greenway runs right through it. We are proud of being here, so we try to make it a campus that looks good. That is great for the city. They also help us with security and Councilor Tom Blake led the effort to create the Fort Preble Committee. Our safety, fire and police work very closely with the city.

Q: What are your retirement plans?

A: My wife, Joyce, and I are going to take six months and kind of get used to it. In my work and my career, I know where I am going, but it doesn’t prepare you for what to do when you stop. 

My wife kind of had a panic attack – “you are going to get up at 5:30 in the morning and you are not going someplace?” We are going to travel and be with our grandkids and I’m sure something will pop up.