John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Economic Development Council of Maine.

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John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Economic Development Council of Maine. In presenting the award, William Armitage, the council's president, praised Fitzsimmons' leadership and vision in the areas of higher education and workforce development. Under Fitzsimmons' leadership, institutions within the Maine Community College System have transitioned from vocational technical institutes to technical colleges to community colleges, and enrollment has grown by over 200 percent to more than 13,800 credit students. In the past five years alone, since the establishment of the community colleges, enrollment of degree-seeking students has jumped by 55 percent. The council, with more than 200 members, presents its Lifetime Achievement Award only periodically and to someone who has made significant, sustained, and statewide contributions in the area of economic development.