University of New England

The University of New England (UNE) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational university founded in 1831, with campuses in Biddeford, Maine, Portland, Maine, and online. The Biddeford campus sits on 540 acres, the Portland campus is 40 acres, and the Tangier Campus is 3.7 acres. During the 2012-2013 academic year, a total of 8,085 students were enrolled at UNE, of which 4,753 were undergraduate and 2,346 were graduate students. In 1977, UNE opened a medical school, the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, which is currently the only medical school in the state of Maine. In 2013, UNE opened the College of Dental Medicine, currently the only dental school in northern New England.

The university is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The medical school, the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, is also accredited by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

In 1939, a boys-only high school and junior college called the College Séraphique was founded in Biddeford by Father Decary and the Franciscan friar of St. Andre's parish.

In 1952, the school changed its name to St. Francis College and began granting bachelor's degrees with state approval in 1953. The high school program was phased out by 1961, and the college was first accredited in 1966.

The school became co-educational for the first time in 1967 and the Franciscans withdrew from the administration of the college in 1974.

To survive dropping enrollment, St. Francis College entered into an agreement with the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine to establish the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine on the same campus, and in 1978 the two merged under the new name of the "University of New England". In 1996, Westbrook College merged with the University of New England. The merger took place under the terms of the original 1831 Westbrook charter, and the combined institutions became Westbrook College before changing the name back to the University of New England. The campus of the former Westbrook College is now known as the UNE Portland Campus.

In December 2010, the university received the largest gift in its history -- $10 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation to build the Harold Alfond Forum on the Biddeford Campus, and to support interprofessional healthcare workforce education.