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Biography of Dr. Kristen Miller
President, Southern Maine Community College
Kristen Miller, President of Southern Maine Community College
Dr. Kristen Miller currently serves as the President of Southern Maine Community College. Prior to her presidency, she held the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs at White Mountains Community College (WMCC). With a proud tenure of 10 years at WMCC, Kristen contributed in successive roles within both Student Affairs and Academic Affairs. She has also been an instructor for courses at both WMCC and Plymouth State University.
Before her time at WMCC, Kristen began her educational journey as a high school English Teacher at Kennett High School, accumulating over 15 years of experience in education. In 2008, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and English from Sonoma State University. Subsequently, Kristen obtained her Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of New England in 2016 and her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration from Capella University in 2020.
Dr. Miller is passionate about redefining traditional learning settings, recognizing that education can extend beyond brick and mortar. She remains committed to innovative approaches for student success. Kristen is from North Conway, New Hampshire, and spent the past 13 years there with her husband, Joey, daughter Elyse, and their Bernese Mountain Dog, Kastle. An outdoor enthusiast, she enjoys spending her spare time in nature. When indoors, she channels her creativity into furniture restoration, a hobby she shares with her father. This interest complements her love for historical fiction reading, although her ultimate joy lies in activities that involve quality time with her daughter.
History of SMCC
Southern Maine Community College has grown and evolved over the years, but our goal remains the same: to transform lives and communities through education and training.
When SMCC was founded in 1946 in Augusta, it opened as the Maine Vocational Technical Institute to serve returning World War II veterans who needed to learn new skills as the economy transitioned from wartime to peace. When it outgrew its space in Augusta, MVTI moved in 1952 to SMCC’s current location, on the site of decommissioned Fort Preble overlooking beautiful Casco Bay in South Portland.
In the 1960s, MVTI changed its name to Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institution and began awarding its first Associate in Applied Science degrees. Another name change came in the 1980s, when SMVTI became Southern Maine Technical College after the Maine Legislature changed the name of the state’s Vocational Technical Institute System to the Maine Technical College System.
The transformation continued in 2003 when the Maine Legislature established the Maine Community College System to provide affordable postsecondary education as a pathway to the workforce or to a baccalaureate institution. The College name was changed once more, to Southern Maine Community College.
SMCC experienced rapid growth after becoming a community college, with enrollment nearly tripling in a decade. In 2011, we added a second campus, the Midcoast Campus in Brunswick, located on the site of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.
SMCC has come a long way from a small school in Augusta to Maine’s largest community college. We now serve about 6,000 students from around the state and around the globe, and offer more than 40 degree and certificate programs at our campuses in South Portland and Brunswick, online and at satellite locations throughout southern Maine.
At every step in SMCC’s history, our College has responded to the changing world as we welcome, prepare and inspire people to learn, succeed and lead.
Campus Connections
Want to know all the exciting things that are happening at SMCC? To learn more and view our online college newsletter, visit our Campus Connections webpage.
