LEWISTON – Diplomas went to a record number of Central Maine Community College graduates Thursday night in the school’s 45th annual commencement ceremony at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

They completed courses of study ranging from automotive specialties to building technology, computers, education and several medical disciplines.

President Scott E. Knapp said that for the 12 years he has headed the school, the number of graduates has increased every year. On Thursday, he presented 375 diplomas to the Class of 2009.

In his keynote address, former Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe told the graduates they are facing a new economy and it is “no longer enough to rely on the skills of the last generation.”

Rowe said the skills learned at CMCC are essential for the graduates’ economic future and for the future of Maine.

“I have one word for you: innovation,” Rowe said as he paraphrased the advice given to Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 movie, “The Graduate.” Today, it’s innovation, and not plastics, that he advised the graduates to consider.

“We must wake up every morning with innovation on our minds,” he said. He acknowledged that innovating involves taking risks, and he urged the graduates to “unleash your potential.”

Rowe noted that a number of the CMCC graduates are single parents and a lot more went to classes while holding down full-time jobs.

“For that,” he said, “you have my greatest respect.”

Student Senate Vice President Kate Dargie used the analogy of life as a box of chocolates in her class message.

“You can choose any one of the chocolates,” she said, but the key to success “depends on what you do with it.”

Of the 2009 graduates, 52 studied business administration and management, the most popular subject. Liberal arts was second, with 46. Other courses of study with 20 or more graduates included medical assistant, nursing, radiologic technology and automotive technology.

Among other courses graduating CMCC students were building construction technology, culinary arts, computer technology, education, graphic arts/printing technology and human services.

Dennis King, trustee of the Maine Community College System, told the graduates, “You are without question the best of Maine.”