NORWAY — Marjorie Medd was recently given the Distinguished Achievement Award by Tufts University, an award presented to an alumnus who has made significant achievements and contributions to her profession and/or community and is recognized for leadership in her field. 

Four decades ago, Medd, her husband, and three young children moved to the Oxford Hills region. “I attended a school board meeting and knew that the direction of the board was not about delivering the best possible education,” she recalls.

What began as service to the Oxford Hills school board grew into a three-decade career as a leader of myriad projects and initiatives in Maine. Through appointments by three governors, of both major parties and an independent, she has focused on effective public education and its benefits: a skilled and knowledgeable workforce, capable parents, intelligent voters, responsible individuals and self-supporting communities.

Enhancing her “just keep going” mantra, she earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard University. As chair of the Maine State Board of Education, she focused the board on achieving greater financial equity for education in Maine and led the board’s effort to refine the state’s public education funding formula.

As chair of a task force charged with implementing Maine’s Learning Results standards, Medd’s insistence ensured that arts education was fully valued and recognized within the new standards.

As chair of a community economic development organization, she forged a coalition of elected leaders, civic and business groups, and other organizations that created the Western Maine University and Community College Center.

A current trustee of the University of Maine System, her roles in advocacy for education and economic development included trade missions to Japan, the British Isles, and Brazil and Argentina.

“I have always believed that for my own family to truly benefit from public education, everyone’s family must benefit from public education,” she said.

“It’s easy to be a ‘most valuable player’ if you are the one who has the knowledge, skills and advantages. A greater challenge is to distribute those skills across your community, state and nation.”