The mission of the Center is to promote and facilitate activities on aging in the areas of education, research and evaluation, and community service to maximize the quality of life of older citizens and their families in Maine and beyond. Its goals are to:

• Provide opportunities for older citizens to engage in productive activities that enhance the quality of their own lives and provide meaningful benefits to the communities in which they live.
  
• Make available to the state's public, voluntary and proprietary organizations research and evaluation expertise on aging-related issues.
  
• Promote aging-related education and training programs for Maine's citizenry at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education levels.
  
• Serve as a direct link between the University and the citizens of Maine in order to expand the range of learning opportunities and practical experiences for UMaine students preparing for careers working with Maine's older adults.
  
• Promote collaboration and partnerships between UMaine and public and private service providers with aging-related interests throughout the state, including other University of Maine System institutions, the region, and in Canada.
  
• Serve as a consultative resource and clearinghouse for aging information and training needed by the business, health, and human service communities throughout the state and the region.
  

Achievement of Center goals will be assessed based on its capacity to:

• Help sensitize increased numbers of students and workforce personnel in the state to the economic, social, psychological, and physical challenges confronting Maine's older citizens and their families.
  
• Facilitate the translation, transfer, and real life application of research findings that enhance the quality of life of Maine's older adults and their families and the performance of the labor force that serves them.
  
• Maximize the range of aging-related learning opportunities and community service experiences for University of Maine System students preparing for careers working with Maine's older adults and their families.
  
• Attract greater numbers of professional and preprofessional students to UMaine with interests in establishing Maine-based careers in the field of aging.
  
• Help the state build an expanding cadre of educators, scientists, and other specialists in the field of aging who will, in turn, apply their expertise to preparing the state for an aging populace.
  
• Support the work of existing University of Maine System-sponsored and affiliated housing, community, and service projects for older adults.
  
• Enhance UMaine faculty and researcher expertise in service to the older adult community and the organizations that serve them within their respective fields and encourage faculty to develop new expertise in gerontology and geriatrics for future service to an aging Maine .