Richard Rosen, a former state senator and store owner who served as commissioner of the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services during part of Gov. Paul LePage’s administration, has been hired as a vice president at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine.
Rosen will be the school’s vice president for financial and institutional services, the school said Monday. Rosen served 14 years in the Legislature — six in the House and eight in the Senate, including two years as co-chairman of the Appropriations Committee — before being term-limited out in 2012. After that, he headed up the Office of Policy and Management under former Gov. Paul Lepage before LePage transferred him to the state’s finance agency in 2015.
Prior to serving in state government, and while he served in the Legislature, Rosen and his wife Kimberly Rosen, now a state senator, owned and operated Rosen’s Department Store in Bucksport, which his grandfather opened in Bucksport in 1929. The Rosens shut the store down in 2013.
As the head of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Rosen oversaw a department of 1,200 employees who were responsible for development of the state budget, information technology, state government procurement, and facilities.
In his new post, Rosen will oversee Maine Maritime Academy’s financial operations, facilities, human resources and auxiliary operations. A graduate of the University of Maine in business and finance, Rosen currently serves as a board member of the Retail Association of Maine, a trustee for Northern Light Acadia Hospital and a commissioner on the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission.
“Richard brings a wealth of experience to the academy,” MMA President William Brennan said Monday. “His sensible approach and his familiarity with the workings of our community — on both local and statewide levels — give him a unique perspective and both our institution and our students have already greatly benefited from his direction.”
