The University of Southern Maine is a public university with campuses in Gorham and Portland, Maine. It is the southernmost university in the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the Universit…The University of Southern Maine is a public university with campuses in Gorham and Portland, Maine. It is the southernmost university in the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the University of Maine at Portland, were combined in 1970 to help streamline the public university system in Maine and eventually expanded by adding the Lewiston campus in 1988.