University of Maine president resigns

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ORONO – Less than a week after being asked to step down, University of Maine President Peter Hoff resigned Friday.

Hoff’s resignation takes effect Aug. 15. Nonetheless, the UM official isn’t gone for good, but will assume a professorship at the university.

“[Hoff and University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal] have been having ongoing discussions about President Hoff’s future with the University of Maine System dating back several months,” UMS spokesman John Diamond said Friday.

The announcement was made late Friday afternoon, with a statement issued by Diamond. No reason for the change in leadership was given, but UM faculty have speculated that tensions between the chancellor and campus president have arisen over the proposed reorganization of the UM System.

Efforts made Friday evening to reach Hoff and Westphal for comment were unsuccessful.

Westphal has named Robert Kennedy, executive vice president and provost, as UM’s interim president, according to the statement.

A search for a new UM president will begin in September and is expected to be completed by 2005.

“The trustees and I are extremely grateful for the leadership and dedication President Hoff has provided during his seven years as president,” Westphal was quoted as saying in the statement. “President Hoff leaves the presidency with a much larger student enrollment, a more creative and innovative faculty, and a broader and more resourceful research enterprise.”

The UM president’s contract expired in August 2003, and he had been serving “at the pleasure of the chancellor, which is a standard operating procedure,” according to a previous statement by Diamond.

Apparently uncertain about his status, Hoff had been looking for leadership positions at three other institutions. He was turned down in May for the presidency of the University of Nebraska System.

It was reported earlier this week that Hoff had been asked to step down from his position.

A UMS board of trustees meeting scheduled for Monday includes an executive session on an undisclosed topic.

Hoff has accepted a five-year position as a UMS professor, which is a nontenured post. He takes the place of former UMS Chancellor Terry MacTaggert, who was the first to serve in the position as a scholar and researcher on higher education and related policy issues. MacTaggert no longer is with the university.

In accordance with his initial contract, Hoff will receive an annual salary of $118,895, which is 75 percent of his presidential salary. Hoff also becomes eligible for a one-year sabbatical at the conclusion of his UM presidency.

The change in leadership caught unawares at least one legislator active in UMS issues.

“I talked to President Hoff this week, and I’m surprised,” Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Androscoggin and co-chairwoman of the Legislature’s Education Committee, said Friday night. “I thought he was going to remain on.”

“I think that he has a lot of knowledge and a lot of understanding on moving the university forward,” Douglass said. “At least it will be good to have his assets available.”

H. Allen Fernald, chairman of the UM board of visitors, praised Hoff in a prepared statement but made no comment as to the cause of Hoff’s resignation.

“He has been a strong advocate in the Legislature, where he has many friends,” Fernald was quoted as saying. “Peter has earned our respect and our thanks for his many accomplishments during his tenure as president.”

Though no specific reason has been cited for Westphal’s request that Hoff resign, some faculty members attending a meeting Friday of the UM Faculty Senate, a policy group, suggested that the chancellor was not pleased when Hoff spoke out against the chancellor’s proposed UMS strategic plan.

The plan calls for the consolidation of campuses and budget cuts.

The hastily scheduled Faculty Senate meeting was called to discuss three timely issues: leadership at the campus level, the UMS strategic plan, and UMS leadership. Senate President Howard Patterson said the meeting would be the first of many to discuss such issues.

Faculty members noted that both student enrollment and research dollars at UM have increased since Hoff began his presidency there.

While some faculty were reluctant to speak publicly, the majority did speak at the meeting and said they supported Hoff even though they didn’t always agree with decisions he made, particularly when it came to tenure and promotions.

“There’s very mixed feelings about Hoff on campus,” professor Doug Allen said. “Regardless of whether one likes President Hoff or not … what’s happening right now is really demoralizing to our campus.”

Faculty members were concerned that Westphal’s request for Hoff’s resignation was a “top-down” decision, and noted that there is no evidence of input from other sources.

“It really means that we don’t count,” Allen said.

Kennedy, as interim president, will serve for a period of one year while a search committee, to be formed in September, pursues options for a new president.

“During this transition period, Provost Kennedy will provide the UMaine community with a familiar and experienced leader, doing so in as seamless a manner as one could hope,” Westphal said in the statement.

Compensation and final details regarding Kennedy’s appointment are not final. The interim president does not intend to apply for the president’s position, according to Diamond.

Some faculty members, speaking during Friday’s Faculty Senate meeting, said they were concerned about what will happen Monday during the executive session scheduled for the UMS board of trustees meeting.

They said they were worried that issues are going to be pushed through the system before faculty members and others have a chance to provide comment.

“I think we’ve got to get in there and fight,” one unidentified faculty member said. “I think that’s our only real chance on this.”