AUGUSTA – Despite a group of lawmakers’ strong objections Thursday to the proposed merger of universities in Augusta and southern Maine, University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal said he wouldn’t reconsider the plan.

Rep. Stanley Moody, R-Manchester, one of 14 capitol-area lawmakers who met with Westphal complained that the blending of the two universities “sounds a lot like a corporate merger … in which the smaller unit always gets absorbed no matter what the good intentions.”

The meeting was called by Senate President Beverly Daggett, an Augusta Democrat, who said she continues “to hear very, very serious concerns from citizens and legislators. Having a campus in your community means a lot to businesses and others who locate here.”

The legislators were blunt, telling Westphal they were concerned that the University of Maine at Augusta would lose its identity, that the draft strategic plan was put together too hastily, and that objections raised by community members and UMA faculty, staff and students had been disregarded.

Rep. Julie O’Brien, R-Augusta, recalling Westphal’s recent decision to abandon the proposed merger of the Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Machias campuses, wondered if “political pressure” had been the impetus for the chancellor’s change of heart.

“What can we do if that’s the case?” she asked, eliciting laughs from the group.

“If the Legislature were to stop the plan, so be it – you’re the representatives of the people,” Westphal said. “I’ll accept whatever happens. But I’ll try to do everything I can to do what’s right. I will not do this on the basis of politics. This isn’t about politics.”

Rep. Linda Rogers McKee, D-Wayne, was among several legislators who urged Westphal to delay consideration of the plan.

“I have a feeling political pressure will increase,” she said.

The UMS board of trustees’ strategic plan committee is expected to issue a final document on Sept. 7. The full board is expected to consider the plan Sept. 20.

Westphal said that although he had decided against merging the other three campuses, the University of Maine at Augusta was a different story because “we anticipate growth here.”

UMA will grow stronger by shedding its community college identity and sharing faculty and programs with USM to become “a university for the future,” he said. Over time, the southernmost campus would bring in resources so UMA could offer graduate studies and recruit traditional students.

But Sen. Christopher Hall, D-Bristol, was skeptical. UMA has a statewide role because of its many distance education programs, he said. Folding it into USM is “reducing it to the status of a local satellite [campus].”

As she ended the meeting Daggett, said it had yielded more questions than answers and that she saw a number of “inconsistencies” with the strategic plan. For instance, she said, by dropping associate degrees, UMA will become smaller, not larger, and also there doesn’t need to be a merger for collaboration on purchasing to take place.

The senate president also took issue with Westphal’s comment that the strategic plan is necessary for the University System to save money, because increased funding from the Legislature is not assured. Daggett said the system never made its case for more money to lawmakers.

Later, Westphal answered more questions from lawmakers on the Education Committee, whose members were more enthusiastic about the strategic plan.

“To lead is to make decisions,” said Rep. Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, co-chair of the education committee. “The decisions you made are tough ones, but they’re inevitable.”

Still, Sen. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, said he was troubled that the plan “minimizes the role of research and development at USM and magnifies the role of research and development at UM.”

But Westphal said the state didn’t have the ability to invest in both institutions, and that the greater amount had to be at Orono, which received the bulk of federal grants. The goal is to have the universities collaborate more on research and development, he said.

Committee co-chair Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Auburn, said she applauded Westphal for putting the vision out there “and not letting business go on as usual.” But she called the plan a “top-down vision” and hoped there would be enough time between publication of the final document and consideration by the board of trustees for people’s comments to “percolate up to the Legislature.”

“These are organizations that involve human beings,” she said. “They need buy in. We’ll have the best results when there’s adequate opportunity to do that.”