Higher-education standard

The proposed reorganization of the University of Maine System (UMS) and its relation to the Maine Community College System is without doubt the most important strategic initiative and opportunity that our state may have over the next decade. As Maine looks to the future for its citizens and its economy, much will be determined by the strength of our K-12 and especially post-secondary college and continuing education.

The efficient, effective and affordable delivery of higher education in Maine must embrace the many leveraging benefits that strong universities bring to the state. These benefits include the opportunity to conduct research with federally supported programs, to provide public service to companies and communities, to be centers of excellence that attract students and innovative businesses from around the country and the world, and to become hubs of employment and economic activity. All of these benefits are critical to a vibrant future for Maine.

Chancellor Joseph Westphal and the board of trustees have recognized the importance of a robust, coordinated, mission-oriented higher-education system to serve the state of Maine and its people. Within the University of Maine System, each campus has unique strengths that provide wonderful value to our state.

By focusing on what each campus does best, and by coordinating what we do collectively, we can save resources and better serve the people of Maine. Much like the individual players on a championship hockey team, each UMS campus needs to develop a clear role, become very good at it, and work as part of the team. Rather than all play defense or all play offense, each campus can be most effective by developing a clear role and mission within a well-coordinated UMS team.

That’s exactly what the UMS-revised Strategic Plan calls on us to do. The plan maintains the spirit of history while bringing Maine into the future. Each campus must aggressively define and embrace its unique role within the educational system and within the economic fabric of the state.

In the mid-1990s the state looked to the University of Maine to strengthen the R&D efforts in the state and to help support that segment of the economy in many areas of importance to the state. We accepted the challenge and have made rapid progress, more than doubling the R&D funding from outside sources and creating new ideas, businesses and jobs. In 2003, UMaine was among the top institutions in the United States in the proportion of research proposals funded by the National Science Foundation, and was the 10th-best state in jobs created per dollar invested in university research.

The record demonstrates that we are good at research, and that our research is productive for the state of Maine. Obviously, our challenge now is to develop more capacity for university research activity, leading to even greater production of new, high-tech jobs, and world-class education for our students.

Many of the educational and economic benefits of this long-term strategy are just beginning to be realized. We at the University of Maine are committed to accelerating this pace, as the Strategic Plan proposed by the chancellor describes. We strongly embrace the goal of being a world-class research university, as many of our programs already are today. By research, we mean all the kinds of scholarship in arts, humanities, social sciences, engineering and pure sciences that the university offers to give Maine’s students and citizens the knowledge and tools to be informed, successful participants in the modern world.

Our sons and daughters deserve a world-class research university in Maine, where with hard work they can earn a higher education second to none. Already more high-school valedictorians and salutatorians come to UMaine than to all other public and private Maine universities combined.

Many faculty and staff at the University of Maine have embraced the vision of a world-class research university in Orono since the mid-’90s, long before the chancellor arrived in Maine to champion this cause. This sentiment is consistent with the land- grant mission on which the institution was founded in 1865. We are excited to use our achievements to help Maine grow. We are excited that the chancellor and the board of trustees affirm what we work every day to achieve. We do this because Maine is an important part of our lives and provides the place where we want to live and raise our families.

Having been part of several academic strategic planning processes over the years, we recognize that there are challenges faced by the important workings of committees and building of consensus. The chancellor and the trustees have been true leaders in the strategic planning process, getting a draft plan out for all to comment on, listening to the comments, and incorporating them into a revised plan. We thank our many faculty colleagues from across the system, in the Faculty Senate, in Associated Faculties of the University of Maine (AFUM), and concerned citizens who have spent so much time providing input to the plan, and making sure that opinions from all perspectives were heard.

A thoughtful colleague pointed out last year that developing a strong research university is comparable to building a major cathedral. Each requires a long-term vision and sustained investment of human and financial resources. Although many of those working on the foundations may not see the glorious outcomes of their contributions, they can still work proudly for a better future.

The upward ascent of UMaine as a leading research university with world-class programs has been possible with the support of the Maine public, UMaine alumni and friends, many legislators, state leaders, and our congressional delegation. We recognize the recent UMaine presidents who have embraced this long-term vision, starting with President Fred Hutchinson, continuing with the wonderful progress that UMaine has seen under President Peter Hoff and currently under interim President Robert Kennedy.

In addition to UMaine’s research leadership in Orono, the wonderful national rankings of the Farmington and Machias universities, and the regional service successes of the Southern Maine, Augusta, Presque Isle and Fort Kent universities are all examples of strengths throughout the UMS that will be supported. The chancellor’s plan will facilitate and accelerate the system’s ascent and we strongly endorse it. We close by urging our legislative and state leaders to support the chancellor’s plan, and his recent call for a $100 million additional state investment in higher education.

Dr. Habib Dagher is a professor of civil engineering and Dr. George Jacobson is director of the Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine. This commentary was also signed by the following UMaine faculty and staff: Dr. James Acheson, Dr. Bahman Baktiari, Dr. Kate Beard-Tisdale, Karen Boucias, Dr. William Davids, Dr. Douglas Gardner, Dr. Barry Goodell, Dr. Robert Lad, Dr. Eric Landis, Dr. Roberto Lopez-Anido, Dr. Paul Mayewski, Dr. Stephen Norton, Dr. Harlan Onsrud, Dr. Howard Patterson, Dr. Michael L. Peterson, Dr. Jonathan Rubin, Dr. Dan Sandweiss, Dr. Stephen Shaler, Dr. David W. Townsend, Dr. John Vetelino, Jake Ward, Dr. Michael Worboys and Dr. Lucille A. Zeph.