UMAINE’S NEXT PRESIDENT

University of Maine System trustees and Chancellor Joseph Westphal have a complex decision to make in choosing the next UMaine president. Without suggesting that these issues supersede all others, the person chosen must have a strong grasp of Maine’s desperate need for investment, encourage its emerging biomedical growth, offer support for businesses here and emphasize the university’s clear requirement to raise private dollars. In short, UMaine should seek a president who is as much a statewide and national figure as one on campus.

The reasons for all of these demands have become evident over the last decade or so, as the state simultaneously turned toward UMaine for leadership in research and development and turned away from funding its baseline budget, the one that could lower tuition and expand services to more residents. This challenge is compounded by the university having the difficult balancing act of being both a sheltered place where students can explore intellectually and a robust, outward looking center to where Maine can turn for economic, scientific, political, cultural and ethical leadership.

The plain fact that it has not always been those things to the state does not mean it cannot be now nor does it mean the need isn’t there. It is, but it requires vigorous, focused leadership to become this state center. It also requires resources that the university does not have (though if the next president does not quickly demonstrate with a thorough, independent review of campus functions that state money is being spent wisely, that president will miss a badly needed once-in-a-tenure chance). This means that outside funding, through grants and donations, must become more of a priority for UMaine. To be fair, university officials already have recognized this and have begun working on it, but they have made just a small beginning to a large challenge.

All four of the UMaine finalists are well-qualified academically, but the three from outside the university will naturally be measured against the performance of the applicant from within, interim President Robert Kennedy. One of the unusual aspects of his candidacy is the public interest in it. Letters to the editor and other public expressions of support such as he has received in recent months are not unheard of, but their consistency and intensity seem unique in Maine.

President Kennedy understands the issues facing the university and the state more than anyone, knows the state better than his competitors, has built relationships statewide and seems generally liked and respected on campus. The argument could be made that given the five years Mr. Kennedy has been at UMaine, the other candidates would produce similar claims. This could well be true. But each outside candidate would need time to learn details about Maine, its key players and challenges. President Kennedy would not.

In their public presentations, according to news stories, each of the four candidates emphasized an important point of university life: one discussed diversity, one explained views on collaboration and tenure, one discussed both liberal arts and the need to raise money. The fourth talked specifically about the Legislature, about appropriately high fund-raising goals and about opportunities that await UMaine in the coming months. No adjustment necessary.