ORONO – The second of three candidates hoping to become the next University of Maine System chancellor visited the Orono campus Tuesday to take part in an open discussion with students, staff and community members.

Richard Pattenaude, president of the University of Southern Maine, previously has been questioned and was again Tuesday whether he could be fair to all UMS campuses after serving USM for 15 years.

“Of all the candidates, I will be under the greatest microscope,” he said. “I probably will be the fairest and most balanced candidate.”

Pattenaude has four grown children, and said he and his wife would relocate from Gorham to the Bangor area if he receives the position.

Pattenaude, 60, has served under five chancellors while at USM and was asked by University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman if and how that experience would play a role in defining how he works as a chancellor.

“I think I have a pretty good idea of what are good priorities and skills,” Pattenaude said. “As a chancellor, one of the things you have to do is leave the work of the president behind.”

He explained that the chancellor has to make sure to give the campus presidents the room and support to do their jobs.

A good chancellor must also work “thoughtfully and creatively” with the board of trustees because they are the ultimate authority of the system.

About 30 people, including UM President Robert Kennedy, attended an hour-long session Tuesday afternoon that was broadcast by satellite to other UMS campuses. UMS is the umbrella organization for the state’s seven university campuses, 11 outreach centers and more than 100 interactive distance education sites.

Pattenaude stressed the importance of distance education, as well as the university’s multiple campuses throughout the state.

“Small campuses are important to the life of the community,” he said. “I think those campuses are essential to providing opportunity.”

He noted the need for efficiency at each site, but said they are important in a large, rural state like Maine that has a sparse population.

Pattenaude also has experience outside of Maine, including as a political science professor and vice president for academic affairs at Central Connecticut State University, and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The importance of a strong liberal arts foundation, balanced with research and development, is important in Pattenaude’s vision for UMS as the driver for the state’s creative economy.

“I think one of the most important things is to increase the visibility of the university system,” he said. “It plays an important role in this conversation about creative economy.”

Pattenaude said he’s excited about the professional challenge being chancellor would provide him, while allowing him to stay in Maine.

Originally from Seattle, Wash., Pattenaude said he has come to love Maine.

“We truly consider Maine home, though I fully understand we’re not Mainers,” he said.

The third candidate, James Appellate, is scheduled to visit UM from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. today. Applegate is the vice president for academic affairs at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Chancellor candidate Warren Fox, 60, visited UM last week. He currently serves as executive director of the Office of Higher Education, Policy and Planning for the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The public is invited to participate by attending a public session or observing a session by university videoconference. Sessions will be videotaped and made available on the UMS Web site beginning Tuesday.

The complete schedule is at www.maine.edu/ chancellor/ChancellorSearch.php.

To provide feedback, members of the public should contact the search committee by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, by mail at Chancellor Search, c/o James Breece, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, 16 Central St., Bangor 04401, or by e-mail at chancellorsearch@maine.edu.