BANGOR – In response to the tough financial times facing much of the country, the University of Maine System is taking steps to cut costs in an attempt to keep higher education affordable and accessible.

“We want the public and students to know that we’re responding to the problems they face,” UMS Chancellor Richard Pattenaude said at Monday’s board of trustees meeting in Bangor.

Pattenaude presented a status report on actions being taken to assist students and contain university costs that outlined changes being made and considered to help students who are facing increases, mainly in energy and food costs.

“I believe those cost increases we’re seeing are essentially permanent and we have to make fundamental adjustments to keep our cost down,” Pattenaude said in an interview after the meeting. “Everything that affects costs affects tuition. In this economy, affordability is enormously important.”

Some of the initiatives being put in place include:

. Operational, financial and technological changes to support students, including a $4.4 million increase in unrestricted student financial aid.

“Affordability includes convenient access, so we are trying to move more and more courses online, out to our centers or on ITV [interactive television],” Pattenaude said. “This reduces commuting costs.”

. A $15.4 million reduction in UMS operating costs, including the elimination of 140 positions.

. Implementation of energy-saving practices, such as a wind turbine that is being installed at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and a re-evaluation of energy procurement practices.

. Evaluation of long-term strategies to support and enhance the financial stability of Maine’s public universities, which includes establishing a study group to provide new revenue opportunities systemwide.

In other meeting business:

. Pattenaude’s appointment as chancellor was extended for two years.

. Board Chairman Lyndel J. Wishcamper of Freeport, whom trustees elected in May to a one-year term as board chair, participated in his first meeting as chairman. Wishcamper is president of The Wishcamper Group, a Maine-based real estate investment company. He has served six years on the board.

. Trustees approved the sale of a 20-acre parcel of university-owned property to the city of Old Town. Since 1989, Old Town has leased the property from the university system for use as its municipal solid waste transfer facility. Both parties recently agreed to an outright purchase of the property, which has an appraised value of $15,000. The property is located on Gilman Falls Road in Old Town.

. The University of Maine at Fort Kent was authorized by the board to purchase a 1,286-square-foot, single-family home located adjacent to the campus. The property is being acquired for its strategic importance to the university’s master plan, and initially will be used for office space. The purchase would be funded through an internal loan to UMFK.

. Board members accepted the donation of approximately 158 acres in Georgetown from the Schoener Revocable Trust. The property is protected by a conservation easement held by the Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust but specifically permits the University of Maine to continue using the land for scientific and educational purposes.

All of the above transactions are subject to review and approval by the university’s legal counsel.

The board is scheduled to meet again Sept. 14 and 15 at the University of Maine campus.

adolloff@bangordailynews.net

990-8130