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On Monday, the University of Maine System board of trustees will vote on Chancellor Richard Pattenaude’s restructuring plan — a document that for the past year has been a source of concern at the system campuses. The result of this vote will affect every campus, from academic programs to administrative offices.
The plan — known as “New Challenges, New Directions” — is the culmination of months of introspection, argument, debate, comment and inspection. The board of trustees should take care to consider all it heard from students, professors, faculty and staff at every university and every level of higher education before it casts its vote on the plan. During Monday’s meeting, the board should ask itself one question above all: Is this what every campus wants?
The University of Maine System needs a plan to fix its financial problems, and it is fair to say the majority of campuses have faith in the trustees, but the urgency of the situation belies a more immediate need to be careful and delicate. Not every campus is the same and the plan will likely not fix every problem. It may even create new ones.
Everyone — students, professors, faculty and staff — should go to the meeting Monday and echo this message. The more people at the meeting showing the board the weight its responsibility carries, the more it will undertake this introspection and careful deliberation before voting.
The system needs restructuring. UMaine and its fellow campuses can no longer continue under the academic and financial structure they currently employ. If the chancellor’s plan is put into action after Monday’s meeting, campus communities and trustees alike should continue to engage in dialogue to make sure it’s working. If it isn’t yet the best plan it can be for all the campuses in the system, the board should exercise discretion and give more time to tweak the plan.
Bangor Daily News