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A group of individuals supporting the Department of Public Administration met with members of the Faculty Senate on Nov. 17 to discuss the suspension of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs in what has been described as a last ditch effort to save the curriculum.
Jacob Baker, a second-year graduate student working toward a master’s in Public Administration and a master’s in Business Administration, said he felt the meeting was more of a formality on the road toward the department’s suspension than the fact-finding exercise it was advertised to be.
“I think it’s just a step in the process,” Baker said. “I really, truly do.”
Comments made by Harlan Onsrud, chair of the Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee, relating the information from that meeting to the full Faculty Senate later that day seemed to echo Baker’s frustration.
In his presentation, Onsrud reported on the meeting and notified the senate he had received the official recommendations for the suspension plan from the Public Administration Department, directing those interested to the PCRRC’s website (umaine.edu/facultysenate/committee-rosters/pcrrc) for information about the meeting.
He did not, however, mention any specific details presented in the sometimes-heated debate that had taken place only hours before.
Among those details was the large number of graduates from UMaine’s Public Administration programs who hold state government positions and the financial benefit this could have for the university in the future.
Graduates of the department hold half of Maine’s municipal government leadership positions, with 142 employed within town governments.
Baker said that since such a high number of graduates from UMaine’s public administration program go on to serve in the state government — specifically in Augusta, where appropriations for higher education are made — it would be counterproductive to eliminate the program based on projected budget shortfalls.
“To cut a program that adds such obvious value to the state and the university seems asinine,” Baker said. “Graduates [of the public administration program] are going to be making funding decisions.”
Baker went on to say the program reorganization effort is “all about priorities” and that, due to the department’s possible future value to both the university and Maine, the committee should “make us a priority.”
During the meeting with the PCRRC, public administration graduate student Craig Castagna described how all statistics used to determine the fate of department were complied from undergraduate information, which he felt was unfair to the university’s graduate students.
He attempted to voice his concern at the meeting; however, Ivan Manev, dean of the college of business, public policy and health, told him they were not gathered to have that discussion and redirected the conversation.
Also at the full Faculty Senate meeting, representative to the board of trustees Bob Rice reported that all campuses in University of Maine System have balanced their budgets for the upcoming year.
Faculty Senate President Michael Grillo asked whether or not the individual campuses received any support or assistance from the system office in this effort, to which Rice replied that any help they received was marginal.
Multiple faculty members raised concerns about a practice in which control over vacated salary positions is automatically given to the administration instead of being handled by the specific department or college. Faculty members said this has led to deficiencies within their respective department’s teaching staff.
“The losses do not return to the colleges, or at least it would seem that way,” Grillo said.
Vice President for Administration and Finance Janet Waldron said although the dean of a department may not add a new salaried faculty member in a vacated position, the actual money is never transferred to the administration level. The money is left in the department’s budget, but the department has no direct control over it.
“Maybe it’s semantics and understanding,” Waldron said.
While the budget may be balanced, Rice mentioned that enrollment is stagnant across all campuses, a factor that could spell problems for the system in future years.
“We will have some challenges in the future, that’s for sure,” Rice said.
As for the search to replace UMaine President Robert Kennedy, who is stepping down June 1, 2011, to take a University of Maine System position, Rice said the presidential search committee has been hard at work slimming down the pool of potential candidates.
He mentioned criminal background checks were performed as part of the selection process, a remark that drew laughter from the senate before Rice asserted the seriousness of his statement.
“We did weed a couple [of candidates] out on that basis,” he said, adding, “The next cut will be very difficult.”
Bangor Daily News