University President Robert Kennedy charged the work group in September with analyzing academic programs and units at UMaine to increase their efficiency and optimize them to fit the current economic and academic climate.

The eight criteria are programs’ scholarly productivity; their external funding; the student credit hours they offer; degrees awarded over the last five years; links with other programs; links outside the university; characteristics of students coming into the program; and the costs and revenue ratio of each program.

“This has been a difficult process, without question,” said professor Judy Kuhns-Hastings, president of the UMaine Faculty Senate.

Provost Susan Hunter said there are no benchmarks that will determine when the work group will recommend changing a program and that there likely never will be any. Kuhns-Hastings said the process will be more of a discussion than a systematic evaluation.

“It’s not that the group comes up with a score sheet with numbers on it and if you’re above the line, you’re safe and if you’re below — it’s never going to be that way,” Hunter said.

Kuhns-Hastings said she is concerned programs won’t be strong enough to appear beneficial to the work group because of the amount of budget cuts that have taken place recently.

“Departments and units have become so small — more than bare-bones — it is important to me that these decisions don’t get made because an important department has just gotten so many cuts that they can’t be strong, because they don’t have enough faculty to be strong,” Hastings said.

Hunter said the work group will meet Thursday to discuss the weight of the criteria — or which ones are more pressing than others. Kuhns-Hastings said it’s impossible to predict which ones may gain more weight than others.

“My concern is that, not just nursing students, but also all students continue to have a broad education. Because the students need to not only be grounded in their discipline, but they also need that broad liberal grounding,” Kuhns-Hasting said.

Much of the criteria are based on data the university collects every year.

“It’s been really important to us to not just put numbers on things that would also make that qualitative judgment,” Kuhns-Hastings said.

Hunter said in September the point of the work group is not to find programs to eliminate.

Professor Michael Grillo, president-elect of Faculty Senate, said one of the work group’s subcommittees has been focused on creating a system of metrics for measuring academic programs and units, which are being designed to be fair across all departments.

“One of the concerns — this being most worrisome — is that it is easy to collect data on some things and other things are a lot more slippery,” Grillo said. “To set up a series of indicators gives an automatic precedence to numerical data, and the committee has reiterated several times to itself and to others that these indicators and numerical sensibilities will be taken as part of a discussion. But I do have concerns that numbers carry weight.”

Grillo said he is concerned a focus on numerical data will dictate what programs get the most attention from the work group and the president. He said it’s difficult to quantify intangibles such as an “educated citizenry” or “the state’s responsibility to the state and to its people in terms of democratic action.”

“They are tangible in the sense that you can see where they would weigh out where an educated citizenry would act with certain foresight and responsibility, but they would be very hard to do a quick data collection on,” Grillo said.

Hunter stressed that the criteria released Monday is a draft and does not represent the final version.

“The ones we have on the sheet of paper tend to be very quantifiable — it doesn’t mean that there aren’t qualitative and subjective pieces of all of this,” Hunter said.

Hunter said the scholarly productivity of programs will be measured within the context of each discipline.

“In some fields, peer-reviewed publications, journal articles are the metric,” Hunter said. “Art is producing artwork and participating in juried exhibitions, music is producing creative works … in sciences it could be map-making. There is some level within a field where people recognize and agree upon what are the high indicators of scholarly productivity.”

The work group’s efforts will complement University of Maine System Chancellor Richard Pattenaude’s restructuring plan, which the board of trustees approved Monday.

Hunter said the review process will focus solely on UMaine. The work group will not compare UMaine to other universities or institutions to determine its recommendations to the president — who will make the final decisions concerning academic programs.

“None of these criteria are stand-alone as the make-or-break,” Hunter said. “They are meant to holistically analyze units, because units have varying strengths, units teach more or some units have greater scholarly output and lower teaching. I mean, it’s a composite image.”

The UMaine community will have a chance to provide input to the work group on Dec. 2 in DPC 100 and, from Jan. 8 to 28, the work group will collect further comment from the campus to analyze and include in their recommendations. Anyone can e-mail the work group at achieving.sustainability@umit.maine.edu. Its Web site is umaine.edu/achievingsustainability. Hunter will submit the work group’s findings to Kennedy on April 2.

The report states students can affect green initiatives on their campus by including more venues for student engagement; learning and teaching about green efforts; growing campus leadership networks; connecting with staff, faculty and administrators; and acknowledging and celebrating success of environmental efforts.

The report states, “Much has been gleaned from the experiences of students and others on campuses nationwide who have helped lead the way for sustainability. They have been pioneers in what will truly be a decades-long experiment to see if we can get this climate and clean energy revolution right.”

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Julian Keniry from the National Wildlife Federation said the “value of sustainability defines and unites the current generation,” and the federation’s report “demolishes” the stereotype of students apathetic to sustainability.

Jason Sanders, a graduate student from Texas State University who also spoke to reporters, said the best way for students to encourage green initiatives on campus is to create an environmental service committee on campus funded through tuition to organize student support and action.

Christina Erickson, a graduate student from the University of Vermont, said, “Fun is a major factor.” She said people often think of the environment as a negative, gloomy subject, and making campus projects enthusiastic and engaging will help encourage students to participate in them.

The report includes 160 schools from 46 states, including several University of Maine System campuses. It details campus projects from compositing to vehicles that run on cooking fat.

“We see a very large interest with our peers, our student body [for compositing],” said Sanders, who organized a composting project at Texas State.

Adam Yarnell, a student from Brown University, said sustainability has become a big issue for students.

“We feel like we have a social responsibility not to leave the next generation’s environment in a worse way than it is,” Yarnell said.

Erickson said it is important that people connect sustainability efforts to a variety of student interests if they hope to increase support for environmentally friendly initiatives.

“This is the language that they’re going to have to know about,” Erickson said.

Ayodele Akinpelu, a student from Wayne State University, told reporters it’s important for students to get in touch with their local community organizations and businesses and get hands-on with the “nitty-gritty” aspects of green initiatives.

“The main thing we need is … support from the administration,” Yarnell said.

Sanders said he doesn’t see the green movement as a passing fad.

“I don’t see this as being a movement in the ’60s,” said Sanders, who added the green movement will not die and come back.

Akinpelu said the green movement will last as long as the human impact continues to alter the environment.

“It’s definitely not a fad,” Akinpelu said. “It’s going to be a realization.”

Yarnell told university students it’s important to put in the initial effort into sustainability projects, because “once these initiatives get started, they just start snowballing.”

The UMaine Green Campus Initiative held a recycling event Oct. 24, designed to garner 350 bags of bottles. UMaine recycled nearly 4.2 million pounds of trash in 2008 — 4,052,378 pounds of it came from campus. Akinpelu said Wayne State’s newest engineering building is LEED-certified, meaning it meets energy efficiency standards higher than most buildings — standards defined by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The Student Recreation and Fitness Center at UMaine, finished in 2007, is also LEED-certified.

Akinpelu said the main barriers for environmental initiatives are university administrations, funding and student support — or lack thereof.

“People care about it, but there’s not enough people to come out and do the work,” Akinpelu said.

Keniry said she has been impressed by the diverse amount of support from students across the nation.

Erickson said people need to adopt a more dynamic, systematic way of thinking about green efforts because it is critical to helping sustainable projects get more interconnected and succeed.

Scott Carlson, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, moderated the phone conference. He said the United States ranks behind 21 other nations in preparing high school students for environmental programs in college.

“Only a minority of colleges and universities are teaching about natural ecosystems,” said Keniry, who added even fewer are teaching about the human impact on such ecosystems.

“If we don’t get sustainability right,” Keniry said, “we won’t get a lot of other issues right.”

Alston D. “Pete” Correll and Ada Lee Correll of Atlanta, Ga., donated the gift as part of a philanthropic effort to give back to UMaine. Alston Correll received two engineering degrees from UMaine in 1966 and 1967.

The gift will fund a new presidential chairperson in energy — someone who will complement professor Habib Dagher and help advance UMaine’s offshore wind and tidal power research efforts. It will also fund new graduate fellowships for research in each of UMaine’s five colleges, scholarship money in the Department of Environmental Sciences, a professorship in early childhood literacy at the College of Education and Human Development, as well as an unrestricted excellence fund intended for opportunities President Robert Kennedy may wish to invest in, but which the university may not foresee.

“We are passionate about education and children,” Ada Correll said in a press release. “That’s why the educational component was included in the gift.”

“We left Maine a whole lot more prepared to deal with the world than when we moved there, and we remember our time at the university and in the community fondly,” Ada Correll said.

Joe Carr, director of University Relations, said the university is not sure who will fill the professorship or new chair position, but said the first will likely be sought from among national experts. The professorship will likely be filled by someone at UMaine. Both positions will last five years — the duration of the gift.

Eric Rolfson, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, said UMaine received the gift several months ago but waited until Monday to announce it because of the professorship it’s intended to fund. The University of Maine System board of trustees meeting was Monday, and since they have final approval of new professorships, the university waited to receive it before announcing the gift.

Rolfson said the money will not fund undergraduate scholarships.

UMaine’s largest single donation came in the form of $12 million in 2007 after George L. Houston, a UMaine alumnus, left the money to the university in his will.

“This gift represents a landmark moment for UMaine, and we look forward to using it to reinforce the institution’s unique and vital role as the state’s research and graduate education university,” Kennedy said in a press release.

The Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals recognized the Corrells in 2008 as Philanthropists of the Year for their work enhancing Atlanta’s health care, cultural and educational resources.

“It’s so much more fun to give money away than it is to earn it,” Pete Correll said in a press release. “It makes us feel really good if we can have an impact on a certain number of people and give them a chance they wouldn’t have had otherwise. That’s as good a feeling as you can have in life.”

Smith was born in Lewiston and served on the UMaine faculty for almost 25 years before retiring in 1994. He earned his doctorate from Cornell University. According to those who knew him, he was a remarkable scholar and an exceptional person.

Howard Segal, a professor of history at UMaine, said he first met Smith when Segal came to the university for his interview in 1985. He said thereafter they became close friends.

“Dave Smith was remarkable, having mastered — depending on how you counted — four or five different fields of history,” Segal said.

Segal said Smith knew the history of Maine, including lumbering and forestry. Smith had detailed knowledge of the history of climate change, World War II and author H.G. Wells, about whom he wrote a biography titled “Desperately Mortal.” Segal said “most historians might be able to claim expertise in one” field of study they know in detail, sometimes two.

“I’ve never known anybody who had mastery of more than two fields,” Segal said. “Dave, as I say, had a master of five fields.”

Smith wrote the first and only history of UMaine — titled “The First Century: A History of the University of Maine, 1865-1965.”

In a university press release, President Robert Kennedy said: “David exemplified the land-grant university philosophy in many ways, by applying his life’s work to studying and teaching in areas critical to understanding our state in historical context.”

Segal said Smith was exceptional in his ability to make connections between different aspects of history and science, rather than being a walking encyclopedia.

Smith was one of the founders of the Climate Change Institute on campus, a research group that focuses on the interaction between humans and the natural world.

“[The institute] was a very interesting, pioneering idea,” said Stephen Jacobson, UMaine professor of biology, who also knew Smith.

“He was a real pioneer and a great scholar,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson said Smith was a treasured colleague of his and that Smith could “discuss any subject knowledgeably” and could quote from books he had read years prior.

“He was heavily engaged in all of the activities of the institution,” Jacobson said.

Smith worked at the institute analyzing records of climate from previous centuries, including diaries and crop records — mostly concerning New England. He used this information to compare today’s climate to those of the past, which conventional science sometimes has trouble analyzing. Jacobson said Smith collected documents from as far back as the 1700s and received a National Science Foundation grant to conduct his study — the first ever to be awarded to a historian in the United States, according to Jacobson, who said the institute is still using Smith’s findings in its research. Smith was working until the day he died and would attend UMaine seminars whenever his health allowed.

“He was one of the top scholars of the University of Maine,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson said Smith “did scholarship the way a true scholar does it,” meaning he started his research using original historical documents instead of other’s findings.

Smith was one of the “faculty five,” a group of professors instrumental in lobbying the Maine Legislature about a decade ago for grants from the federal government and the private sector.

“These five guys investigated, lobbied the state Legislature, lobbied the governor, and eventually got seed money appropriated by the state Legislature and approved by the governor to fund any number of investments in science and technology,” Segal said. “Many of them have more than recouped the investment over the years.”

“I think it’s fair to say that the faculty five did more than anybody else in trying to elevate the University of Maine both in terms of the actual dollars for operating and also in various projects, in various areas at the University of Maine,” Segal said.

Segal said Smith was the only humanist among the faculty five, and because of that and his background, he brought “legitimacy” to the group’s efforts.

Smith was respected and didn’t hesitate to express his opinions. Segal said Smith was open-minded.

Segal said there are not many people who could match Smith’s expertise.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years Sylvia Smith, his son Clayton and his daughter Katherine.

Zachary Jackman came in a close second for president with 828 votes. The election results were unclear Thursday evening after the names on six sealed ballots did not coincide with the names of all students enrolled at UMaine provided by Student Records. The Fair Election Practices Commission confirmed Friday the ballots were from eligible voters, elucidating the results.

Current Vice President Ross Wolland, who ran for president, received 521 votes.

“The biggest thing that was on my platform that I’ll be working most on is just educating students about what Student Government is doing,” Harris said Friday. He said he will lead by example and try to get students involved, “especially the students that disagree with us and disagree with what Student Government’s doing and think we’re a bunch of political science majors who are trying to pad our résumés.”

Harris said he will encourage students with negative or apathetic views of Student Government to come to him to work out a compromise on issues instead of working separately.

UMaine saw a record turnout this year with 2,461 students voting — 1,351 people voted last year.

Harris said he wants to continue the current administration’s efforts, such as Wolland’s efforts to lower dining prices and increase variety in the Marketplace. Harris said it’s important to keep those efforts going so Student Government doesn’t lose any ground as it transitions to a new president and vice president.

Harris said he had no plans for replacing any SG executives once he comes into office.

“The executives that we have on board right now have done a great job,” Harris said.

Harris hopes to charge senators with getting more students involved with Student Government and may have them report on the number of people they talk to each month.

“I haven’t thought completely of how I’m going to get the senators specifically to do that, other than charging them and holding them accountable for their actions,” Harris said.

Harris and Jackman were both unwilling to comment Thursday before the remaining six votes were counted, but Jackman congratulated Harris for winning.

Gatcombe said the campaign was fun and she looks forward to working with Harris.

“I’m definitely going to meet with all of the former vice presidents,” Gatcombe said Thursday. “I’m working on getting in touch with Bill Pomerleau, because apparently he used to run 45-minute senate meetings, and I want to know how the heck that’s possible.”

Harris worked with Gatcombe on their class council during the past year, and he hopes to form a strong bond with her and to help her try to run senate efficiently.

Harris said he will try to connect with the university administration a lot during his time as president and hopes to have a positive relationship with President Robert Kennedy and the vice presidents at UMaine.

“Honestly, I had a lot of fun with the campaign,” Jackman said. “I’m happy with the results; they’re fine. Brian won legitimately, and I’m happy for him. I think he’ll run the organization well.”

“I am really surprised at how many people voted. I think it’s awesome,” Jackman said.

Jackman will continue working as a student senator. He said he hopes to change the way elections work in later years, because they have been marred by technical problems in the past. He said he knew of a few students who had trouble voting on FirstClass this year. Jackman will be graduating May 2010 and will not run again.

Wolland was disappointed he lost, but will continue his work as vice president until he steps down in December.

“I’ll be around. I’ll figure out what my plans are. I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll be around,” said Wolland, who added he may or may not run for a senate seat.

Smith said he will remain as a student senator and the chairperson of the Policy and Procedures committee.

“It was a good campaign; I’m cool with the results. You know, students voted how they voted, and that’s how it is,” Smith said.

Smith said he will likely not run for vice president again.

“I’ll be going to law school or something like that,” Smith said.

Nyssa Gatcombe was elected vice president of Student Government, with 1,372 votes, beating Timothy Smith, who had 815 votes.

The Fair Election Practices Commission said Thursday evening the names on the ballots yet to be counted are not on the list of students provided by Student Records, and that they are likely ineligible voters. FEPC Chair Skye Landry declined to comment on the number of sealed ballots in question and said the commission has to check with Student Records on Friday to confirm the voters are not in fact students.

Jackman congratulated Harris on winning the Student Government presidency on Thursday, but both declined to comment until after all the votes have been confirmed.

Landry and Matt Donahue, a member of the FEPC, both said the votes were likely not from eligible student voters, but neither said they were positive.

“We don’t want to throw out legitimate votes if there’s a reason they aren’t on the list,” Donahue said.

Landry said the list of names provided by Student Records was up to date for the Thursday of the election. She said 2,455 people voted in the election — a record turnout for the university.

“I thought I had a chance, but obviously both of them ran good campaigns, so I lost. It’s how the cookie crumbles,” said current Vice President Ross Wolland on Thursday. Wolland received 519 votes.

Gatcombe said she had been nervous on Thursday. She said the campaign was difficult but a lot of fun.

“It feels great to finally have it over with and win,” Gatcombe said.

Gatcombe said she first plans to track down former vice presidents of Student Government and learn from their experiences before she takes office.

“It was a good campaign. I’m cool with the results,” said Smith. “Thats how it is.” He said he will continue in his role as chairperson of the Policy and Procedures Committee and as a student senator.

Wolland said he will continue in his role as current vice president until he must step down in December.

The person, like the two before him or her, had an underlying medical condition that contributed to his or her death, according to Lucky Hollander, director of legislative relations at the Maine CDC. The person was between 50 to 65 years older or older. The person’s gender, name, exact age, date and time of death and residence are not being released.

A man from Penobscot county became Maine’s second swine flu victim last week. A 50-year-old York county man who died in August was Maine’s first.

Hollander said the Maine CDC will release further information on Thursday afternoon.

Pingree spoke with students in professor Mark Brewer’s American government class, who she said asked more than an hour’s worth of “very hard” questions. They asked her what the Maine Legislature is doing to create jobs in Maine.

“Frankly I don’t know yet,” Pingree told the students. “But the more that you are a part of that process, as the university system is engaged with us; that is important.”

Pingree said the state needs “young people to also step up” and help the state create jobs.

“I encourage you to find ways to create jobs so you can stay here,” Pingree said.

Owen McCarthy, president of the University of Maine Student Government, said visits from political officials such as Pingree are a benefit to students, “especially to students interested in politics.”

When asked about the potential budget cuts facing the University of Maine System, Pingree said she has heard gossip about it in the Legislature, but she doesn’t deal as directly with state financing as Governor John Baldacci. She said legislators would see any potential system budget cuts by January, and it will be “up to the university leadership” on how to meet potential budget targets Baldacci may approve.

When asked about same-sex marriage, Pingree said she was disappointed by the campaign’s loss on Election Day. Pingree attended the No on 1 campaign’s party on Nov. 3 in Portland, where she spoke in support of gay marriage.

“Gay marriage is an initiative younger people seem to be comfortable with, as indicated by the University of Maine vote on that issue,” Pingree said. “I don’t think it’s a question of if — it’s a matter of when, that some kind of a marriage law will be allowed. I think it will happen — if I had to guess — in several years.”

Pingree said she believes Maine voters will vote again on gay marriage in the future and that UMaine’s student votes will be driving the return of the issue. She believes a future initiative will pass.

Guests at Pingree’s reception in Fogler Library included Chief of Public Safety Noel March, Provost Susan Hunter and Associate Dean Kenda Scheele.

“We have these events periodically,” Hunter said. “It’s great for students, it’s great for faculty.”

Hunter said the chance to connect with Maine policy leaders is beneficial to students and the university, which McCarthy agreed boosted UMaine’s reputation.

Mary Cathcart, senior policy associate at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, said Pingree was the third visitor to campus as a recipient of the Distinguished Maine Policy Fellows Award. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, who came to campus Oct. 29, was the second. Sen. Richard Rosen from the Legislature, R-District 31, was the first.

“It’s been going great,” Cathcart said of Pingree’s visit. She said Pingree “really is one of the most powerful people in the state” and meeting her is equally beneficial.

Cathcart said the center typically invites two public officials to visit campus each semester.

“[Students] learn more about what our government is like,” said Cathcart, who believes the visits from officials help motivate students to think about public service. She said the visits also let policymakers hear from students first-hand and see the kind of research being conducted at UMaine.

“Every year since 2003, we’ve had a more difficult budget job to do, and I know that at the University of Maine you’ve had to be creative and do difficult things and work harder to make it work. And all I will say is, ‘I’m sorry, I feel your pain,’” Pingree said. “I hope that you will work with us as closely as you possibly can during this upcoming budget.”

Pingree ate breakfast at the center Tuesday, visited Brewer’s class and then talked to students of professor Philip Trostel’s public finance course. Afterward she toured UMaine’s zebrafish research facility.

“It’s good to let the Legislature know about the things we’re doing with the Advanced Wood Composites Center, the fish … and how much we can impact the state of Maine,” McCarthy said.

Presidential candidates Ross Wolland, Brian Harris and Zachary Jackman squared off first, followed by vice presidential candidates Timothy Smith and Nyssa Gatcombe.

Harris said he believes the most important issue facing Student Government is student involvement. He said there is much more to gain from UMaine than attending courses and Student Government needs to reach more students and increase support for it to be more effective.

Jackman rebutted Harris, saying Student Government’s efforts haven’t worked. He said Student Government needs to do more than hand out pens with the organization’s logo on it.

“We’ve been doing these things … working with the administration to make small changes within, you know, the [Memorial] Union, bringing the Bear’s Den back, but it hasn’t worked. … We need to be the institution that fights against the administration because that’s our job; we’re students,” Jackman said. “We don’t work for the university. We pay the university.”

Harris responded, saying Student Government’s past efforts haven’t worked because it hasn’t engaged students enough. Harris said Student Government needs to go to students face to face and ask them what they want, not to “wait for them to come to us.”

Wolland, speaking after Harris, disagreed with Jackman.

“You don’t want to ruin your relationship with the administration,” said Wolland, who goes by the adage “you catch more flies with honey.”

“You don’t want to cut your ties with the board of trustees, because then they’re not going to respond positively to you. Yes, that’s great that you want to fight for the students, but that fighting doesn’t necessarily have to take such hostile tones,” Wolland said. “And yes, I’m there advocating, but I don’t do it in an unprofessional manner, in a manner that is disrespectful of the administration.”

Harris, responding to a moderator question, said his presidency would focus on holding student senators to their responsibility to go out and engage students in government and seek out their opinions. When asked how he would accomplish this, Harris said he would lead by example and require senators to report on the number of students they talk to, as well as encourage them to table in the Union, speak at classes and write or speak to campus media more often.

“No organization is legitimate without the support of its constituency,” Harris said.

Wolland reproved Harris’ assumption that student senators aren’t already held accountable for their responsibility to engage students. He said senators spend hours making sure the money Student Government allocates to student organizations is done responsibly.

Jackman said Student Government’s most powerful tool is the student body, whose members feel they aren’t getting enough of a return from the student activity fee and Student Government.

Harris responded, saying, “Zach said, ‘We are the voice of the students,’ … but we’re not the voice of the students if we only have 12 percent of their support behind us.”

Wolland said he would, as president, advocate for more affordable campus dining with more choices. He said he lobbied the deans and other UMaine administrators last year to create a peer advisor program, which he would aim to implement as president. The program would be a system for first and second-year students to meet with third and fourth-year students to discuss courses as a way to augment the traditional faculty advisor. Wolland said it would provide the “thorough sort of advising you need.” He said he would also work to improve the Bear’s Den to help it reach its full potential.

“My plan is to make the lives of students on campus better,” Wolland said.

Jackman said his presidency would focus on keeping the student activity fee — which funds Student Government — from increasing. Student Government spends three quarters of $1 million each year, according to Jackman who said, “We need to change the way Student Government works” by cutting its costs. He said he would wager most students are apathetic toward Student Government or don’t know what it does.

“I think that this is the biggest problem that Student Government faces: that students have this animosity toward this great institution that could be potentially very powerful,” Jackman said.

Jackman said Student Government has the potential to be more than a money dispensary for student organizations and can represent students more effectively.

“We’re going to be knocking on the president’s [Robert Kennedy’s] door every year saying, ‘This is unacceptable’ — 6 percent tuition increase this year, 6 percent the next year and 6 percent the next,” Jackman said.

Jackman said Student Government can keep tuition and student fees low by cutting its costs and becoming more efficient. Jackman said students’ interests should not coincide with the administration’s and that “we see that more and more often now.”

The three candidates agreed the university’s budget is the most important issue to students but disagreed on ways to approach improving its impact on students.

Harris said he, as president, would talk to the chancellor and try to get more of a student voice into decisions. He said there probably isn’t much Student Government can do to affect budget cuts, but that he would still try to influence them.

Wolland said he would let the administration know what Student Government thinks of budget issues; what students agree is OK and not OK in terms of cutting funding, and work with the administration to make sure important programs don’t get scrapped. He said he wouldn’t be able to change a lot, but he will advocate for students as president.

Jackman said Student Government can provide a student voice to the university administration more effectively than it is now.

Student Government has taken stances on political issues twice in the past two years; first on Power Vote 2008 during the U.S. presidential election, and this year concerning TABOR II. The candidates were asked whether they felt such stances are part of student government’s prerogative.

Wolland said Student Government advocates for students “on many levels,” whether statewide or national, and should take stances on various issues. He said he would be shocked to hear a candidate running for SG president disagree with him, which represents a turnaround from a stance he took Sept. 29 during a General Student Senate meeting where he argued political stances were not part of Student Government’s prerogative.

Harris and Jackman both agreed Student Government must advocate on behalf of students when dealing with political issues.

Jackman was asked how Student Government would decrease its costs while still increasing services. He responded by saying Student Government can become more efficient, and GSS can put more of its paperwork — such as the student organization approval process — online.

“I don’t understand why this doesn’t happen now,” Jackman said.

Wolland countered Jackman’s statement, saying he thinks the student organization process works fine as it is now and he is not in favor of changing it. Harris agreed, saying he feels the student organization approval process should be difficult, to prevent an excessive number of student organizations.

Jackman said he hopes to make Student Government students’ No. 1 choice for problem solving.

Walter Lazarz, former president of the Green Team — UMaine’s student-run energy-efficiency organization — asked each candidate to describe the advantages they have that their opponents don’t.

Wolland said he has two and a half years of experience in Student Government and has served as the vice president of Students on Campus and Residents on Campus.

Harris rebutted Wolland’s statement, saying his experience could work against him because it’s been entirely within Student Government. Harris said he is a fresh face and knows a lot of people on campus from various organizations including Greek Life and Student Government.

The vice presidential candidates, speaking after Harris, Jackman and Wolland, were asked how they would make Student Senate more efficient.

Smith said he would enforce the rules of procedure to make senate meetings more efficient.

Gatcombe said she would increase the power of senate committees to take the workload off of senate and avoid long meetings.

Smith disagreed with Gatcombe, saying he feels the committee structure works well the way it is now.

Gatcombe and Smith were then asked what makes them better than their opponent.

“I compete in speech and debate; I’m used to getting up and delivering speeches and being able to hold myself well in front of a group of people,” Gatcombe said.

Smith said he has more experience with senate rules and procedures than Gatcombe because he is chairperson of the senate Policy and Procedures Committee.

An audience member asked how each candidate would work to increase university recruitment.

Wolland said Student Government doesn’t address student enrollment often, but UMaine does and he would try to help the administration with its efforts. Harris said he would work to increase school pride to make UMaine a more desirable university to attend. Jackman said Student Government would set the bar “for student governments across the country” through efforts to increase enrollment. Gatcombe said she has worked as a campus tour guide and blogs for university recruitment. She said she would bring potential students to the Wade Center for Student Leadership and talk to them face to face about UMaine.

One audience member asked what extracurricular activities each candidate does outside of Student Government that would potentially make them a better candidate. Wolland replied it was unfair to exclude Student Government, because it’s something he is involved in outside of the classroom.

Harris criticized Wolland, saying the vice president of Student Government won’t be able to reach out to students if it’s all he or she is involved in at UMaine. Wolland replied it’s unfair to assume his time spent in Student Government would preclude him from reaching out to students.

Rebecca Dyer, the student representative to the board of trustees, asked each candidate to describe their leadership style in one word.

“Driven,” Jackman said.

“Example,” Harris said.

“Awesomeness,” Smith said.

“Empathy,” Gatcombe said.

“Passionate,” Wolland said.

The entire debate can be viewed at mainecampus.com.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a conference call with reporters Nov. 2 to discuss the report and its implications.

“The numbers in today’s report come directly from states,” Duncan said.

States are required to report to the federal Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board about how they spend their stimulus funding. Maine reported it augmented its higher education budget with nearly $18 million of stimulus money in fiscal year 2009. Maine’s higher education budget topped off at nearly $253 million for 2009 — including stimulus money — according to the report.

The jobs retained include 97 teachers and one guidance counselor. The eight jobs created are all educational technician positions.

“With this first payment to schools, in partnership with the federal government, we are helping relieve the fiscal burden for school districts at a challenging time,” said Governor John Baldacci in a June press release.

The report states the federal government awarded Maine just over $106 million in stimulus funds to help the state augment its education budget.

“We will be able to see its effects for years to come,” Duncan said.

Duncan said the federal government has awarded $35.4 billion in state stabilization funding nationwide so far and expects to spend another $34.2 billion before Sept. 30. He said the government does not distribute stimulus funds based on need, but rather on the merit of each state’s application. In response to whether states should be concerned once the stimulus money dries up, Duncan said, “We should absolutely be concerned.”

Duncan said every school leader “has to be thinking about this in the long haul and plan accordingly.”

Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller, also speaking to reporters, said the report bases the jobs created and saved on states’ best estimates of salaries, not necessarily individual jobs. Duncan said the report does not foreshadow job cuts in the future.

“We have to continue to put resources where they’re needed,” said Duncan, who added states and schools need to find where they’re most dramatically affecting students’ lives and use funds accordingly.

Maine spent none of the stimulus money on educational technology or homeless youth programs, according to the report. The state’s second biggest job savings area was in Individuals With Disabilities Act programs — the report states Maine retained six disability service jobs with stimulus money and created 12.

Maine expects its fiscal year 2010 higher education budget to include $11.14 million of stimulus funds, according to the report.

“When a district invests in a new boiler or energy efficiency improvements, they are generating savings in future years,” stated Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron in a press release. “And when they invest in professional development, training, laptops and educational planning, they are making wise, limited-duration decisions that will pay educational dividends for years to come.”

Duncan said the report helps keep the government and Department of Education transparent.