On Nov. 18, the University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees (BoT) held their meeting at the Wells Conference Center. These meetings consist of the governing body of the University system reviewing and approving major capital investments, contracts and receiving updates on UMS campuses across various system-wide projects.
The meeting started at 8 a.m. with an executive session. At about 9:40 a.m., public testimony began. Much of the testimony surrounded proposed changes to UMaine’s free speech policy and divestment from Israel. Twenty one community members gave testimony, including staff, students and alumni.
Following citizen commentary, the UMS presidents went into round robin. This is when they each share news and accomplishments from the University.
President Ferrini Mundy mentioned the ceremonial commencement of construction for Green Engineering and Materials (GEM) Factory in her round robin, as well as the women’s soccer team attending the NCAA national tournament.
Many of the community members giving testimony spoke about proposed red lines, or revisions, to the UMS policy on protected freedom of speech. Following the round robin session, Trustee Barbara Alexander gave a clarification on the intention of those red lines.
“There was never any intent to restrict in any way the current rights and remedies of students and faculty. Some of the language in the current policy simply had no basis in law and we used words that the legal folks know what they mean,” said Alexander.
Following that clarification was the Chancellor’s report. System-wide enrollment is up while the rest of the country is trending down. UMaine in particular is thriving. The fall 2024 incoming class had an increase of 206 students over last year. That is 11.4% higher than fall 2023, showing a resilience to national trends of decreasing enrollment.
The Board then voted to approve the collective bargaining agreements for Universities of Maine Professional Staff Association as well as The Associated COLT (Clerical, Office, Laboratory, Technical) Staff of the UMS system.
After a lunch break, the investing and budget report was discussed. Most of the UMS schools, including UMaine, are budgeting relatively close to their projection.
In the afternoon, the BoT heard updates from Chief Information Officer, Dr. Robert Placido. UMS is still in the process of implementing the High Point Course Auditor. This is a more advanced version of the current degree progress report software. Placido also presented on the unified course search. This allows for a system-wide search of all the courses being offered. Completion of both projects is projected for Spring 2025.
The BoT heard and passed the consent agenda, which usually entails small building projects and major course catalog changes. For UMaine, this includes the final approval of the lease on the Heritage house to Sigma Chi, and the addition of a new B.S. program to be offered. UMaine will now offer a Bachelor of Science in “Computer Science and Business.” This program is a collaboration between multiple colleges on our campus.
The meeting ended in an additional executive session around 2 p.m.
