The University of Maine System is currently conducting a nationwide search to replace Chancellor Terry MacTaggart, who stepped down in July after completing his five-year contract.
“We lost a lot when we lost Terry,” said Don McDowell, who was named interim chancellor by the UMS Board of Trustees over the summer. “The guy was just fantastic.”
MacTaggart, who was popular among the administrations of the seven campuses and the UMS Board of Trustees, will take a newly created position of research professor.
“I have no doubt that Terry will make an excellent professor,” said McDowell.
MacTaggart’s popularity stems from his efforts to reverse declining student enrollment and legislative funding that the system suffered from in the mid-1990s before he came aboard. Under MacTaggart, enrollment increased nearly 10 percent and state funding saw a jump of approximately 40 percent.
“He has done an excellent job in advancing the reputation and support for the system,” said USM President Richard Pattenaude. “He was particularly skilled and successful at enhancing the system’s relationship with the legislature. We have, I believe, a good relationship and good standing in the legislature now.”
Some of the most important issues facing USM and the system during the interim period will be the projected increases in healthcare and energy costs, said Pattenaude.
“Health care costs will have a tremendous impact on us starting in July 2002, with a new contract,” said Pattenaude. The whole system is expecting an increase of 40 to 50 percent “For USM alone, this will mean an increase of approximately $3 to 4 million.”
Energy increases for USM will be close to $500,000, said Pattenaude.
Though stepping down as head of the system, MacTaggart will continue on as a research professor and will be connected to both the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy at the University of Maine in Orono, and the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service in Portland. The Board of Trustees created the position at its July meeting especially for MacTaggart.
“We are very excited about him coming to work here,” said Sondra Bogdonoff, manager of Strategic Development for the Muskie School.
MacTaggart’s primary focus will be on higher education policy and its impact on the state’s economy. He may also participate in the school’s Ph.D. program, said Bogdonoff.
The chancellor lineage
MacTaggart replaced former Chancellor J. Michael Orenduff in 1996. Orenduff resigned amid controversy when the faculty of seven campuses issued a vote of no confidence, largely in protest of his interactive television program. Today, the University system has more than 100 interactive television sites throughout the state.
McDowell will step into the interim position after spending six years on the UMS Board of Trustees. For the past two years he served as vice chairman.
“[MacTaggart] was everything you could want in a chancellor,” said McDowell. “He was an able negotiator and player in the legislative process. He makes it easier to step in.”
“He is well prepared to be acting chancellor and has been well received by the presidents,” said Pattenaude. “His experiences as chief financial officer for two universities, as well as his leadership role at Maine Health make him ready to hit the ground running.”
McDowell retired as CEO of Maine Health System in January. He has also served as vice president for business affairs at Vanderbilt University and vice president of Academic Affairs for the State University System of Florida.
McDowell said that his major responsibility will be to continue the five-year strategic plan MacTaggart presented to the Legislature earlier this year. The plan, entitled “The Maine Idea,” outlines the system’s commitment to improving higher education in the state.
Among the institutional challenges facing McDowell will be the negotiation of contracts with unions in the system and the upcoming UMS capital funds bond issue in November. Approval of the bond would mean new construction for a community center and parking garage for the USM campus.
“The most important task will be the search for a new chancellor,” said McDowell. The interim chancellor will work with the board chairman and the search committee. “We hope to identify someone in the next four to five months.”
McDowell will step down from his trustee position while acting as interim chancellor, but the seat will remain vacant until a new chancellor is announced. McDowell, whose term expires in 2005, plans to return. Governor Angus King nominated McDowell to the Board of Trustees in 1995.
MacTaggart will be on sabbatical for the 2001-2002 school year to concentrate on writing a book on the impact of higher education on state economies.
Contributing Writer Stephen Allan can be contacted at: [email protected]