The University could be undergoing major changes depending on the outcome of the Board of Trustees’ vote on Sunday regarding the System’s Strategic Plan. While the plan gives broad details and goals, it is up to the presidents of the universities to implement them. For USM this is the responsibility of President Richard Pattenaude. He took time to answer some questions last Tuesday.
How does the University of Maine System Strategic Plan affect your strategic plan for USM?
To me it extends our work geographically but not substantially.
What do you think will be the most immediate effect of the UMS plan on the USM campus that students will see?
In the year: None. They will see people talking. They will hear some noise, some conversation in the legislature about how people feel. I don’t believe in the next year or two students here will see any particular impact.
I think that one of the important things to focus on is that the language describing USM is robust, forward looking and supportive.
It’s far far better and far more accurate than what was in the original plan.
What are your responsibilities in implementing the goals of the UMS plan?
My responsibility in completing these goals is to take the goals that impact or involve USM and begin working with faculty and staff to create a plan to accomplish them. This will be a bottom-up process.
How will you begin to accomplish the goals?
Conversations. I think that there are some natural groups that need to talk together.
Which groups?
[The USM] Faculty Senate and [the UMA] Faculty Senate, the Board of Visitors, Student Governments, senior administration and deans.
The purpose of these first conversations is to get to know each other.
We, by the way, have avoided taking any steps or planning right now because we wanted to wait for the final format and the [Board of] Trustees’ approval.
At these conversations we will get to know each other. [Our] strengths and weaknesses. We’ll work on a challenges and opportunity list and begin to generate action steps and a time line. I think this is going to take the better part of this year.
UMA does good work and they bring interesting things to us. My job is to bring this together in a way that benefits students, bottom line.
What do you see as being the greatest opportunity UMA brings to USM?
Experience in distance learning. Experience with part time adult students. And several areas of study. But we need to have the conversations.
What do you see as the biggest challenges that will arise with the merger?
The institutions are different. The biggest challenge will be in understanding each other’s cultures and blending them in a positive way. There’s a lot of work to do. There’s simply a lot of work to do, which is why this will go slowly.
For example, programs will be offered long enough so that all currently enrolled students have a reasonable amount of time for graduation.
What’s reasonable?
I don’t know. I need advice on that. I think one of the biggest mistakes would be to enter this challenging situation with the sense that I already have answers. It’s not that I don’t have answers. I don’t know the questions. That’s why we have the conversations.
I recognize the delicacy and sensitivity of all this. The trustees are going to make a decision. It’s my responsibility to make it work well. So I’m going to proceed carefully.
Did you foresee this when you became president?
Absolutely not. It’s a big challenge and I’m eager to start working on it.