Since news of the University of Maine at Augusta merging with the University of Southern Maine, student and faculty groups at both campuses have been discussing both benefits and concerns. The faculties of the two universities have met officially for discussion.
There has been dissidence about the merger among UMA faculty. Perhaps the most public objection to the merger was the vote of no confidence in Chancellor Joseph Westphal.
Ken Elliott, chair of the UMA Faculty Senate says it’s not so much the merger faculty members don’t like; it’s the Strategic Plan as a whole. Jon Schlenker, chair of the Faculty Assembly said, “they looked at eleven models for this Strategic Plan and chose one. What happened to the other ten?”
Charlie Lyons, president of UMA is confident though that this merger is the right thing for the people of central Maine.
“I’ve been for this merger from day one,” he said. Two years ago, UMA set out to become primarily a baccalaureate degree school. Just as UMA was about to take their plan to the Board of Trustees, the Strategic Plan along with the merger presented itself. Right now the division between baccalaureate and associate degrees offered at UMA is half and half.
Students will still be able to get an associates degree because UMA is going to share the campus with Kennebec Valley Community College and gradually transfer all associate degree programs to KVCC. The college is Augusta’s equivalent of South Portland’s Southern Maine Community College. “People get too concerned about associate degrees. There’s going to be a point in time in the near future when that’s going to be viewed as a high school diploma,” said Lyons.
He also pointed out that people could go to a community college to get an associates degree cheaper than getting one at a university. “Why would we continue to be a competing associate degree institution, charging double the tuition? If you ran a business like that, you’d be out business,” said Lyons.
Lyons believes some of the resistance among faculty comes from UMA’s desire to do it themselves, but he said there was no way that UMA could have done this with out USM’s help.
“UMA’s faculty says they’re grieving. They are feeling this profound sense of loss and anger and they want to be listened to, but they’re not ready to have discussions yet,” said Lyons. Lyons said he and USM President Richard Pattenaude are not pressuring faculty. On January 25, Westphal will make a ‘state of the university’ address to the legislature to report progress. “It would be very unfortunate to say that UMA faculty never participated,” said Lyons.
Lyons has assured faculty no one will lose their job. “I guarantee that I’m the only person who will absolutely, positively lose his job,” he said. Lyons is technically president until July 1, 2006, but said whenever President Pattenaude or administration felt he should step down, he would do so. Lyons came to the University of Maine system in 1973 and is a tenured professor at USM. He teaches one class every semester in the College of Education and Human Development and has a small office in Bailey Hall.
Lyons said he’s received some criticism for being a “USM guy,” and people have accused him of being in favor of the merger for this reason. Lyons said he’s a child of central Maine, having grown up in Madison, twenty miles from Augusta and said he has a good handle on what the area needs.
After meeting with Pattenaude last Wednesday in Augusta, UMA Faculty Senate Chair Elliott said, “the intention is to not lay off anybody. That’s well and good, but some of the financial aspects and details of the plan raises huge concerns about job loss.”
Schlenker said those faculty opposed to the merger have exhausted possibilities within the system to change what is happening and intend to appeal to Maine’s legislature to halt this merger. Lyons said, “They’ll try to dismantle the UMS or abolish the chancellor’s office, but there is absolutely in my judgment, no likelihood this will change anything.” Lyons points out that with the new campus, USM will stretch from Kittery to Waterville and two thirds of the state of Maine legislature will live in the new USM area. “They’re not going to say no to their university when they need something,” said Lyons.
The name of the university is another question that has been raised. Lyons recognizes its importance to a lot of people and said he and President Pattenaude are thinking about starting a project in Augusta where they ask the campus and greater Augusta communities to think about options. He said he sees the word “capital” in the name due to the campus’s location and because a number of classes are taught in state office buildings.
He did say UMA would be branded with USM’s logo because much time and money have been spent to obtain that logo.
It will be three to five years until the two universities are fully merged, but Lyons said a USM administrator will be on site to ease the transition very soon.