Jim Shaffer, chief operating officer for USM and head of the committee in charge of drafting a restructuring plan for the university, met with student senators at their weekly meeting last Friday to solicit opinions and concerns from students who, unlike faculty, have no seats on the committee.
“You have to make it less painful to change than to accept the status quo,” said Shaffer, who filled in the senate on the current restructuring effort, and discussed everything from an expedited degree program, to the prospects for a new performance hall.
Shaffer discussed how structural discussion could lead to a very different USM in the semester to come. “Some administrators, including myself will work with some faculty to propose a new structure for USM,” said Shaffer, adding that “Botman wants fewer than eight deans.”
In addition to his role as chief operating officer, Shaffer is also the dean of the business school. He was appointed by Botman last December and agreed to take on the extra role without a raise in pay. In a recent interview with The Free Press, Shaffer denied his dual roles as business school dean and chair of the committee in charge of possibly eliminating deans’ positions constitute a conflict of interests.
“We have an excellent music program,” said senator Justin Rioux, suggesting a revamped performance hall would help to solidify the draw of USM’s music and theater programs to potential students.
Shaffer said that Meg Weston, vice president of advancement has already started the process of looking into ways the school might raise money for such a project. “[Weston] has made this a priority, Botman has made this a priority,” said Shaffer. “The question is, where should it be located?”
“I predict we will have a new performance facility,” he added. “The ones we have now are terrible, we all know that.”
Senators also questioned Shaffer about the prospects for a new or revamped campus center on the Portland campus. The current campus center was converted from an International Harvester dealership in 1985. Shaffer said another renovation is “not on the radar again yet.”
Senator and board of trustees representative Dustin Ward suggested that USM should focus on expedited degree programs as part of the restructuring, implementing programs that can be completed in three or four years. “I believe USM needs to start pushing for degrees that can be finished in four or three years,” said Ward. “We are not serving the economy of Maine currently.”
But Shaffer said the university’s current process of scheduling classes may not allow for such swift completion of degree programs. “Our governance system does not align well with that goal, and we need to think about that,” said Shaffer.
The senate also discussed allotting more money to the Portland Events Board. PEB chair Christine Bullard told the senate that the organization has been “kicking butt this semester,” hosting a well-attended Night at the Red Claws and Night at the Comedy Connection, giving out hundreds of free tickets to USM students to help them enjoy the Portland nightlife.
Assistant Dean of Student Life Chris O’Connor spoke on behalf of Bullard’s effort with the PEB, advocating for a bump in their funding. O’Connor said funding for the group has been steadily falling in his time at USM, from nearly $20,000 to its current $7,000. “Realizing that that $7,000 is meant to serve 6,000 students, PEB has really stepped up this year.” Future events for the group include more Comedy Connection shows, a possible roller derby event, USM night at the Sea Dogs, and more specialized open mic nights.
The senate also passed a referendum question regarding online courses that will be featured on the spring SGA election ballot. The senate agreed 10-0 to approve the question, phrased as “will an increase in online courses at USM improve your educational experience?” in an attempt to gauge students’ interest in online education.