USM President Theodora Kalikow released a statement by email, outlining actions that the university administration has already taken to meet the $5 million in budget cuts USM will endure in the next fiscal year.
“This is very difficult work, so it is important to remind ourselves that this university is an agent of change for our students, for our communities, the region and the entire state,” Kalikow said in her announcement.
To date, the administration has identified $4.4 million of the target $5 million in cuts. Of the currently identified $4.4 million, $3.1 million have been taken from salaries, wages, and benefits, while the remaining $1.3 million represents fuel and electricity savings and spending cuts in travel, supplies, services and other expenses.
Kalikow released a comprehensive list of positions already eliminated, those that will remain unfilled, those that have been reduced in time and those whose budgets have been reduced:
Administration
- Director of Annual Fund
- Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
- A Budget Analyst position in the office of the Chief Financial Officer
- A Staff Associate to the President’s position
- Chief Operating Officer (unfilled)
- President’s Chief of Staff (unfilled)
Student and University Life
- Associate Director of Residential Life
- Business Manager/Budget Coordinator
- Manager of the Women and Community Center
- A post-doctoral intern
- The Coordinator of the Campus Safety Project
- Manager of Recreational Sports
- An Administrative Support Specialist in the Sullivan Complex
- Coordinator of Commuter Student Engagement
- Coordinator of Recreation and Fitness (reduced in time)
- An Assistant Coordinator of Recreation and Fitness in Gorham (reduced in time)
- An Assistant Coordinator of Recreation and Fitness in Portland (reduced in time)
- A Graduate Assistant in the Office of Community Standards (reduced in time)
- Administrative Support Supervisor in Parking and Transportation (unfilled)
- Administrative Support Specialist in University Health Services (unfilled)
- Department of Athletics (operating budget reduced)
- Office of the Chief Student Affairs Officer (operating budget reduced)
Faculty in the College of Management and Human Service
- Lecturer in teacher education
Faculty in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- Lecturer in sociology
- Lecturer in history
- Lecturer in education
- Lecturer in music education
- Tenured professor of Russian (position to be eliminated)
Research
- Animal Research Facility (closed)
Facilities
- The consolidation of facilities staffs in Athletics, Residential Life and Facilities Management is projected to result in greater efficiencies.
In a statement to The Free Press, USM Executive Director of the Office of Public Affairs Bob Caswell said that the cuts that President Kalikow outlined were those for which the administration already had solid figures. All those whose positions are to be reduced or terminated, Caswell said, will have the benefit of official notices before further announcements are made.
President Kalikow said that she will make future announcements concerning future position and expenditure cuts, but will do so only once personnel have been notified and Human Resources processes in the system office have been finalized.