University of Maine System administrators will soon be interviewing candidates who have applied to be the next president at USM after current president David Flanagan leaves at the end of the spring semester.
The window to apply for the position closed in mid-December and the candidate pool has been whittled down to a workable number. Applicant details, such as name, prior experience and background will remain confidential until they are chosen as a last-round candidate and are invited to visit the USM campus, which will happen in February.
Search consultants met with small groups of USM students, staff, faculty and community members throughout the fall semester in order to gauge what USM needs in a president and leader, which resulted in the drafting of an official leadership statement which was posted along with the job description and application.
According to the statement, the new president will be tasked primarily with continuing to implement the metropolitan university vision and strategy, building enrollment by reversing headcount declines, raising retention rates and being more engaged with students and faculty.
“We want someone to be an agent of change, someone who will continue the process we started,” said James Irwin, a UMaine system trustee who has led the search committee, in an interview with the Free Press in December. “We need someone to articulate why USM matters in this community.
Flanagan has repeatedly told the Free Press that he is only on board for the remainder of the academic year and has no intention to stay at USM or apply to extend his contract into the following year.
According to Irwin, the goal is to have a new president start during the summer and be comfortable by the start of the fall semester.