By: Sarah Tewksbury, Editor-in-Chief
USM’s Board of Visitors (BOV) is a group of professionals who meet roughly three times a semester to work with the President of USM to improve the university. Focusing on advancement through public relations, government relations and fundraising, the BOV is made of volunteers that bring varying perspectives from the community and within the university to the table. Community business professionals, upper leadership from the university and local educators sit together at the BOV meetings to review progress and plan for future endeavors.
The Lewiston-Auburn Campus (LAC) played host to the BOV’s second meeting of the semester Friday, Oct. 27. Eighteen members attended the meeting. Clif Greim, BOV member, began the meeting promptly with opening remarks and introductions, immediately followed by Joyce Gibson, LAC Dean, giving an update on LAC.
“The Lewiston-Auburn Campus has gotten its heart back,” Gibson said. “We are focused on cultivating new relationships and revitalizing ties with the other campuses.”
According to Gibson, LAC is thriving. By December LAC will have an established occupational therapy clinic that will serve the community and act as a site for masters students to do their practical application requirements. Gibson also highlighted two new community partnerships, with Maine Campus Compact and Literacy Volunteers of Androscoggin County, LAC has strengthened over the course of the semester.
A major topic of discussion among board members was the way in which the three campuses could work towards preparing students for the workforce and providing them with the most relevant opportunities for real world experience. Marcel Gagne, BOV Chair and employee at Cooperative Development Institution, spoke about the importance of addressing the needs of the surrounding districts around the USM campuses.
“We need to respond to what our community needs,” Gagne said. “We need to do things differently, instead of giving up. It’s time to think about innovative ways to get things done.”
Ainsley Wallace, Vice President of the USM Foundation, guided a group conversation about internships. Instead of focusing on the purpose and benefit of an internship, Wallace wanted to brainstorm with the group about how to make opportunities and partnerships profitable for all parties involved. One of the larger problems involved with internships is making sure that USM students are as competitive to employers as other University of Maine System students based on their institution’s standing within the community. Board member Roxane Cole noted that some employers are frustrated that they spend time and resources training interns to go to work for a larger firm.
An enrollment update was delivered by Andrew King, board member and Director of Admissions. According to the USM Fall 2017 Census Enrollment Update, this year USM’s credit hours are up 3.1% compared to the data from 2016. However, total enrollment is down compared to the last year’s data. USM President Glenn Cummings spoke about how this has affected the budget.
“Our enrollment is in our fifth straight semester of positivity,” Cummings said. “We are at 103% of our intended budget right now. This means that we are attracting more customers and they are staying longer.”
Demographic breakdown information was also supplied at the meeting in response to a participant’s inquiry. According to King and Cummings, USM is above the national average for female to male ratio and international students at USM are up 71%.
The meeting closed with Greim and Cummings advocating for BOV participants to start thinking about the upcoming Maine state legislative session. In order to ask for the funding from the legislature that USM reportedly needs, Cummings stressed the importance of mobilization as a group to advocate for students’ needs.
“We need to globalize the message,” Cummings said. “What we’re asking for is so modest but so crucial.