“Blindsided”: USM Cuts Therapeutic Recreation Major

Published: November 10, 2025

In October, the University of Southern Maine announced it would eliminate its Therapeutic Recreation program and lay off two faculty members, citing low enrollment. The program had declined from 35 students in 2018 to just eight this semester. 

Housed in the Department of Exercise, Health, and Sport Science, the program offered a major in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in Recreation Leadership. Students prepared for careers in recreational, art, and music therapy. These fields focus on improving well-being through leisure and creative activities. Coursework emphasized wellness and health care services, particularly for people with disabilities or injuries, helping them fully engage in recreation. 

According to USM’s website, “Therapeutic Recreation prepare[s] students to provide wellness and health care services with all populations and abilities, to develop and maintain leisure lifestyles within the domains of wellness: cognitive, physical, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual.” As of early November, the website has not yet been updated to reflect that the major has been discontinued. It still states that “graduates of this program will find employment opportunities in a myriad of settings working with a variety of populations.” 

For Holly Bean, Director of Recreation and Leisure Studies, the loss of the program is deeply personal. She said low enrollment wasn’t for lack of effort: “I’ve written numerous proposals…all of which have been denied by the Dean’s Office and/or Provost. My colleague, Dr. Tek Dangi, and I have worked to increase admissions by specifically targeting high school students, creating marketing tools, presenting to the USM Admissions team, the Advising team, as well as other marketing strategies. USM has not provided marketing assistance. I believe that Therapeutic Recreation (TR) is the best kept secret on campus. We are the only campus in the state of Maine that offers TR as a major.” 

Bean emphasized the critical role of therapeutic recreation professionals in Maine, particularly given the state’s aging population. “Understanding that Maine is the grayest state in the nation, and that our students work in nursing homes, means that the residents will suffer,” she said. “It is truly disturbing that USM will put time, effort, and money into eliminating a valued program instead of putting effort into increasing enrollment.” 

According to Bean, neither students nor faculty were consulted in the decision-making process. She felt that zero transparency was provided, and she was “blindsided.” 

Bean also mentioned hearing about possible new administrative renovations. “There seems to be an alleged new presidential suite being considered,” she said. “I’m sure the president realizes that if fiscal responsibility is the reason TR is being eliminated, a new suite would look a bit hypocritical.” 

However, USM President Jacqueline Edmondson said the decision was not driven by financial concerns. “Eliminating the Therapeutic Recreation program and retrenching two faculty members was not a budget decision, but instead based on declining enrollment,” she said. Edmondson also noted that “It is also a program that is being closed at the University of New Hampshire.” 

For current students, the news also came as a shock. Maren Wold, a Therapeutic Recreation major, said she initially thought the announcement was a mistake: “I thought it was spam at first, I didn’t believe it…Once it started sinking in, it felt like a slap in the face to what my major stood for.” Wold, now uncertain about her future, reflected on the broader significance of the program. “Disability is often neglected and dismissed in society, but I really expected college academia to be a place that prided themselves on that opposition,” She said 

Student Azalea Melanson described discovering the program as transformative: “When I was introduced to Therapeutic Recreation, I found that it was the major I had been searching for the entire time. It encompassed all that I’m passionate about and it was the exact path I wanted to pursue. I felt as if I’d finally found where I was meant to be in the college realm.” 

Melanson said she received an email informing her of the program’s immediate discontinuation but telling her that she could still complete her degree. She expressed frustration with the process: “I felt angry toward all involved in the decision and their lack of care or empathy that was evident in their delivery of the news.” She referred to the communication to students (or seemingly lack there of) as “very unprofessional and unhelpful.” 

She also noted inconsistencies in communication: “Different students were told different things. It makes it clear that USM has not communicated this change to us students in the proper manner. The inadequate help toward our program is truly disappointing.” 

Melanson criticized the exclusion of faculty from the decision: “My core professors, Holly Bean and Tek Dangi, were not informed until the day students found out. Keeping them out of the loop was incredibly disrespectful…USM absolutely should’ve informed them beforehand. I also wish USM displayed genuine care and concern for how this decision would drastically impact faculty and students. Their lack of care feels as if Therapeutic Recreation is not valued at the university.” 

When asked if she could share one message to USM’s administration, Melanson said bluntly: “Honestly, do better. The treatment myself, students, and my professors have received regarding this decision is an embarrassment and shameful. This decision should’ve been dealt with entirely differently, but importantly shouldn’t have happened at all. Discontinuing Therapeutic Recreation impacts my academics and future career plans as I’m left scrambling to pick up the pieces. USM’s administration should reflect on the actions that they’ve made, and never make this same mistake again.”