UMaine System cuts programs, seeks more funds
The University of Maine System’s board of trustees has voted to slash three academic programs at the University of Southern Maine and seek more state funding.
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported that the board voted unanimously to scrap the American and New England studies, geosciences and the Lewiston-Auburn Arts and Humanities program at USM — a move that has been protested by many students and faculty members since it was first proposed.
The board also voted unanimously to seek a state funding increase for the next two fiscal years in order to prevent any tuition hikes. UMaine System Chancellor James Page said the university system has not received a funding increase since fiscal year 2013 and noted that enrollment has been declining statewide.
David Flanagan, USM’s interim president, noting that USM faces a $16 million budget gap, said that he hopes to fill it through the voluntary retirements of more than 100 professors and more than 100 staff — adding that “it would reduce the need for layoffs to virtually nothing.”
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