July 9, 2007
Inside man | Richard Pattenaude arrives at the University of Maine System with a gold-star report card
By Sara Donnelly
As this issue of Mainebiz went to press, the eighth chancellor of the University of Maine System, Richard Pattenaude, took his $220,000-per-year post overseeing the state's public universities. Pattenaude is no stranger to higher education ˆ in addition to sitting for six years on the board of the American Association of State Universities and Colleges and studying academic accountability with the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education, Pattenaude has been president of the University of Southern Maine since 1991. During his tenure, the school, which has campuses in Gorham, Portland and Lewiston, added 12 undergraduate programs, five masters programs, and two doctoral programs; is planning or has completed new buildings worth over $100 million and was named one of the best northeastern colleges by the Princeton Review.
As chancellor, Pattenaude, a Seattle-born political science professor, will oversee seven universities with more than $2 billion in physical assets, 34,000 students, 5,000 employees and a budget of $498.9 million. He continued as president of USM until the end of June.
Pattenaude, 60, may spend his life in the so-called Ivory Tower, but his biggest concern at UMS will likely be the real-world reality of making ends meet, according to Todd Saucier, president and executive director of the University of Maine Alumni Association. The UMS budget, despite constant cries of brain drain from every corner of the State House, has declined over the past 18 years, when adjusted for inflation and increases in operating costs. This means however creative Pattenaude may be, he can't skip that most linear of academic subjects ˆ mathematics.
Saucier believes Pattenaude's tenure at the University of Southern Maine, and the relationships he developed with legislators while pushing for funding in that role, will serve the system well.
"The challenge will start in Augusta," Saucier says. "He's our primary advocate, there's no doubt. And what's great for all of us is he has a heavy amount of experience and knows a great amount of these legislators personally."
Last month, Mainebiz talked with Pattenaude about his plans for Maine's public universities, working with a notoriously tight academic budget and the effect higher education has on Maine businesses. The following is an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: On July 2, almost 16 years to the day since you began as president of the University of Southern Maine, you'll start a new job as chancellor of the state's public university system. How would you grade the public perception of Maine's universities?
Richard Pattenaude: I'd grade it as sort of a "B" right now. And I want to see it as a solid "A." That will take a couple of years.
What will you focus on first?
Several things: first, to get out and meet with people and visit the campuses, and we'll get started on that right away. The second is to sit with the presidents and hear, from their perspective, what the system does that adds value. Third is to work with the trustees on what broad issues are of importance to them, and fourth is to get busy on lifting up the visibility and public perception of the university system.
During a speech at an April breakfast sponsored by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and the Action Committee of 50, a local economic development group, you said higher education is critical to local economies. How does education affect the local marketplace?
What I was alluding to first of all is that universities themselves as employers are very important to the economy of the cities and towns in which they exist. So a strong university is in and of itself helpful to the economy. But more important is an educated workforce strengthens the economy and creates individual opportunity. So building a strong university system helps individuals and helps communities.
Why should business leaders consider that interplay?
First, because it's true. And second to ensure that they know that we understand our responsibility to help build a strong economy. That the university is not isolated from the realities of the changing economy. And it's something I will say over and over again to people across the state.
You're taking charge of the state's public universities at a particularly critical time ˆ your predecessor Joseph Westphal's attempt to consolidate several system campuses caused a rift between the chancellor's office and the universities, the system's budget hasn't improved in close to two decades, and Maine's college graduation rate is the lowest in New England. What's the biggest challenge facing higher education in Maine?
Maintaining affordability for students. Given the pressure on the operating budget created by the tight state funding ˆ and the governor and Legislature try hard to support us ˆ it puts pressure on tuition, so that means we need to find more financial aid. If we can't control tuition increases then we have to find more financial aid.
Where will you find that money?
Private donors, legislation itself, internal reallocations. Our students need to be able to have what I would call financial accessibility. But it will be a challenge.
In May, the University of Maine trustees voted to increase tuition by 12.6%. After legislators added an additional $3 million to the system budget in the 11th hour, the trustees met again and lowered the increase to 9.8%, still a significant jump in cost for students. What can you do as chancellor to keep the universities affordable?
We raise tuition as a last form of funding but we need to maintain quality so it's a delicate balance. I don't like tuition hikes in the nine percent range and will try to avoid that but we need to sustain the university.
In a February article in the Portland Press Herald, former UMS employees who now work in public higher education in Connecticut and northern New York say legislators in these other states better fund their state universities than lawmakers here in Maine. Do you agree with that assessment?
I don't think that's accurate; I think our legislators try very hard. There are states that do better, there are states that do worse. And it varies by year.
But the $498.9 million budget for the university system has declined over the past 18 years, when adjusted for inflation. UMS' purchasing power in 2008 will be 15% less than what it was in 1990.
The legislature just went to great length and great pain to add another $3 million to budget this year and we're very appreciative.
Do you think you need more money to do what you'd like to do?
Yes.
How much?
That's hard to say.
Is it so much that it would require a significant rethinking of how the system is funded?
No, I don't foresee a significant rethinking. I think a steady investment above the inflation rate for a number of years would be very helpful.
How will you decide how to allocate the system's funds?
The base of the budget is pretty set. So I'll be looking to fund new initiatives and programs that meet the needs of Maine. What I would like to see is presidents propose new ideas worthy of support. For example, the three smaller campuses ˆ Fort Kent, Presque Isle [and] Machias ˆ submitted a proposal for a new masters degree in education. USM is helping them design it and implement it, and they are receiving special funding for it from the chancellor's office. It's a needed program ˆ it's collaborative, it's efficient and for a small, special investment they were able to move it forward.
You have said that one of your ideas is to earmark UMS funds to provide for targeted development. Is the collaborative masters degree an example of the type of project you might fund with those set-asides?
That would be one. That would be a pool of money that would be called the program development fund. I see also a small pool of money to support diversity initiatives, to broaden and enrich the curriculum. I would also see a small pool of money to match building repairs. There would be some expected match [from the universities] but not one-to-one.
So the campuses could apply for these pools of money as they would for an outside grant?
Yes, and [the pools] would evolve and change over time. The pools would be created in consultation with the presidents and the trustees.
What portion of the budget would be set aside like this?
It's too soon to say; it would be a small percentage at first. A couple hundred thousand.
Maine's seven community colleges, and their growing liberal arts programs, could prove to be significant rivals for student attention. In December 2006, after South Portland's Southern Maine Community College logged a 132% increase in enrollment that fall, you said USM had lost 1,000 students to SMCC. What should UMS do to control the bleeding?
We predicted it as soon as the community colleges were approved. Full-time enrollment at USM is up, but it is the part-timer and the non-degree student ˆ those students are enrolling at SMCC. We expect to see them in a couple of years. University of [Maine at] Augusta has also been impacted; the other campuses less so, so it's a matter of location. I think the community college system is a real plus for the state of Maine even though it is making life challenging for the University of Southern Maine at the present time.
Do you consider community colleges a threat to Maine's universities?
No. The presence of the community college system increases the number of people with degrees. For people who perhaps did not want to start at the university or saw some financial barriers or were not quite ready to come here, it sometimes feels more welcoming.
The [SMCC] enrollment has doubled in size, way more than the number of students [USM] lost. Therefore we expect over time they will send us more students than they take from us. So at the end of the day, which is probably going to be another couple more years, we expect to see a net-plus revenue from the emergence of the community colleges.
Former chancellor Joseph Westphal resigned on June 20, 2006 after his attempt to consolidate several UMS campuses met with bitter opposition. Do you plan to pursue Westphal's consolidation proposal?
Consolidation is something that's very difficult and probably not worth the effort in any short run. Collaboration and cooperation to reduce cost is something we're all working on right now. USM is helping the northern consortium start a masters degree. We are working right now with [UMaine] Farmington to offer graduate courses. The goal was greater efficiency, the goal stays the same and we're working on it. I just don't think consolidation is the way to go.
You've said you want to create a streamlined undergrad degree program that would allow some students to graduate in three years. Is that still on the table?
We're going to begin working on it, yes, that's a process of wisely using one's summers. And we want to make sure that it's academically solid.
You were competing with two candidates from out-of-state for the chancellor position but, in the end, your experience leading one of the system's universities helped distinguish you. What do you take away from your time as president of USM that will help you during the next stage of your career?
Being a president is a constant learning process and it started with the day I walked in: The state was closed, there was no budget and we had a one-and-a-half-million [dollar] budget cut on the table. We had several budget cuts over the first 10 years and I learned a great deal about conflict resolution and consensus building. How to make tough decisions without blowing the place up.
That sounds like a useful lesson. How do you make tough decisions without destroying the place?
Well, first you talk to people. You try to make decisions on the basis of good values and principles ˆ what's best for the student, what's best for the state. And therefore they're defensible. Make sure people have a chance to have a voice. So I've learned a lot over time about how to do those things. The second is I have learned the importance of building partnerships. None of us are in this alone and in Maine if you want to get something done you have to work with people.
As chancellor, Pattenaude, a Seattle-born political science professor, will oversee seven universities with more than $2 billion in physical assets, 34,000 students, 5,000 employees and a budget of $498.9 million. He continued as president of USM until the end of June.
Pattenaude, 60, may spend his life in the so-called Ivory Tower, but his biggest concern at UMS will likely be the real-world reality of making ends meet, according to Todd Saucier, president and executive director of the University of Maine Alumni Association. The UMS budget, despite constant cries of brain drain from every corner of the State House, has declined over the past 18 years, when adjusted for inflation and increases in operating costs. This means however creative Pattenaude may be, he can't skip that most linear of academic subjects ˆ mathematics.
Saucier believes Pattenaude's tenure at the University of Southern Maine, and the relationships he developed with legislators while pushing for funding in that role, will serve the system well.
"The challenge will start in Augusta," Saucier says. "He's our primary advocate, there's no doubt. And what's great for all of us is he has a heavy amount of experience and knows a great amount of these legislators personally."
Last month, Mainebiz talked with Pattenaude about his plans for Maine's public universities, working with a notoriously tight academic budget and the effect higher education has on Maine businesses. The following is an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: On July 2, almost 16 years to the day since you began as president of the University of Southern Maine, you'll start a new job as chancellor of the state's public university system. How would you grade the public perception of Maine's universities?
Richard Pattenaude: I'd grade it as sort of a "B" right now. And I want to see it as a solid "A." That will take a couple of years.
What will you focus on first?
Several things: first, to get out and meet with people and visit the campuses, and we'll get started on that right away. The second is to sit with the presidents and hear, from their perspective, what the system does that adds value. Third is to work with the trustees on what broad issues are of importance to them, and fourth is to get busy on lifting up the visibility and public perception of the university system.
During a speech at an April breakfast sponsored by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and the Action Committee of 50, a local economic development group, you said higher education is critical to local economies. How does education affect the local marketplace?
What I was alluding to first of all is that universities themselves as employers are very important to the economy of the cities and towns in which they exist. So a strong university is in and of itself helpful to the economy. But more important is an educated workforce strengthens the economy and creates individual opportunity. So building a strong university system helps individuals and helps communities.
Why should business leaders consider that interplay?
First, because it's true. And second to ensure that they know that we understand our responsibility to help build a strong economy. That the university is not isolated from the realities of the changing economy. And it's something I will say over and over again to people across the state.
You're taking charge of the state's public universities at a particularly critical time ˆ your predecessor Joseph Westphal's attempt to consolidate several system campuses caused a rift between the chancellor's office and the universities, the system's budget hasn't improved in close to two decades, and Maine's college graduation rate is the lowest in New England. What's the biggest challenge facing higher education in Maine?
Maintaining affordability for students. Given the pressure on the operating budget created by the tight state funding ˆ and the governor and Legislature try hard to support us ˆ it puts pressure on tuition, so that means we need to find more financial aid. If we can't control tuition increases then we have to find more financial aid.
Where will you find that money?
Private donors, legislation itself, internal reallocations. Our students need to be able to have what I would call financial accessibility. But it will be a challenge.
In May, the University of Maine trustees voted to increase tuition by 12.6%. After legislators added an additional $3 million to the system budget in the 11th hour, the trustees met again and lowered the increase to 9.8%, still a significant jump in cost for students. What can you do as chancellor to keep the universities affordable?
We raise tuition as a last form of funding but we need to maintain quality so it's a delicate balance. I don't like tuition hikes in the nine percent range and will try to avoid that but we need to sustain the university.
In a February article in the Portland Press Herald, former UMS employees who now work in public higher education in Connecticut and northern New York say legislators in these other states better fund their state universities than lawmakers here in Maine. Do you agree with that assessment?
I don't think that's accurate; I think our legislators try very hard. There are states that do better, there are states that do worse. And it varies by year.
But the $498.9 million budget for the university system has declined over the past 18 years, when adjusted for inflation. UMS' purchasing power in 2008 will be 15% less than what it was in 1990.
The legislature just went to great length and great pain to add another $3 million to budget this year and we're very appreciative.
Do you think you need more money to do what you'd like to do?
Yes.
How much?
That's hard to say.
Is it so much that it would require a significant rethinking of how the system is funded?
No, I don't foresee a significant rethinking. I think a steady investment above the inflation rate for a number of years would be very helpful.
How will you decide how to allocate the system's funds?
The base of the budget is pretty set. So I'll be looking to fund new initiatives and programs that meet the needs of Maine. What I would like to see is presidents propose new ideas worthy of support. For example, the three smaller campuses ˆ Fort Kent, Presque Isle [and] Machias ˆ submitted a proposal for a new masters degree in education. USM is helping them design it and implement it, and they are receiving special funding for it from the chancellor's office. It's a needed program ˆ it's collaborative, it's efficient and for a small, special investment they were able to move it forward.
You have said that one of your ideas is to earmark UMS funds to provide for targeted development. Is the collaborative masters degree an example of the type of project you might fund with those set-asides?
That would be one. That would be a pool of money that would be called the program development fund. I see also a small pool of money to support diversity initiatives, to broaden and enrich the curriculum. I would also see a small pool of money to match building repairs. There would be some expected match [from the universities] but not one-to-one.
So the campuses could apply for these pools of money as they would for an outside grant?
Yes, and [the pools] would evolve and change over time. The pools would be created in consultation with the presidents and the trustees.
What portion of the budget would be set aside like this?
It's too soon to say; it would be a small percentage at first. A couple hundred thousand.
Maine's seven community colleges, and their growing liberal arts programs, could prove to be significant rivals for student attention. In December 2006, after South Portland's Southern Maine Community College logged a 132% increase in enrollment that fall, you said USM had lost 1,000 students to SMCC. What should UMS do to control the bleeding?
We predicted it as soon as the community colleges were approved. Full-time enrollment at USM is up, but it is the part-timer and the non-degree student ˆ those students are enrolling at SMCC. We expect to see them in a couple of years. University of [Maine at] Augusta has also been impacted; the other campuses less so, so it's a matter of location. I think the community college system is a real plus for the state of Maine even though it is making life challenging for the University of Southern Maine at the present time.
Do you consider community colleges a threat to Maine's universities?
No. The presence of the community college system increases the number of people with degrees. For people who perhaps did not want to start at the university or saw some financial barriers or were not quite ready to come here, it sometimes feels more welcoming.
The [SMCC] enrollment has doubled in size, way more than the number of students [USM] lost. Therefore we expect over time they will send us more students than they take from us. So at the end of the day, which is probably going to be another couple more years, we expect to see a net-plus revenue from the emergence of the community colleges.
Former chancellor Joseph Westphal resigned on June 20, 2006 after his attempt to consolidate several UMS campuses met with bitter opposition. Do you plan to pursue Westphal's consolidation proposal?
Consolidation is something that's very difficult and probably not worth the effort in any short run. Collaboration and cooperation to reduce cost is something we're all working on right now. USM is helping the northern consortium start a masters degree. We are working right now with [UMaine] Farmington to offer graduate courses. The goal was greater efficiency, the goal stays the same and we're working on it. I just don't think consolidation is the way to go.
You've said you want to create a streamlined undergrad degree program that would allow some students to graduate in three years. Is that still on the table?
We're going to begin working on it, yes, that's a process of wisely using one's summers. And we want to make sure that it's academically solid.
You were competing with two candidates from out-of-state for the chancellor position but, in the end, your experience leading one of the system's universities helped distinguish you. What do you take away from your time as president of USM that will help you during the next stage of your career?
Being a president is a constant learning process and it started with the day I walked in: The state was closed, there was no budget and we had a one-and-a-half-million [dollar] budget cut on the table. We had several budget cuts over the first 10 years and I learned a great deal about conflict resolution and consensus building. How to make tough decisions without blowing the place up.
That sounds like a useful lesson. How do you make tough decisions without destroying the place?
Well, first you talk to people. You try to make decisions on the basis of good values and principles ˆ what's best for the student, what's best for the state. And therefore they're defensible. Make sure people have a chance to have a voice. So I've learned a lot over time about how to do those things. The second is I have learned the importance of building partnerships. None of us are in this alone and in Maine if you want to get something done you have to work with people.
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