No-confidence vote in USM president fails
A no-confidence vote of University of Southern Maine President Selma Botman failed to reach the required two-thirds faculty majority. The vote followed a petition submitted in April by faculty members seeking Botman's removal.
Faculty voted 194 for no-confidence, failing to reach the 251 needed for a two-thirds majority, according to WMTW-8. Eighty-eight faculty members voted against no-confidence. A total of 282 ballots were cast Tuesday and Wednesday, out of 377 eligible faculty members. Had the no-confidence vote passed, it would not have automatically meant Botman's removal; that decision is up to the chancellor of the University of Maine System. Botman said the school must face its challenges as a community.
The faculty who launched the petition cited a decline in morale and spending decisions during her tenure. USM has been under scrutiny after the Portland Press Herald reported it gave out discretionary raises of up to $34,514 a year for 44 employees last year despite a looming $5.1 million budget cut. USM Senate Chair Jeannine Uzzi said the petition, however, was already being circulated before news of the raises.
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