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September 27, 2004

Shock to the system | University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal's reorganization plan is approved by trustees

By Taylor Smith
During the past few months, the chancellor of the University of Maine System, Joseph Westphal, has been embroiled in a particularly heated battle over his system-wide reorganization plan. But despite loud pockets of criticism, the UMS board of trustees on Sept. 20 voted unanimously to accept the system restructuring, which includes merging the University of Maine at Augusta with the University of Southern Maine, and creating more collaboration among the Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Machias campuses. The board's approval signals the start of a sweeping reorganization that Westphal hopes will greatly improve the academic quality, infrastructure and financial status of the seven regional universities that make up Maine's university system.

The need for the reorganization, says Westphal, stems largely from the changing economy in Maine, where the once-dominant manufacturing industry has suffered heavy losses. Today, the state is known for tourism, and industries such as biotechnology, technology and health care are of growing importance in the Maine economy. But that shift means Maine increasingly is going head to head with regional, national and global competitors. To be competitive in these markets, says Westphal, Maine needs to ensure that its university system remains a viable choice for current and prospective students. "We need more students to go to college, to stay in college and to graduate from college," he says. "As we looked at the future of Maine, we felt it was critical that the university system be poised to meet these kinds of challenges."

But UMS for a number of years hasn't been in a financial position to attract more students, expand its academic offerings or even properly maintain its sprawling infrastructure. For example, the political science building at the University of Maine ˆ— where Westphal has an office ˆ— has paint peeling from the walls, out-of-date bathrooms and antiquated ventilation. "Every year, we're patching more and more, and that makes us less attractive for other students," he says, adding that in recent years New England states such as Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have been pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into their university systems' infrastructure and operations.

Westphal plans to ask the state for long-term funding of hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years, but he isn't optimistic that Maine's financial situation will allow for such a request. As it stands, UMS is operating on a razor-thin budget. Cost cutting already has been rampant, from trimming staff through hiring freezes and early retirement packages to slashing operational spending to what Westphal calls "dangerous levels." (Faculty members in some cases have to pay for their own copies.)

The reorganization was planned in large part to streamline operations and boost efficiency at the individual university level, ultimately saving an estimated $12 million a year that Westphal says will be reinvested in the system. "We're concerned about the level of state support, and felt we needed to do a lot ourselves to make sure we could invest in quality by cutting costs wherever possible," he says.

Like any reorganization plan, Westphal's proposal has ruffled feathers. Most recently, a union that represents 1,300 UMS faculty members, the Associated Faculties of the University of Maine, announced plans to try to have Westphal's plan blocked through legislative intervention. But Westphal believes that the plan's supporters, especially among the state's legislators, outnumber its detractors.

At the same time, he worries that the furor surrounding the details of the reorganization is myopic and misses the plan's long-term vision. "The decisions we make today ˆ— their impacts aren't going to be felt for years," he says. "[Detractors] are thinking about how it's going to affect them, but we need to be thinking long term."

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