UMaine Farmington's new president comes with student recruitment credentials
Courtesy / University of Maine System
Edward Serna will be the next president of the University of Maine at Farmington, starting July 1. Currently interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas/Fort Smith, his inititiaves there included a student recruitment and retention program that offered fixed tuition and a streamlined pathway to graduation.
University of Maine System Chancellor James Page announced that Dr. Edward Serna will be the next president of the University of Maine at Farmington.
Serna is currently interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas/Fort Smith. He was chosen as part of a campus and community engaged national search for new campus leadership, according to a UMS news release.
Serna will be UMaine/Farmington’s 15th president. He will start July 1. He replaces Kathryn A. Foster, who resigned a year ago to become president of the College of New Jersey.
Serna has a background in business and education that includes leading change management and process re-engineering initiatives in public higher education, large, private-sector enterprises, the U.S. Army and NASA, according to the release.
His work at University of Arkansas/Fort Smith, which has 6,600 students, has included leading initiatives focused on student success, student retention, and data-driven innovation.
One of those is the UAFS Promise program. The recruitment and retention program provides students with fixed tuition and a streamlined pathway to graduation in return for a student commitment to make satisfactory academic progress and adhere to advising guidance. The program is unique in Arkansas and has garnered positive reaction within the state, according to his resume.
During his tenure as interim chancellor, he also secured more than $12.5 million in fundraising, including a $10.8 million gift, to endow the university’s honors program, according to his resume. Once fully realized, the endowment is expected to generate adequate revenue to fund 60 scholarships annually. It is the third largest gift in the university’s history and the largest gift from an individual donor. He also secured a $1 million corporate gift for equipment in support of the university’s workforce development initiatives.
Serna entered higher education in 2007 teaching information system and leadership courses. He holds a doctorate of education in higher education from the University of Alabama.
“Dr. Serna shares our commitment to measuring our progress in terms of student and state success,” Page said in the release. “The board and I were also impressed by many of the initiatives achieved under Edward’s leadership in Arkansas, noting how well aligned his accomplishments are with the strategic priorities that will guide and expedite educational reform in Maine over the next five years.
“I am inspired by the vibrancy of the UMF community and the understanding that public higher education is a shared and essential resource that must assume an even greater leadership role in Maine’s future,” Serna said in the release. “We have remarkable opportunities on this campus and across this system to demonstrate value and deliver solutions.”
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