The University of Maine System board of trustees voted to extend Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s contract for an additional year.
The final one-year extension reflects the system’s enrollment and fiscal progress during Malloy’s tenure and “the importance of strong, stable leadership during a critical period for American higher education,” according to a news release.
Malloy’s tenure will conclude on June 30, 2028, making him the second-longest-serving leader in system history.
Malloy became the system’s 11th chancellor in 2019, following nearly four decades of public service. He served as a prosecutor in Brooklyn, N.Y., mayor of Stamford, Conn., and two-term Democratic governor of Connecticut.
‘Unprecedented’ pressures
“Higher education is navigating unprecedented demographic, financial and political pressures, rapid technological change and evolving expectations from students and employers,” said Roger Katz, the board’s chair.
He said the board believes continuity is “critically important at this time.”
The board’s action took place at a special public meeting on May 27.
Since 2019, challenges have included the pandemic, demographic decline, the rise of online education and a fast-evolving federal funding and policy landscape.
Structural reform
During his tenure, the system developed its first comprehensive plan in nearly two decades and became the first in the nation to achieve unified accreditation, a structural reform that allowed Maine’s public universities to collaborate more easily.
The system has grown its enrollment by expanding direct and guaranteed admission for Maine high school and community college graduates, and launching new academic programs, including online education for adults at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
The system improved its financial outlook, balancing operating budgets without reserves for the first time in a decade while maintaining its workforce and the region’s most affordable tuition. Public and philanthropic investment have included record levels of state appropriation and congressionally directed spending and a $320 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation.
Malloy recruited university presidents, including Leigh Saufley, the Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, who became president of Maine Law; Deb Hedeen of the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Jacqueline Edmondson of the University of Southern Maine, Joseph McDonnell of the University of Maine at Farmington and Jenifer Cushman of the University of Maine at Augusta.
In 2022, Malloy came under fire following missteps during the hunt for a new president of the University of Maine at Augusta.
Established in 1968, the University of Maine System comprises Maine’s seven public universities, including 10 campuses and numerous satellite centers. UMS serves more than 30,000 students annually and has more than 5,000 faculty and staff.
