University of Maine at Augusta names new president

Courtesy / University of Maine System Michael Laliberte has withdrawn from the role he was about to start as president of the University of Maine at Augusta.

Write a Comment

By Jessica Hall

The University of Maine at Augusta's new president will be Michael Laliberte, currently president of the State University of New York at Delhi, UMA announced Thursday.

Laliberte's three-year appointment begins Aug. 1, and comes after a national search.

UMA’s longtime provost, Joe Szakas, has been interim president since August 2021, when Rebecca Wyke, who had led the university since 2015, returned to state service to be the CEO of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.

Laliberte brings more than three decades of higher education experience to UMA, Maine’s third-largest public university with 3,100 students.

Since 2016, he has served as president of the SUNY at Delhi, where he added 19 new degree programs to address local and state workforce needs, launched initiatives to improve student success, grew philanthropic giving and oversaw $42 million in capital projects.

Previously, Laliberte served as vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management from 2010 to 2016 at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, which enrolled nearly 30,000 students at the time. He also served in a similar role at Boise State University, with more than 19,000 students.

“Like nearly half of UMA’s students, Dr. Laliberte was the first in his family to attend college, and he understands the proven power of affordable postsecondary education in advancing social mobility,” University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in a news release.

“As working Mainers increasingly realize the importance of a postsecondary degree or credential to achieving their personal and professional potential, UMA is uniquely well positioned to meet the reskilling and upskilling needs of lifelong learners, especially adults, veterans, transfer students and those with some college but no degree or credential."

Raised in Rhode Island, Laliberte earned his doctoral degree in educational leadership in higher education from Johnson & Wales University; a master’s degree in college student development and counseling from Northeastern University; a bachelor’s degree in human development, counseling, and family studies from the University of Rhode Island; and an Advanced Certificate of Fundraising Management from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Separately, Malloy is expected to name a new president for the University of Southern Maine and an interim president for the University of Maine at Farmington before June 30.

UMA offers postsecondary education and workforce training through its main campuses in Augusta and Bangor, online, and at UMA Centers in Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, Lewiston, Rockland, Rumford and Saco, and 30 community sites. More than half of UMA’s students are 25 or older. The university has 342 employees.

Established in 1968, the University of Maine System comprises Maine’s seven public universities, including 10 campuses and numerous satellite locations. The system serves more than 30,000 students annually and has over 5,000 faculty and staff.