President Upbeat as USM Enters 21st Century

"This could be a breakthrough year for USM," President Richard L. Pattenaude said during his decidedly optimistic address at the traditional Faculty/Staff Breakfast, August 27, opening the 1999-2000 academic year. While the president sounded some cautions and presented the challenges ahead, he emphasized that USM is entering this year far stronger than in the past. The four major priorities he identified for USM this academic year are research and development, New College, a capital campaign, and the Ph.D. in Public Policy.

Pattenaude, who is starting his ninth year as president, reviewed the progress made to date, in contrast to our status earlier in the decade. In 1996, he said, USM had gone five years without any increases in the state appropriation, had suffered more than $3 million in budget cuts, and had been forced to undergo tuition hikes of 50 percent.

Now, after working hard many years on building new programs and support, we are positioned well, he said. Benchmarks he cited included growing enrollment and legislative and public support. "This is the third year in a row," he said, "that USM has been the largest university in Maine."

He pointed out that our residence halls are at capacity, with 1,400 students, compared to 1,325 students in '98; 1,250 students in '97 and 1,165 in '96, and our total enrollment is projected to be somewhat ahead of the '98-'99 enrollment of 10,462. Last year's total included 2,000 graduate students, 50 percent of the University System total. Enrollment of full-time students also has increased; 46 percent of all USM students last year attended full time, compared to 39-40 percent five years ago.

The Legislature this past spring voted to provide $3.5 million toward renovation of 46 Bedford St., Portland into headquarters of the Muskie School, and increased the University System's base budget by 3.4 percent in each of the next two years.

This time last year, Pattenaude observed, USM was looking ahead nervously to a November bond referendum to bring R&D money to the System. Thanks to legislative approval, USM now will receive $2 million in R&D for new faculty and operating expenses and nearly $8 million for R&D-related capital improvements, such as expanding the Science Building and Mitchell Center. These funds will allow USM to play an increasingly critical role in biotechnology and information technology, key foundations for the science community of southern Maine.

In addition, Pattenaude said, we will take to the September 12 Board of Trustees meeting an approval request for a new Biosciences Research Institute at USM. The emphasis on R&D, he said, will help us build our capacity in the sciences for improved teaching and research and will benefit the entire institution. He cautioned, however, that we can not lose sight of the university's "critical mission" of offering a liberal education. "We are not," he stressed, "simply a training ground for the new economy."

Because outside support for USM has improved so dramatically, the time is ripe also, Pattenaude announced, to move forward with USM's first capital campaign, a $21 million undertaking that will fund completion of the Glickman Family Library and provide funds for instructional technology, liberal education, renovation of the Muskie School, scholarships and other educational resources.

The third of Pattenaude's four priorities for '99-'00 is the First Year/community college effort at USM. Known as "New College" at this point, the project is now under design and will take final shape this year. The program will strengthen the transition to academic life for all undergraduate students, especially non-matriculated students, thereby increasing USM's retention rate and improving student chances for academic success. It should also improve the quality of USM's undergraduate preparation. A committee, chaired by Zark VanZandt in the College of Education and Human Resources, will take ideas to the campus this year through the Senates and open meetings to develop further dialogue on the project, Pattenaude said.

Finally, Pattenaude highlighted USM's first Ph.D., a Muskie School program in public policy and management scheduled to open in the fall of 2000. Successful implementation of the program must underlie any request for support for additional doctoral programs at USM. This Ph.D. is "symbolic of USM's progress and potential and it 'opens the door,'" he said. "It's important that we do it (implement the Ph.D.) and do it well," he said. This year will be a design and recruiting year for the Muskie Ph.D.

Pattenaude also cited other projects under way or being planned, among them implementation of the Diversity Plan and a marketing campaign, as well as efforts to gain national accreditation for the School of Business and 10-year reaccreditation for the university. Future projects include a new dorm on the Gorham campus and expansion of the Lewiston-Auburn College facility, which has seen phenomenal growth to an enrollment of approximately 1000 students and is now at maximum capacity.

While there has been a lot of progress, the President noted that progress has been uneven. This year it is the sciences that have benefited, he said, but we must move ahead on other fronts too. "It is imperative that we become the university that underpins the economic development of southern Maine."

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