UPDATE
From: Interim President Joseph S. Wood
August 2007
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Dear Colleagues:
Many thanks for your kind words of support and encouragement as we prepare for the opening of the 2007-2008 academic year.
Below are some updates, which I hope you'll find of interest. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Joe Wood
Updates appear below.
1. Budget Outlook
2. Residence Hall on Schedule
3. Lazy Days of Summer?
4. More Construction News
1. Budget Outlook
The budget -- again -- will be a primary focus as we open the new academic year. Recent data suggests a far more serious problem than we have dealt with in previous years. In short, enrollments, despite the best efforts of many people, have not rebounded and fixed costs continue to rise. Frankly, I don’t believe across-the-board cuts and other technical fixes we’ve employed in the past will help us meet this challenge. I will have a campus-wide process in place so that together we can consider structural changes that will ensure the long-term fiscal health of this university. Staff members and I are spending the mid-summer doing additional revenue/expenditure analyses and projections to be sure of the size and scope of the fiscal challenges facing us. I've also formed the University Council, a working group consisting of the President's Staff, Deans and Associate Provosts to assist with this process. I will share additional details at the Opening Breakfast, scheduled for 8 a.m., Friday, August 31.
2. Residence Hall on Schedule
Our new residence hall on the Gorham campus is scheduled to open later this month. Its 298 beds will meet an existing, pent-up demand for on-campus housing. The hall, which will include meeting and small conference space, also will help us continue to build a sense of campus community. A brief reminder: Room fees, not tuition revenues or the state appropriation, are used to finance the construction and operation of residence halls. More information is available at http://www.usm.maine.edu/reslife/
3. Lazy Days of Summer?
I'm always amazed at the number and range of scholarship, research and creative activities that take place on our campuses during the summer months. The following events were among many held just in the last few weeks:
*More than 500 teachers, researchers and marine educators from across the nation gathered here for a conference to share ideas and innovations in marine education. Guest speakers from New Zealand to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on Portland's waterfront appeared during this weeklong event. Our Aquatic Systems Group, among others, was featured.
*USM Associate Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies Nancy Richeson hosted the sixth annual "Dementia Day Camp," a work group of internationally recognized dementia researchers interested in the social and behavioral aspects of treatment. This interdisciplinary group is writing a National Institutes of Health research grant that will target early-stage dementia intervention research.
*Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) is a national organization formed to improve undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics education by connecting learning to critical civic questions. Some 300 educators, including members of our faculty, from 24 states and several foreign countries met on our Portland campus for the 2007 SENCER Summer Institute. The USM event was the first time the institute has been held outside of California.
4. More Construction News
I know you likely understand that funding for new facilities and major renovations is made up of
one-time, dedicated or restricted dollars. Consequently, when we do new construction, as we are on each of our three campuses, we are not redirecting base budget funds that pay for compensation or operating expenses. At the same time, new construction benefits the institution as a whole in terms of image and reputation, something that rebounds positively on all of what we do. We are completing building projects on each of our three campuses, which will contribute to solving our continuing budget woes through enhancing our ability to recruit and retain students and thereby ensure their success.
Please click on http://www.usm.maine.edu/abromson/webcams.html for live, Web cam views of University Commons on our Portland campus. The $25 million project has been made possible by a successful capital campaign and dedicated sources of public funds. Work also continues on the new $2.5 million wing on the Lewiston-Auburn campus, a product of state bonding, private fund raising, and, we expect, some federal earmarked funds.
UPDATE will be available for continuing reference online, linked to my home page at http://www.usm.maine.edu/pres.
Joseph S. Wood
Interim President
780-4480
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