Office of the President
The 21st-Century USM
From: President Selma Botman
February 4, 2009
This is the fourth update of the new semester. I’ll be using this format for official communications and, later this month, I will be posting to a new blog for more informal communications. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at president@usm.maine.edu.
Child Care to Close this Summer
I have decided to close our campus-based child care program, effective August 14 of this year. The decision affects 24 of our colleagues, not to mention the 88 children and their families who have been served so well by the staff.
Closing our child care centers is an excruciating decision. Unfortunately, this decision is one of many we'll have to make as we grapple with steep financial challenges and work our way toward institutional sustainability. Reductions in our budget require us to direct our resources to the preservation of teaching and learning. We have provided a $400,000 annual subsidy to the child care program, a subsidy we regrettably can no longer afford.
I read and considered the questions and concerns sent to me by parents prior to reaching this decision. One of the most difficult issues we considered was the impact on the children and families, especially those parents who are students, faculty and staff. Currently, the program serves 54 children of students, 11 children of staff and 10 children of faculty. This decision is illustrative of what I described in November as a wrenching adjustment to a new financial reality. I remain convinced, however, that our primary responsibility is to ensure that our core teaching and learning activities remain viable.
