Dear UMA Community,
The search for UMA’s next president is underway. This note is to give you an update on the current status of the search and information about how to stay up to date on the search’s progress.
The primary tool for communication regarding the search is the search website at uma.edu/presidential-search. On the website you will find a list of committee members, notes on committee meetings as they occur, and the position prospectus.
I am serving as Chair of the Search Committee. Other Board of Trustees members on the committee are Emily Cain and Margaret Rotundo. The search is being conducted through a 14-member committee under the oversight and procedures of the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System. The search committee includes representatives of the faculty, students, staff, Trustees, Board of Visitors, and community.
The search committee is assisted in their work by Storbeck Search consultants. Jim Sirianni is serving as lead consultant. Storbeck Search conducts searches solely in the educational sector and has a strong reputation and significant experience. They will be proactively recruiting for the position.
The UMA Presidential Search Committee held its first meeting on October 14. Chancellor Dannel Malloy delivered the charge to the committee. The Chancellor noted that UMA is a go-to institution for distance learners and that entrepreneurship will be an important characteristic for the next president to possess. The committee’s charge is to present an unranked list of three or four finalists to the chancellor. The search will incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles throughout the selection process. Our expectation is to complete the search and recommend candidates to Chancellor Malloy in the spring.
Phase I of the search focused on listening and learning. Storbeck Search held open forums, conducted an online survey, and met with campus leaders, the president, the cabinet, and the Board of Trustees to gather input to be used in developing the prospectus and also throughout the search.
A position profile and prospectus has been prepared and approved by the Committee and the Board of Trustees. The prospectus provides a description of UMA--its programs, mission, partnerships, and achievements--a description of the University of Maine System, opportunities and challenges facing UMA, and preferred characteristics for the next president. The prospectus is a major recruiting tool to introduce prospective candidates to UMA. The prospectus is on the search website at uma.edu/presidential-search/position-prospectus.
The committee met in November to speak with UMS Chief Human Resources Officer Loretta Shields about the principles of an inclusive search and how we can manage biases any committee member could unintentionally bring to a search. At our next meeting on December 13 the committee refined its understanding of the different career arcs that could lead an individual to become a strong candidate. At that meeting the committee also reviewed Board policies and procedures for the search and the Freedom of Access law. Recruiting and review of candidates will continue through the winter.
Meetings of the Presidential Search Committee are open meetings under the Maine Freedom of Access Act (“Open Meetings”) law, and will be noticed in advance on the UMS Board website
maine.edu/board-of-trustees/board-meeting-calendar and the search website. Discussions of individual candidates will be held in executive session.
I am excited to be involved in the search for UMA’s next president and to be working with this committee. I look forward to welcoming the next president to the UMA community.
Sincerely,
