University of Maine System appoints 17 committee members to help select a new leader to serve Huskies in Portland, Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn and beyond.
Portland, Maine — The University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees has formed the committee tasked with finding a new president for the University of Southern Maine (USM). Current President Glenn Cummings announced in October that he would be stepping down July 1 to return to a faculty position within USM.
Seventeen individuals representing students, faculty, staff, alumni and other USM constituencies were appointed to the USM Presidential Search Committee, chaired by UMS Trustee James Erwin. Thirteen members of the committee were selected by the USM constituencies they represent.
The committee will work with Academic Search, a Washington, D.C.–based consulting firm, to identify the ideal candidate to lead USM through its many initiatives, including transformational infrastructure projects and unprecedented fundraising efforts, as well as serve all Huskies in Portland, Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn and beyond. Its first of several meetings is expected to be held in mid-December.
“Our search process will be thorough, inclusive, equitable and orderly, with multiple opportunities for input,” Erwin says. “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to express my gratitude to those who have agreed to serve on the search committee and to those who take the time to provide us with input and perspective. I look forward to a successful search to find the next leader of USM.”
Visit the USM Presidential Search Committee website (External site) for information about its members, a broad timeline of the search process, notes from committee meetings and more. A survey seeking input about USM priorities for the future also is available.
The committee anticipates interviewing finalists in early March. The new president will be determined by April.
Cummings notified the board in early October of his intention to step down and return to a faculty position with tenure at the end of June 2022. The board accepted his resignation and began working to form the search committee that will be charged with finding his replacement on Oct. 27.
About the University of Maine System
Established in 1968, the University of Maine System (UMS) unites seven distinctive public universities, comprising 10 campuses and numerous centers, in the common purpose of providing quality higher education while delivering on its traditional tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service.
In 2020 UMS became the first and only statewide enterprise of public higher education in the country to transition to a unified accreditation for the system. Much different than a merger or consolidation, unified accreditation is a new operating model for the University of Maine System that removes the primary barrier to inter-institutional collaboration.
A comprehensive public institution of higher education, UMS serves more than 30,000 students annually and is supported by the efforts of more than 2,000 full-time and part-time faculty, more than 3,000 regular full-time and part-time staff, and a complement of part-time temporary (adjunct) faculty.
Reaching more than 500,000 people annually through educational and cultural offerings, the University of Maine System also benefits from more than two-thirds of its alumni population residing within the state; more than 123,000 individuals.
The System consists of seven main campuses: The University of Maine (UMaine), including its regional campus the University of Maine at Machias (UMM); the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA); the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF); the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI); and the University of Southern Maine (USM). The System also includes a UMA campus in Bangor, USM campuses in Gorham and Lewiston-Auburn, the University of Maine School of Law, and the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center.
Please follow these links to the UMS Logo, UMS and individual university style guides and an image and biographical information for Chancellor Malloy.
