McDonnell, who joined the University of Maine System in 2011, is widely credited with initiating a turnaround of the western Maine university in the two years since he was appointed its interim leader and has been called ‘the right person for this important job’
FARMINGTON, Maine — With the strong support of the campus and community, University of Maine System (UMS) Chancellor Dannel Malloy is appointing the University of Maine at Farmington’s (UMF) interim leader, Joseph McDonnell, to a two-year term as president.
On Monday, the Board of Trustees authorized Chancellor Malloy to appoint McDonnell as president through June 30, 2026.
McDonnell became UMF’s interim president on July 1, 2022, having most recently served as a faculty member, dean and provost at the University of Southern Maine. He was the fourth leader in as many years of the Farmington university, which had been roiled by the May 2022 retrenchments of nine faculty necessitated by a 25% drop in student enrollment in the five years prior.
Originally, the System had planned to conduct a search for UMF’s next president. But in a personal message to faculty, staff and students, Chancellor Malloy wrote that he heard loud and clear during repeated conversations on campus the overwhelming desire for McDonnell, and his turnaround efforts, to continue leading UMF.
“President McDonnell has worked tirelessly and collaboratively over the past two years with faculty, administrators, students, staff, external partners and University of Maine System colleagues to stem UMF’s declining enrollment, stabilize its budget, improve internal communications and position the university for near-term and long-term success,” Chancellor Malloy wrote. “I have witnessed first-hand the early fruits of these labors, including UMF’s engagement with high-quality online academic programs, competitive adult degree completion initiatives, and strategic partnerships with local and regional employers, other UMS universities, and Maine’s community colleges. I applaud Joe — and all of you — for your creative thinking, willingness to innovate and sheer hard work. All of it is leading to positive change.”
New programming and students, and a balanced budget
UMF is revered as a residential public liberal arts college, with high-quality programs that prepare graduates for successful employment in high-need fields, like early childhood and teacher education, mental health and human services, and business and outdoor recreation.
Amid a rapidly changing higher education landscape, McDonnell has worked to leverage those strengths while finding new ways to recruit and retain students and improve the university’s fiscal health.
UMF has quickly grown online degree and certificate (External Site) offerings that meet learner and employer needs. For the first time, the university’s nationally accredited special education bachelor’s degree program is now available entirely online (External Site), making it accessible to place-bound students including those already working as paraprofessionals in Maine schools. Other online programs are now offered by UMF in elementary education, rehabilitation and human services, and professional studies, and an interdisciplinary public policy program is on the way.
The university, which had long focused on traditional-aged postsecondary students, has also launched adult degree completion programs (External Site) and even teacher apprenticeships (External Site) to help upskill the 190,000 Mainers with some college, but no door-opening degree.
Overall enrollment declined this fall by less than 1% from the previous year, with 35% more graduate students thanks to expanded online options and relevant new programming, including a master’s in counseling (External Site), offsetting a continued slide of undergraduates.
As interim president, McDonnell has laid the foundation for UMF’s undergraduate enrollment to rebound. This fall, UMF had just 1,014 full-time undergraduate students compared to 1,624 a decade ago.
The university has expanded its early college enrollment nearly three-fold since he became interim president, creating new pathways (External Site) for Maine high school students to UMF and careers. The campus has also hosted interactive open houses to bring more prospective students and their families to Farmington to experience its unique degree offerings, like the state’s only actuarial science program.
McDonnell also led the long-planned transition from a four-credit hour operating model to the three-credit one used by most institutions of higher education. This enables UMF to more closely collaborate on programming with other UMS universities and to attract more transfer students, including from the Maine Community College System (MCCS). In just the last year, UMF has developed and signed 55 articulation agreements with MCCS institutions.
Farmington’s recruitment, retention and operating budgets have been challenged by the condition of the historic downtown brick campus — the oldest in the System. To make the campus more attractive and sustainable, UMF is currently undertaking $11 million in energy efficiency improvements projects (External Site) that will be paid back through savings and renewable energy credits, and spending $5.4 million secured by the System from the State to renovate residence halls.
McDonnell has prioritized connecting UMF to the community, strengthening local partnerships including with Franklin Memorial Hospital, which will soon support clinical rotations for students in a collaborative UMF/University of Maine at Augusta nursing program. The university housed 120 utility workers following devastating December weather and is now hosting a FEMA disaster relief center (External Site) so individuals and businesses impacted by those storms and subsequent flooding can access federal assistance locally.
“Declining enrollment and budget deficits made the status quo unsustainable but UMF’s extraordinary faculty and staff have stepped up to collaborate and innovate, and we are seeing our efforts deliver new students, revenue and possibilities,” said President McDonnell. “I am pleased with the progress we are making — including UMF’s first balanced budget in recent memory — and grateful to be working with such a dedicated group of administrators, faculty, staff, and community members committed to serving our students and western Maine. A vibrant, healthy university is now within our reach, and I look forward to leading UMF into its promising future.”
‘The right person for this important job’
The decision to appoint McDonnell to lead UMF for two more years has broad support.
“President McDonnell is a leader who understands that UMF must adapt to assure its sustainability. His exciting and practical vision offers new possibilities for UMF. The Board knows that change is hard and maintaining a balanced budget requires difficult decisions. President McDonnell has our full support as he continues his work with and for the university community to build the UMF for the future,” said UMS Board of Trustees Chair Trish Riley.
“I am excited that Joe McDonnell has been reappointed as president and will have the opportunity to continue the excellent work he has been doing. This is great news for UMF students, faculty, staff, alumni and for western Maine. More so than any president in recent memory, President McDonnell is making the positive changes necessary to stabilize and strengthen UMF for the future. In particular, he is very attuned to the market and is making sure our programs are evolving to align with what Maine employers, communities and students want and need,” said UMF Professor of Business Clyde Mitchell, who also serves as the university’s faculty representative to the UMS Board of Trustees.
“We recognize the serious budgetary issues the university has been facing, but we are optimistic that we are well on the road to recovery now. One of the main reasons for that optimism is the leadership President McDonnell has provided in his tenure here as interim president. It’s true that not all of his decisions have been universally loved, but he’s shown himself ready and willing to push forward the changes necessary for UMF to get to firmer footing. If UMF were to undertake yet another presidential search at this key moment, it would once again derail our efforts to improve. We believe he (McDonnell) represents the best opportunity we have for long-term growth and stability,” wrote the Staff Senate in a letter to Chancellor Malloy.
UMF’s 17-member advisory Board of Visitors also championed the continuation of McDonnell’s leadership in a letter to Chancellor Malloy. “Joe McDonnell is the right person for this important job. As community and business leaders, we have been impressed by his strong leadership skills and strategic wisdom shown in his relatively short tenure. The university needs stable leadership and to know that the work Joe McDonnell has begun will be seen through. We know that he will need more time to lead the campus community in achieving the goals of operational solvency and sustainability and we have full confidence in his ability to do so.”
McDonnell and his wife, Carla, will continue to live on-campus with their dog, Cider.
Contact: Samantha Warren, University of Maine System Director of External Affairs, 207-632-0389, samantha.warren@maine.edu
About the University of Maine System
Established in 1968, the University of Maine System (UMS) unites seven Maine’s 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 (UMaine Machias); 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.