ORONO, Maine — The Board of Trustees for the University of Maine System (UMS) will meet in Orono on Monday, July 15.
The regular public meeting will begin at 8 a.m. in the Wells Conference Center at the University of Maine (UMaine) with an educational session for Trustees and UMS leaders on generative artificial intelligence (AI) by UMaine alumnus Prashanth Chandasekar, CEO of technology service Stack Overflow (External Site), and UMaine Executive Director of Innovation in Teaching and Learning Peter Schilling.
Last month, the System hosted Maine’s first statewide AI conference (External Site). The presentation Monday will provide a foundation for the Board as it considers the impact of AI and how UMS policy and programs will adapt to the rapid changes it is unleashing.
Trustees will also consider System initiatives to grow the size and skill of the state’s workforce, taking action on UMaine capital projects that will accelerate hands-on training and research in sustainable aquaculture and food innovation.
Additionally, Hannaford Supermarkets’ Manager of Early Talent Development Matt Rothman, a University of Southern Maine alumnus, will discuss with the Board his company’s new partnership with UMS that provides discounted tuition to eligible associates. And Live and Work In Maine (External Site) Executive Director Nate Wildes, a UMaine graduate, will detail a new campaign led by that talent attraction nonprofit through which more than 20,000 students accepted to UMS for the coming fall received letters this month signed by Maine companies pledging to provide meaningful career opportunities to students while they are enrolled at Maine’s public universities and upon graduation.
These employer partnerships are part of ongoing efforts by the System, which is the largest importer of talent to Maine, to recruit and retain more students and workers to the state, which has set a goal of adding 75,000 people to the labor force by 2030 (External Site), and promote career connections.
The Board will also discuss progress in expanding student opportunity by achieving a UMS-wide unified catalog. Enabled by the System’s innovative unified accreditation, this will ensure students can access courses across the System regardless of which UMS university they attend and keep them on track to timely degree completion and entering the Maine workforce.
Consistent with a commitment in the System’s new strategic plan to achieve fiscal and energy efficiencies through the reduction of unused or underutilized buildings and land, Trustees are expected to take final action on a request from UMaine to sell the Frederick Hutchinson Center in Belfast at Monday’s meeting. No degree-seeking students have taken in-person courses at the center since 2020 and a competitive request for proposals was issued earlier this year for purchase, lease or creative alternative offers.
If Trustees authorize the property sale, which received initial approval from a Board committee on June 26, UMaine anticipates announcing an award in late July and completing the transaction this fall.
An agenda and meeting materials are available at maine.edu/board-of-trustees/. As part of the Board’s commitment to transparency and accessibility, the public meeting will be livestreamed here (External Site).
About the University of Maine System
The University of Maine System (UMS) is the state’s largest driver of educational attainment and economic development. Established in 1968, UMS unites the state’s distinctive public universities including the University of Maine and its regional campus the University of Maine at Machias, the University of Maine at Augusta, the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine School of Law, as well as the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center. Over the past two decades, the System has awarded 106,362 degrees and spurred and strengthened thousands of small Maine businesses through its world-class research and development activities. Working age alumni of its flagship, UMaine, earn more than double the state’s average median income. For more information, visit maine.edu.
Media Contact:
Samantha Warren
Director of External Affairs, University of Maine System
207-632-0389 / samantha.warren@maine.edu