Charge
In March of 2021, the UMaine 2025 Commission was convened to consider how the context of higher education was being reshaped by noteworthy current events–especially those pertaining to the pandemic, racial injustice, climate change, and the state of civic discourse–and to consider what bold and visionary steps we should take to better serve our students, faculty and staff, our institutions, and our state, as well as to contribute in shaping ways to the national discourse. The Commission was charged to produce a dynamic vision of UMaine as a student-centric, research-focused, diverse and inclusive institution that serves as a resource for the community, a thought leader in the state and region, and a proactive force in shaping the evolving needs and demands of our society. The Commission was asked to shape their conversations and visioning work with the following insights in mind:
Public higher education faces extraordinary challenges — the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed calls for racial justice and equity, the threats of climate change, and an emerging need to prioritize education for society.
The events of 2020 are having deep and transformative impacts on our world and are changing the context for higher education.
The work of higher education needs to be rethought with creativity and new partnerships. Changes to the revenue and delivery model have accelerated by ten years or more.
The ways in which we prepare our students for tomorrow must acknowledge the world they are experiencing and shaping.