President Hunter profiled in Maine magazine
A profile on University of Maine President Susan J. Hunter appears in the February 2017 edition of Maine magazine. In the article, “Tried and True,” Hunter is described as a “steadfast steward.” Hunter, the first woman president in the university’s 151-year history, took the role in July 2014, after serving for 10 months as the vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Maine System. Except for those 10 months, Hunter has spent her entire career on the university’s Orono campus in various academic roles including chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, the article states. “That 10 months pulled me away from campus and got me out where I learned a lot more about the other six institutions,” she said. “It was a great platform from which to then come back to the university as president.” The university’s relationship to the state as a whole is something Hunter takes seriously, both as president and as a scientist, the article states. “Our signature and emerging areas of excellence are science and technology, and reflect the breadth of the land grant institution,” Hunter said. “As a land grant university, we really have a mission. It’s in our genetic material to serve the entire state of Maine.” Hunter told the magazine she sees herself as more of a steward than a company CEO. “There is a public trust involved here. I get to make decisions, but I’m trying to make decisions that are mindful of the resources and are in the best interest of our students — and ultimately in the best interest of the people of Maine,” she said.