Strategic Re-Envisioning Update — May 24

Dear University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias colleagues,

Thank you all for participating in the Strategic Re-Envisioning (SRE) town hall on Tuesday. I was thrilled to see such a great turnout from across so many parts of the university – we had about 80 participants in person and an additional 200 joined us virtually. Your engagement with this event sets the stage for the next nine months as we work toward developing recommendations for a re-envisioned university. 

A critical part of this work will be done by a group of Provost’s Fellows as well as a Project Director, who will work on this initiative intensively over the summer. On Tuesday we announced a call for newly-opened SRE positions. Provost Volin reached out on Wednesday to those who had expressed interest in the initiative via the form on the SRE website. I’m following up today with similar information. Project descriptions and information on how to apply for a Provost’s Fellow position or Project Director are now available. Those interested should submit a 1-page cover letter and a CV or resume to Dianne Avery (diannea@maine.edu) no later than June 3.

Those who choose to engage with the initiative will ensure that we strategically align our resources with university priorities and ultimately reach a balanced budget, are well-positioned for a competitive enrollment environment, and are prepared to meet upcoming challenges and opportunities. I look forward to working with you all to determine solutions for long-lasting success here at UMaine. 

We will follow up with you next week with some of the results of the activities you all participated in during the town hall. If you were unable to attend the town hall, you can view it here. I hope you’ll consider engaging with this important process if you haven’t had an opportunity to do so yet. 

I hope you all have a good weekend.

Sincerely,

Joan Ferrini-Mundy
President