Strategic Re-Envisioning Update — September 9

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

Over the past two weeks, the SRE working groups have presented their initial findings around the themes to cabinet members, deans, and directors of research centers and institutes. These conversations have generated valuable insights and questions that will guide our efforts over the next month. 

The work of phase two, “Prioritizing and Assessing,” will be ongoing through September. During this time, some working groups will evaluate the positive and negative impacts of specific actions associated with their themes. Others will be focused on identifying criteria for assessing potential changes. The provost’s fellows and working groups are not making decisions or providing recommendations for what specific changes should be made; they are providing analysis of and developing assessment strategies for potential scenarios that will inform the work of decision-makers during phase three of the SRE process. 

We also are embarking on extracting candidate “visions” for tomorrow’s University of Maine that are emerging from the themes and potential actions under consideration. We will offer examples at next week’s town hall meeting, where you will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on decision criteria for some of the SRE themes. The town hall will be held on Thursday, September 12 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. in hybrid form: in-person at the Bangor Room in the Memorial Union and via Zoom.

September will be a significant time for members of the community to contribute specific, actionable ideas aligned with the SRE themes that could benefit the university in the short and long term. We encourage you to share your ideas using the online Idea Prototype Tool. As we progress, we will continue to engage with the community to evaluate the potential impacts of these proposals.

It is important to understand that the SRE process will lead to structural changes and new initiatives at UMaine that are necessary to progress toward our future visions of the university. Phase three will focus both on making difficult decisions that are necessary for the institution’s financial sustainability and launching new initiatives, doing all of this in the strategic pursuit of the university we aspire to become. We aim to make these decisions as informed as possible, drawing on the themes and criteria developed by our campus community. 

We have also established “Guiding Principles” that will inform the work of this process. 

Please join us at the town hall on September 12. Your participation and ideas are greatly appreciated during this process. 

Sincerely,

Joan Ferrini-Mundy
President