The new president of the University of Maine Presque Isle says that northern Maine’s colleges and universities are trying to work together to better serve their students and communities.
Raymond Rice, a long-time UMPI English professor and administrator who was named president of UMPI on May 22, said he thinks that higher learning institutions have to adapt to changing technology and a changing economy.
“Being more effective contributors to the future of Aroostook County is important,” said Rice, who before Monday had served as interim president since last July.
Amid cost concerns, the University of Maine System has been trying to integrate its seven campuses, including through consolidation and downsizing.
At its meeting May 21 and 22, the UMaine System Board of Trustees approved a reorganization plan for UMPI that will phase out positions for campus operations officer and director of student success, a move estimated to save more than $440,000 over five years.
UMPI and the University of Maine Fort Kent officials also said they are aiming to expand their ongoing partnership, which currently covers shared services of back-office operations and some shared academic programs
UMFK provost Steven Gammon was named “executive vice president for collaboration and strategic alliances,” and a UMFK/UMPI Collaboration Committee has been charged with “identifying, prioritizing, and analyzing potential strategic and opportunistic academic and administrative collaborations between the two institutions.”
“For students, this means more opportunities,” Rice said, mentioning plans for UMFK’s nursing program to be offered at UMPI starting in the fall of 2018.
Rice, a native of western Massachusetts, came to UMPI in 1997 and received tenure as an English professor the next year.
“I wanted to work with a small program and first-generation students. I was a first generation student myself,” Rice said.
“The campus has changed a lot. Our programming has really adapted to meet the needs of the workforce here in The County.”
And back then, he said, “UMFK and UMPI were very strong rivals.”
Today, UMPI and UMFK — each with more than 1,000 students — are working together to adapt and share their resources based on their strengths, Rice said.
UMFK’s nursing program has long attracted students from Maine, out-of-state and other countries, while UMPI has drawn students to its criminal justice and athletic training programs, Rice said. UMPI also is breaking ground on a greenhouse for a two-year-old sustainable agriculture program.
Rice said that more inter-campus offerings will benefit students, who already are able to exchange general education requirements through the UMaine and community college systems and take college coursework during high school at reduced tuition rates.
While classes like calculus 1 may only be offered once a year at UMPI, for instance, UMPI students can take that class online through the University of Maine in Orono.
“Things like that are getting much more frequent,” Rice said.
