Students and faculty who've been fighting job and program cuts at the University of Southern Maine are criticizing a decision to move this month's UMaine System board of trustees meeting from USM to Fort Kent. The trustees are scheduled to cast final votes at the meeting on plans to scrap the American and New England studies, geosciences and the Lewiston Auburn Arts and Humanities programs at USM, and critics say they won't be able to attend if the meeting is held in northern Maine.
The program cuts have been controversial from the moment they were first announced back in the spring, as part of a budget cutting plan. Students and faculty members at USM have repeatedly spoken out against them and have had Sept. 22 marked on their calendars: That's the day the full UMaine System board is scheduled to take a final vote on the cuts at its bi-monthly meeting, which was originally scheduled to take place at USM.
"It has been moved to the University of Maine at Fort Kent, which is over five hours away," says Meaghan LaSala, who is with the group Students for USM's Future. "It's completely prohibitive for most students and faculty, who have class on Monday, when the meeting is slated to take place. And we think it's the students' and faculties' right to be able to be present at this very important meeting, where it's likely that the board of trustees will eliminate these three programs."
Late last week, Lydia Savage, a geography professor at USM, e-mailed the board to ask why the meeting's location had been changed. In a reply, UMaine Board Chair Samuel Collins wrote, "The locations of the September and November meetings were changed in mid-June at the request of the two presidents. The decision was based on logistic and travel issues." Dan Demeritt heads up public affairs for the UMaine system.
"In northern Maine's Fort Kent, winter comes early and there was concern we could have weather issues for travelers for the meetings scheduled in November," Demeritt says. "Whereas, at USM, our leadership team down there knew they'd be very busy with their budget challenges, and welcoming students back to campus in September, and thought it would be best to host the trustees later in the year."
In an e-mail to MPBN, Lydia Savage writes, "Program Elimination is one of the most serious actions the trustees can make and the affected students, faculty, staff, and community members deserve the opportunity to be heard by the board." Demeritt says members of the USM community have already had many chances to weigh in publicly on the proposed cuts.
"And they still can contribute," he says. "We're going to accept comments from people right up until the board meeting. Anyone can comment by visiting maine.edu or calling the board office at 973-3200. It's a deliberative, long process. But it's time to be decided and time to move on."
Supporters of the American and New England studies, geosciences and the Lewiston Auburn Arts and Humanities programs at USM will hold a press conference Friday to speak out against the proposed cuts, and call on the system board to move their meeting back to the Portland campus.