University of Southern Maine

At the beginning of 2014, administrators at USM announced that the university had found itself in dire financial straits, and would be announcing program closures and faculty layoffs, including long-term just cause faculty and tenured faculty.[6] President Theodora Kalikow and Provost Michael Stevenson announced that four departments would be closed: the Recreation and Leisure Studies Department, the GeoSciences Department, the Arts and Humanities program at Lewiston-Auburn College, and the graduate program American and New England Studies (the Recreation and Leisure Studies closure was later rescinded[7]). A week later, twelve individual faculty members in various departments were informed that they would be laid off effective May 31. As a result of protests led by USM students,[8] the layoffs were rescinded by Kalikow.[9] Later that year, Chancellor Page asked Kalikow for her resignation as USM president.[10][11][12]

This process was restarted in October 2014, when Interim President David T. Flanagan (former CEO of a power company) and Provost Joseph McDonnell announced that the three programs targeted for elimination in March would indeed be eliminated, and two more: French and Applied Medical Sciences.[13] In addition, USM faculty were notified that twenty-five departments would have to shed fifty full-time faculty members, whether through retirement or layoffs.[14] In the end, 36 faculty members retired, but since some of them were not in targeted departments, 25 faculty members were fired.

Local business leaders claimed the cuts would impair Maine's economy[15][16] and many faculty, students, staff, and community members disputed administration claims about financial insolvency.[17][18][19] Critics claimed that the layoffs were arbitrary and capricious,[20] an attempt to eliminate outspoken faculty critical of administration policies and actions, and in violation of the Faculty Senate governance document and the faculty union's Collective Bargaining Agreement.[21][22] All of the faculty layoffs were immediately challenged through grievances filed by the union against the University of Maine System.[21] Following an investigation, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) voted in 2015 to censure the university.[23][24]

The university announced in March 2015 that Harvey Kesselman, Provost and Acting President[25] of Stockton University, would become the USM President effective July 1, 2015.[26][27] Kesselman backed out of the USM presidency when he was asked to remain at Stockton in the wake of that institution's troubled attempts to open an "island campus" in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[28] USM then announced that Glenn Cummings, former speaker of the Maine House, would serve as the next president.[29] Since in the wake of the controversy swirling around the university Zito Sartarelli had already withdrawn his name from consideration in February,[30] Glenn Cummings remained the only finalist willing to accept the job. He currently serves as the fourth president of USM since 2011.[31]

The main part of the campus consists entirely of non-residential buildings. Many department offices are located around the perimeter of the campus center in converted multi-story homes as well as in the major buildings. The primary academic areas at the Portland campus are business, nursing, history, political science, economics, sociology, biology, physics, chemistry, math, English, psychology, media studies, modern and classical languages and literatures, American and New England studies.[32] The Albert Brenner Glickman Family Library is the main library on the Portland Campus.

Luther Bonney, Masterton Hall, and the Science building at USM's Portland Campus

43°40′54″N 70°26′54″W

Robie Andrews Hall is one of the original Gorham State College buildings. It is now primarily a residence hall with some mixed academic usage on the first floor. Taken from a 1907 postcard.

Gorham is home to most of the university's dormitories and competitive athletic facilities. The primary academic areas residing in Gorham are industrial technologies, engineering, art, music, theater, counseling and education, anthropology, geography, environmental sciences, and geosciences.[32] McLellan House, built in 1773, was acquired by Gorham State College in 1966. It was converted into dormitories and later into office space.[33] The Academy Building was built in 1803 and purchased by the university in 1878.

Residence Halls located on the Gorham campus include:

• Woodward Hall
• Dickey and Wood Towers: Dickey and Wood Towers were opened in 1970 and formerly inaugurated in 1973. They are named after Edna Dickey, who taught history at the university from 1945–1972 as well as serving as Dean of Women from 1945–69 and Esther Wood, who taught social sciences from 1930–1973.[33] USM has proposed mothballing the two towers, which currently have several vacant floors, to save $400,000 in 2014.[34]
• Upton Hall and Hastings Hall: Upton Hall and the adjacent Hastings Hall are named after Ethelyn Upton and Mary Hastings, both of whom were prominent faculty. Upton Hall, home of the university healthcenter and Residential Life Office, was opened in 1960. Hastings Hall opened in 1968. Together, the complex can house up to 300 students.[33]
• Anderson Hall
• Robie Andrews Hall: Robie Hall is named after former Maine Governor Frederick Robie, who served from 1883 to 1887. It was built in 1897 to replace a female-only dormitory which had burnt down in 1894.[33]
• Phillipi Hall: Opened in 2001. Philippi hall also houses USM's new Pioneer Program.[33]
• Upperclass Hall (completed fall of 2007)

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USM's Lewiston-Auburn campus, Front entrance. This campus was established in 1988

The Lewiston-Auburn campus of the University of Southern Maine is the newest of the three campuses. The college on this campus is known as Lewiston-Auburn College (USM LAC). USM LAC is committed to being a national leader in interdisciplinary education, serving as a resource for the community, and providing degree programs that are responsive to changing cultural and workplace demands available to a non-traditional and diverse student body.[35]

Baccalaureate degree programs available at USM LAC are: Arts and Humanities, Leadership and Organizational Studies, Natural and Applied Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences. Master of Arts in Leadership and Master of Occupational Therapy degrees are offered exclusively at Lewiston-Auburn College. The USM Nursing program (BS & RN to BS) from USM's College of Nursing and Health Professions are also offered at the Lewiston-Auburn campus.[35]

Glenn Cummings was appointed President of the university on May 20, 2015 after Dr. Harvey Kesselman, who had accepted an appointment as President of the university to commence on July 1, 2015, agreed to remain as Acting President of Stockton University by request of the Stockton University Board of Trustees.