The Bangor Daily News was the first to report this story. What you’re reading here would likely not be made public without the efforts of professional journalists asking questions, interviewing sources and obtaining documents.
University of Maine faculty last week criticized the administration’s lack of direction and strategic planning in an eight-page letter exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News that outlined numerous concerns and demands.
The letter, titled “A Letter from Faculty Senate on Leading the University into the Future,” was sent to UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy and the University of Maine System Board of Trustees on Friday by the UMaine Faculty Senate.
The letter contained criticisms of the university’s leadership, fiscal decisions and its future. There are no names signed to the letter, but it does say a supermajority of the faculty senate members in the Elected Members Committee approved sending it.
Amanda Klemmer, Faculty Senate president, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The letter comes just weeks after UMaine’s 2026-27 budget, which included 7% cuts to all departments, was presented to the Board of Trustees. The budget cuts will bring layoffs, but the exact number of jobs affected and what departments they are in are still unknown.
Four specific concerns are expressed in the letter: the university’s failure to have a “viable and stable” leadership team, perpetual fiscal challenges, the lack of a strategy for the university’s future, and a failure to collaborate with all stakeholders, including faculty.
Rushed searches to fill leadership positions, budget cuts, missed deadlines for the strategic re-envisioning plan for the university and the Faculty Senate not being consulted about decisions that influence academics were all supporting reasons, according to the letter.
The results of a survey of 314 UMaine faculty members were also included in the letter, and showed that faculty had “strikingly negative” responses to questions about trust in leadership and morale.
“The faculty are unable to fully execute their jobs, lack support and are deeply concerned about the leadership leading us into an unsustainable and poorly planned future,” the letter reads.
Ferrini-Mundy acknowledged receipt of the letter Wednesday. It’s unclear who else has received the letter.
“We look forward to continuing to partner productively with faculty leaders to address the important issues they have raised and further strengthen the state’s flagship, while remaining fully focused on recruiting future Black Bears to this incredible learner-centered R1 university and also preparing to celebrate the thousands of students who will graduate in May,” Ferrini-Mundy said.
UMaine System spokesperson Samantha Warren also provided a list of accomplishments that are the “direct result” of Ferrini-Mundy’s presidency. It included growing investments into the university, launching the strategic re-envisioning plan and maintaining workforce levels.
Warren added that Ferrini-Mundy “and her Cabinet have the full confidence and appreciation of Chancellor Malloy and the System’s Board of Trustees for their transformative leadership and service to our students and the state.”
The letter acknowledges that Ferrini-Mundy has secured funding and maintained the university’s R1 research status, and that the university is important to the state because of its research and job creation.
Nevertheless, requests were made to the president, chancellor and Board of Trustees to address the concerns.
The letter asks that Ferrini-Mundy acknowledges receipt of the letter and gives her initial comments at the Faculty Senate meeting on April 15.
Faculty members also want a formal plan to “transition critical interim roles to permanent and sustainable leadership” be presented by May 31. Town halls where faculty can give feedback and hear directly from Ferrini-Mundy were also requested.
The letter included additional requests for Malloy and the Board of Trustees. They included transparency in leadership changes and the creation of a policy that clarifies if someone can hold a leadership position in the UMaine System and at a specific campus, according to the letter.
Survey results attached to the letter support the faculty’s concerns.
Nearly two thirds of the faculty members who responded to the survey did not have confidence in UMaine’s fiscal leadership, trust in the administration to make decisions beneficial to the campus, or believe that the university has articulated a vision and guidance for the future of the university, according to the letter.
Sending the senate’s concerns to the administration was a “conservative route,” but was not the only possible way the senate thought about airing its grievances.
“While we considered a number of alternative actions, we believe that more public actions could further erode the relationships on campus and damage our public reputation as an institution. This letter represents our good-faith effort to address our serious concerns while mitigating unnecessary damage,” the letter reads.
