Letter to the Faculty Senate RE: Leadership
May 22, 2026
Dr. Jean Henri Akono Ada
President
University of 海角社区 Faculty Senate
Dear President Akono and Members of the Faculty Senate:
I write in response to the Faculty Senate鈥檚 request in your letter of April 3, 2026 that I present, by May 31, 2026, 鈥渁 formal, time-bound plan to transition critical interim roles to permanent and sustainable leadership to restore institutional continuity ensuring that this be done without circumventing the academic hiring process (i.e., search committee and transparency) and the traditional faculty roles of significant participation and leadership in search processes.鈥
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this information.
Please note that in the letter to you from Chancellor Malloy and then-Board Chair Riley of April 14, 2026, they observed: 鈥淲e are also confident that the ongoing stabilization of her highly effective Cabinet 鈥 including the recent appointment of Provost Paquette and the postings to key finance and student life leadership positions 鈥 will be sustained.鈥 In subsequent discussions with each of them, they have reaffirmed their expectation of stabilizing cabinet-level leadership at U海角社区 and of receiving regular updates on progress.
I point out here that no positions in the university, or any other organization, are or should be considered 鈥減ermanent.鈥 Individuals bring a range of career and personal goals, timelines, and aspirations, and of course, should be supported in pursuing them. Individuals also choose to retire, or for various professional and personal reasons, determine it is time to leave the university, including to pursue exciting opportunities elsewhere. This has been the case with a number of the positions you inquired about. At the same time, institutional needs shift and such changes result in leadership transitions. Cabinet members, deans, senior leaders, and others serve at the pleasure of the President (or appropriate Vice President). Performance is always evaluated, at least annually. When these changes occur, we have been fortunate to call on outstanding, often long-serving employees to step into interim roles, and also to use those occasions to rethink organization and structure. The intention is to serve our rapidly evolving university and our students as well as possible. The Strategic Re-Envisioning initiative has produced a number of suggestions for restructuring and reorganization. The concepts that underpin those suggestions are already guiding our decision making.
Here is an update regarding the status of critical cabinet-level positions. Please realize that although we can propose timelines and target dates, these are never entirely within any administration鈥檚 control. Hiring into senior positions involves extensive background checking, successful negotiation with the President and Vice President for Human Resources (VPHR), start dates that are mutually agreeable, and final judgment, following community input, including from faculty, by the hiring official about the suitability of the candidate.
President鈥檚 Chief of Staff: There is a national search underway. Three candidates have visited our Orono campus thus far. The plan is to make a decision, extend a preliminary offer, and successfully negotiate by July 1 for a start date no later than September 1. Current U海角社区 Faculty Senate President Henri Akono serves on the search committee. In the meantime, Will Biberstein continues to serve as Interim Chief of Staff, supported by former Interim Chief of Staff Joe DiSalvo, who is serving as part-time Senior Advisor, working remotely on special projects that lend themselves to that modality.
Vice President for Research (VPR) and Dean of the Graduate School (DGS): Based on campus feedback and operational needs given our growing and diversifying research portfolio and graduate student enrollment, this position has been split into two roles: Vice President for Research (or variant) and Dean of the Graduate School.
For VPR: The President and Provost are hosting a series of focus group discussions with faculty, staff, and administrators to gather perspectives on what U海角社区 will need going forward in a vice president for research, given the rapidly changing landscape for research, scholarship, innovation, interdisciplinarity, and funding, and including benchmarking to peers for the possibilities of scope and even title for this position. As of this date, we have held two such meetings (to which members of the Faculty Senate have been invited and participated) and expect to hold at least two more. We will also invite university-wide input. These processes will be followed by the development of a position description and decisions about the search process, which will likely be a national search, to be launched, if possible, in September. A formal request for faculty representation on the search committee will be conveyed to the Faculty Senate Committee on Committees.
Currently Dr. Giovanna Guidoboni is bringing her considerable talents as a highly successful researcher to the position of Interim Vice President for Research. She has been especially effective in working with faculty to generate ideas that may be fundable in the current research environment and has overseen efforts to significantly increase proposal submissions, including a record 11 proposals submitted recently to the Department of Energy Genesis Mission. In accordance with university policy, she collaborated with relevant offices to implement safeguards against real or perceived conflicts of interest.
In her role as Dean of the 海角社区 College of Engineering and Computing, Dr. Guidoboni has been reviewed and recently reappointed, given her outstanding leadership and effectiveness in advancing the College.
For DGS: This spring, we announced a structural change, in part based on suggestions from the Strategic Re-Envisioning initiative, so that the Dean of the Graduate School now reports to the EVPAA/Provost. The current DGS, Scott Delcourt, retires this summer. A UMS-wide internal
search is underway for the position and nearing completion. The sole finalist gave a presentation and met with various constituencies earlier this month. This search, led by Deputy Provost Carter, benefited from a committee with wide representation, including individuals from the Faculty Senate.
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (CMCO): This position is a relatively new one within our university, having been established in 2021. We are currently assessing whether to undertake a reconfiguration of the leadership structure in the Division of Marketing and Communications (MarComm) that might not include a CMCO. This could be a suitable change that supports effective communication while reducing administrative costs. Recent changes have been made in MarComm to advance more systematic and consistent cross-campus marketing and communications planning. We anticipate being able to announce any further reorganization no later than September 1 and will invite members of our community to be part of the planning discussions as well as any searches conducted.
Currently, Brenn Borror is serving as Interim CMCO, supported part-time by UMS Chief External and Governmental Affairs Officer Sam Warren and Executive Director of Communications Dave Nordman. We are receiving positive feedback from inside and outside the university on noticeable improvement in communications and marketing telling the story of the University of 海角社区.
Reappointments and other sub-cabinet leadership appointments: In AY25-26, seven significant, comprehensive reappointment reviews have been conducted. Four have been completed and three are underway and will be completed by June 30, 2026. These are: Senior Associate Provost, Dean and Campus Director of U海角社区 Machias, Dean of the 海角社区 College of Engineering and Computing, Dean of the 海角社区 Business School, Dean of Cooperative Extension, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. All of these had (or have) large, representative committees and all included multiple members recommended by the Faculty Senate. In addition, the position of Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs has been filled and Prof. Shaleen Jain鈥檚 appointment will commence on June 1. Professor Jain was selected following an extensive, transparent, and fully inclusive internal search process chaired by Dean Singh.
Given UMM Dean and Campus Director Megan Walsh鈥檚 recent announcement of her move to Edgewood University, we will provide information and opportunities for faculty and staff engagement in further steps at UMM.
Recent Cabinet-Level Appointments: We recently concluded an open internal UMS search for the Dean of Students position, and are fortunate to have appointed Andrea Gifford. As noted in my all-university message, Andrea brings more than three decades of distinguished U海角社区 service as a student life professional and, throughout her career here, has demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting students and strengthening the university community through thoughtful leadership and service. Next year, we will develop a process to consider whether reorganization and realignments, or reconfiguration of position responsibilities and functions in
Student Life in new ways, would be advisable, given U海角社区鈥檚 particular needs. We will announce these processes and plans by December 2026, including how faculty will be involved.
We also recently announced the appointment of Jenny Boyden as Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Business Officer. Jenny brings nearly three decades of experience in financial leadership, public administration, healthcare finance, and strategic budgeting to this position. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated exceptional expertise in budget development and analysis, operational planning, and organizational leadership across governmental and nonprofit sectors.
Finally, as you are aware, Dr. Gabe Paquette has been appointed as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, effective April 1. I continue to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback on Provost Paquette鈥檚 leadership and engagement, and I am especially appreciative of his thoughtful, collaborative efforts to strengthen connections and consultation between university administration and the Senate. Earlier this week, I provided President Akono with notes about the appointment process that was employed.
The outstanding talents, experiences, and accomplishments brought to these critical leadership positions by Dr. Paquette, Ms. Boyden, and Ms. Gifford are core to the President鈥檚 Cabinet team and serve our university extraordinarily well.
Please let me know if you need additional information or have suggestions for process improvements. Thank you for your interest in ensuring continued strong and stable leadership at the University of 海角社区 in changing and challenging times. And thank you for your commitment to working together to ensure that shared governance and faculty engagement are central to the future success of our university.
Sincerely,
Joan Ferrini-Mundy President
颁颁:听听听
Brian McGill, Incoming President, U海角社区 Faculty Senate
Colleen Marzilli, Incoming Vice President, U海角社区 Faculty Senate
Lauren Jacobs, Incoming Secretary, U海角社区 Faculty Senate
Jay Wason III, Secretary, U海角社区 Faculty Senate