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In 2018, Joan Ferrini-Mundy became the 21st president of the University of �������� and its regional campus, the University of �������� at Machias. In 2021, she was appointed vice chancellor for research and innovation for the University of �������� System. Among her many leadership initiatives: the appointment of the President’s Council on Diversity Equity and Inclusion to ensure foundational inclusive excellence, and chairing the UMS Science Advisory Board to stay abreast of fast-breaking scientific and medical developments in areas relevant for universities and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this week’s episode of “The �������� Question” podcast, Ferrini-Mundy, U��������’s second female president in history, discusses what it’s like being a university president in the 21st century. She describes her daily routine, favorite tasks, the challenges she faces and her vision for the future of ��������’s only public research university.

This episode is the second in a two-part series featuring the president. Last week, she discussed what being an R1 university means for U��������.

Transcript

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Joan Ferrini‑Mundy:  That’s one characteristic of the job. More so than in most other jobs ‑‑ in all other jobs that I’ve had, really ‑‑ is the opportunity to learn new things every day comes about simply because these things crossed the desk.

Sometimes, in the form of challenges or problems that need to be addressed. Sometimes, as great news that we need to celebrate and know enough about, to talk knowledgeably about to the present. One characteristic of the job is constant learning.

Ron Lisnet:  University of �������� president, Joan Ferrini‑Mundy, describing one of the many aspects of her job, leading a major research university in the 21st century. It is, at various times, a position with extreme high points, daunting challenges, and ever‑changing needs as she advocates around �������� and beyond for the state’s public research institution.

In this episode, part two of our conversation with Joan Ferrini‑Mundy. I’m Ron Lisnet, and this is “The �������� Question” podcast.

In part one of our chat with the U�������� president, we focused on the recent milestone U�������� has achieved, being named an R1 top‑tier research university by the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning. That puts U�������� in the top four percent of universities across the country for research activity.

Now comes the chance to expand the conversation just a little bit. As she nears the completion of her fourth year, President Ferrini‑Mundy took this time to reflect on her tenure as U�������� president.

It is a job that demands a lot, traveling the state, talking to donors, politicians, alums, business leaders, among other audiences. One day she could be tromping through the �������� woods to a research site. The next day could bring a visit to a local school, a formal award ceremony, a meeting with faculty or a student group, check out their work, or a hockey game.

It may not be the path she envisioned as she began a career teaching, researching, and promoting math and STEM education, but as she travels across the state and beyond, President Ferrini‑Mundy has relished the opportunity to champion the institution she represents on campus and to the public.

Our main question for this episode, “What’s it like to be a university president in the 21st century?” President Ferrini‑Mundy, thank you so much. A rare opportunity to get one podcast with you but we’re glad that you’ve decided to speak with us a little bit more here. Appreciate it.

Joan:  Thanks, Ron. It’s a pleasure.

Ron:  Can you give us an idea of what the actual job of a university president is like here in the 21st century? How different is it from what you thought it would be going in? I don’t imagine as a young child you thought, “I want to be a university president one day,” right?

Joan:  [laughs] No. I wasn’t sure about that. First of all, it’s a privilege to be in this position here at the University of ��������. Every day, I learned something new. That’s one characteristic of the job.

More so than in all other jobs that I’ve had really, is the opportunity to learn new things every day, comes about simply because these things cross the desk. Sometimes in the form of challenges or problems that need to be addressed.

Sometimes as great news that we need to celebrate and know enough about to talk knowledgeably about to the press. One characteristic of the job is constant learning, and the constant need to try to keep up with all the great work that goes around the place.

Another feature ‑‑ and this won’t surprise you, you’ve talked about my calendar [laughs] before ‑‑ is the unpredictability of each day. Many people in the world face this, but it’s particularly noticeable for me in this job. You do think you’ve got your day in mind, and here’s what it will look like.

Then, you get two phone calls and an email that take you into some whole other tangent. Most of the time, that’s wonderful and rewarding and a chance to learn. There’s a big problem‑solving component to this job every day, all the time. Then, working with the team to address it.

It’s great fun most of the time, not what I could have pictured. Even as I was accepting the position, I didn’t have a picture of what it would be like day to day.

Ron:  We like using the term drinking from a firehose sometimes.

Joan:  That’s right. It’s that, and then it’s trying to keep up because it’s constant.

Ron:  Is there a typical day, or is it different every day like you alluded to?

Joan:  There are a few standing meetings. When you have those, that brings an element of consistency to it. During the pandemic, there have been a number of meetings that we’ve held both in the university and in the system, that are at the same time every day and at regular intervals.

That sometimes gives at least a framework for the day. No, there’s [laughs] not a typical day. The only thing that’s common I guess is, never feels like there’s enough time. Never feels like I’m able to get back to all the people that I’d like to get back to and take a bit of time with.

We try to constantly prioritize and take on what needs to be addressed. I do think for everybody, but particularly people who aspire to these large leadership roles. I’m bad at this, but I keep thinking it would be good. Building in time, to think, to read, to reflect, to write, to plan is important.

I find myself only able to do that on weekends and occasionally on breaks. If there would be a way to build that into the day, that would help me get better.

Ron:  Now, you have to have everything from mud boots, to dress shoes, to a hard hat in your job. I’m guessing you didn’t expect to have that. Any idea how many towns, businesses, cities, locations in �������� you visited in almost four years now?

Joan:  Certainly, I’ll figure that out over time. I’ll do some research on that. It’s dozens, if not, more than a hundred when you count the companies and the organizations and all of the different places. It’s a wonderful state.

I grew up in New Hampshire, but it’s a different state. Getting to know the people of �������� is incredibly and continues to be very rewarding and also very enriching. Even the university itself putting aside organizations outside of U��������.

We have facilities around the state. We have Cooperative Extension offices and operations. We have farms and forests. We have aquaculture settings. We’re statewide. Getting to those places is important as a part of this job, so that I can represent us as thoroughly as possible with the legislature, with our delegation, and in a variety of settings.

Ron:  You’ve had quite a bit of experience as a researcher yourself. Of course, you were at the National Science Foundation before coming here to U��������. We touched on a lot of this in the previous episode here, in terms of U�������� becoming an R1 institution.

Can you generally give us that pitch of the role of a major public research institution like U�������� and the role it plays in the state?

Joan:  You’ve hit on a few of the keywords here, major and public and research institution. As a land grant institution, we have a long‑standing mission to serve the state, to make a difference in the state of ��������.

What that means for the university is we have to have an orientation towards service, even in our research, even in our teaching, which is about serving the people of ��������. That means the students of �������� and the towns from which they come, the towns to which they may return when they finish their degrees.

By making sure that we have a research presence around the topics that are important in our state. That happens pretty naturally here because people gravitate to a public research institution for some of those same reasons. We see a lot of it.

We continue to strive to make sure it’s well known and well understood that we’re committed to that in those domains. Our students, in a number of departments, do capstone courses as they reach the end of their programming. Particularly in engineering, I’m more familiar with that.

�������� companies have the chance to come to the university and to say, here’s a problem that I’d like a group of students to work on. Could they do so? That just becomes a natural part of the curriculum?

I just yesterday saw an example of some students in electrical engineering. They’re working on a scoreboard for Fort Fairfield schools. They’re modernizing the scoreboard to put more modern electronics in it, and so forth.

I said to them, “You should put the U�������� logo on that thing when it gets reintroduced back at the football stadium or wherever it’s going.” I do think it needs to be pervasive through the university.

Ron:  I know there’s not much room to print more on your business card. You’ve recently taken on an additional role in the system office promoting research at the system level for all U�������� campuses. Can you talk about adding that to your plate of things to do?

Joan:  Of course, University of �������� is the flagship institution in the University of �������� system, which is a relatively small system compared to systems around the country. At the same time, a vital part of the state of ��������.

All of our campuses spread out around the state that exists in the system serve an important role, both in their communities, and then, with their own distinctive missions, as well. Being a part of the system means that the flagship needs to be a really strong partner, both with the system offices, the chancellor, the vice chancellors, and so forth, but as well, with the smaller campuses around the state, and our partners in Portland and Augusta, which are medium size.

When chancellor Malloy asked if I would consider being Vice‑Chancellor for research and innovation, I thought that’s a great way to try to help ensure that a lot of the capacity that we have here at U�������� is made available as possible to the rest of the institutions in the system.

That I could learn a lot more about what those institutions wish to do and be in the research and innovation space. Look for ways that we can partner and collaborate more effectively. I’m about a year into that.

I’m having a wonderful time learning about the other universities and the law schools across the state, and finding incredible opportunities for partnership. Think about the law school and interests in everything, from intellectual property to compliance to the ways in which patents work, and so forth.

There are examples like that all around the state. My hope is that we expand the impact of the system on the state by a little bit more coordination along the research areas.

Ron:  Why math? What was the appeal of that subject for you growing up?

Joan:  Math was always hard for me. It didn’t come easily. It really didn’t come easily all the way through. I always had to work hard. The satisfaction in solving a problem or finding the answer or being able to prove, to figure out how to understand a proof of a theorem, all of that I found very intellectually engaging and greatly satisfying.

My father liked math. He was a �������� Maritime Academy grad in the ’40s. He was trained as a steam engineer. He had a lot of very practical math background. I could connect with him nicely around math problems, because he was a good thinker, and he liked to talk about them. There was that connection, too.

The analytical thinking that one develops in studying mathematics at advanced levels, I find useful every single day. You have to parse these problems and try to untangle what’s most serious and what’s most important and what the assumptions are. That’s kind of mathematical. I’ve always loved it. I’ve always loved working to help people learn it and understand it.

Ron:  You’re actually surprising. I thought you were going to say, “Well, I was always good at math, so I went there.” Like the rest of us, you’ve struggled with it, too.

Joan:  Oh, I did. It’s hard. [laughs] It takes hard work to do well in mathematics. For young kids, by about the fourth grade, hopefully, they’re finding some connection to the subject. Increasingly, it’s an important background for about everything.

As you look at the proliferation of AI in our daily world, the place of technology in our world, having a sense of mathematics, of data, of understanding what’s behind certain things is important for everybody. I always promote math every chance I get.

Ron:  We’ve talked about U�������� being a public research institution. We hear these terms a lot, land‑, sea‑, and space‑grant university, what does that mean? What should it mean to the people of �������� that are part of the higher education world?

Joan:  Land grant university is the most common and most understood institutions that were designated by the state legislature or by Congress, to receive the benefits of The Morrill Acts of 1862, 1890, and 1994. There were congressional acts that essentially designated these institutions.

Their original intention was to be, often, in the case of ��������, to help build the agricultural and technical workforce for the state. To be able to educate the folks, frankly, who wouldn’t be going to elite private institutions for college, but rather who would come to a public institution, sometimes working to pay their way, by farming.

Here at U��������, students help build buildings and help take care of the dairy herd, to earn their way. The notion was prepare people who will benefit the state and over time, then engage in research and applied research that would benefit the state. Cooperative Extension is tightly tied to that early designation.

We are also a Sea Grant University, which is a national program. Basically, for universities that work with NOAA, which U�������� has for years, with our coastline, such as it is and our incredible work in marine science is broadly. We’ve been a partner with NOAA for many years, and therefore we have that designation.

Then, as you might expect, Space Grant is for institutions that are part of consortium that work with NASA. We have a lot of NASA funding. Three slightly different meanings. The land grant is one we’ve had from the beginning.

Ron:  Part of your duties, of course, as we’ve talked about, is you were visiting facilities across the state and campus and talking to faculty and students who do amazing work in a lot of those fields. What’s that experience like? Is that a favorite part of your job? Are there any projects or scenarios that stand out to you from the many visits you’ve made?

Joan:  It’s hard to identify any single one, but I will say a couple of things. Often these trips happened with groups of people. I love the chance to ride around the state with deans and other members of the faculty and staff and get a chance to talk and take a look at ��������.

We have a lot of people here who are from ��������. They’re great tour guides. Let’s single out, Dean Hannah Carter, from Cooperative Extension, who was taking me to some of our 4‑H camps, for example.

Which are remarkable facilities around the state, bringing in thousands of kids from all around �������� and beyond, to get to know our beautiful state, to understand about our natural resources, and to experience them. Those are always great visits in the summer. We’d love to get those on the schedule.

The Darling Marine Center is a beautiful, beautiful piece of our portfolio. Their work is outstanding, and again, great location. There are a number of places that are good to visit in the summer when there’s a lot of activity going on, when researchers and students, they’re doing their work.

I would also say that we are stepping up our presence in Portland. We have the University of �������� gateway that’s been established, which essentially is an office run by Dr. Pips Veazey, to make sure that the assets of U�������� are made available and visible to the business community in Portland.

That they understand that [inaudible 15:44] isn’t that far away. We are wanting to be a great partner in our research areas for them. I do spend a fair bit of time in Portland and of course, working with colleagues at USM and the law school as well. It’s great to get around the state and to see what we’re doing.

I will mention one other thing, which is we have this program called the Graduate School for Biomedical Science and Engineering, the GSB SE program. That’s something very clever, designed many years ago. Where we partner with various private organizations like Jackson Labs and others.

We have doctoral students working with scientists in those facilities. They’re U�������� students getting degrees from U��������. Their work, their research, is happening out and around the state, in some of our key labs and medical facilities.

I’ve had a chance to visit with some of those students as well. We are statewide and making a difference. Capturing that story is still tough, but we’re working on it.

Ron:  Through our chat here, we’ve heard a lot about what some of your favorite parts of the job of being a university president is, how about some of the more challenging parts. What keeps you up at night about what you do?

Joan:  I won’t get to the “keep me up” part for a second. Before that, at the beginning, athletics was challenging for me. I love it, but I didn’t know anything about it. I still can’t claim that I know a lot. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Ken Ralph, from our coaches, and from our student‑athletes about what a critical part of the University, athletics is.

That’s been an expansion of what I know about and what I learned about and pay attention to. The what keeps me up at night, front and center, is worrying about our students. Making sure that we’ve got the very best experience for them. That we are providing what they need. That we are a safe and welcoming and inclusive environment.

That we have the mental health supports for our students that are necessary. That’s certainly one thing. Fortunate to live in the president’s house here on the campus, but there are fraternities near us.

As I listen to whatever’s coming from them by way of music, or whatever might be happening on the weekend, I worry. I hope they’re OK. There is that piece. Then, we’re a research university, and that comes with a lot of activity.

One has to pay attention to research compliance, to all that goes along with research and the safety and risk that that all brings us. We have excellent people doing that work, but I think many presidents make sure that they pay special, careful attention to that area.

Ron:  As we wrap up here, maybe let’s take a look down the road. What might be coming down the pike that you’re excited to let people know about, next phases for you and for the university that you might be able to share?

Joan:  The R1 is a very big deal. That’s been a goal since I arrived, and everybody’s worked together. We’re there, but sustaining that means that we have to have yet another whole layer of strategy and focus.

We’ll be putting that together, I think, in the coming months. Take a little bit of a breath to be happy about R1, but then to say, “What can we be?” I’m still sure that a piece of this needs to be that our research missions and our teaching and service missions are well integrated, that we become a place that does that well.

To do that requires a lot of faculty engagement. It’s not easy as a researcher to simply integrate your research into your teaching. It varies by field. It varies by experience level.

We’ll see more focus, I hope, both looking to the superstars we have who are already doing that and then helping others think about whether that’s something they wish to do, finding funding to do that.

The Alfond grant, which is a $240 million grant to the system, is a 10‑ to 12‑year grant that will benefit U�������� greatly. We will see a change certainly in athletic facilities, in engineering and computing facilities across the university, and then in our work in engineering and computer science as well as business in a variety of fields.

We do have a commission that’s been working. We hope to release their findings fairly soon, U�������� 2025, which is meant to be a bit of a picture of what we could be expecting when the class of 2025 finishes and beyond. There are some really exciting ideas in there, proposals, really, for what we could be as a university. We’ll be bringing that to the public very soon.

Ron:  I want to thank you so much for taking the time. We could go on for a long time here. A lot more to talk about but we appreciate you spending some time with us here.

Joan:  Thanks for the chance, Ron. I really appreciate it.

Ron:  You can find the first episode of our conversation with the president and all of our episodes on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and SoundCloud, U��������’s Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as Amazon and Audible.

Send along any questions or comments about our show to mainequestion@maine.edu. I’m Ron Lisnet. We’ll catch you next time on The �������� Question.

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