Farmington Alumni - UMF On The Move

UMF On The Move

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President Kalikow Treats the Economic Hardships as an Invitation for Creative Leadership

Message from the President

Here in Farmington, we are making significant progress in securing the future of our unique mission as Maine’s public liberal arts college. Decisions to address the current year’s rescission were made last November and our work for the fiscal year which begins July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 was just completed using conservative revenue projections and a sober look at expenditures.

Our Strategic Plan continues to help us move forward clearly and quickly. All decisions position the University for the long term, with a focus on efficiency, mission, strong recruitment, retention, and revenue generation. A combination of cuts, shifts in internal investments, and significant restructuring will position UMF for a sustainable future with enduring attention to excellence in student learning.

Recently, we held a campus wide conversation with about 250 faculty members, staffers and students to talk about how the University can work more effectively, attract more students, and increase revenue in these challenging economic times. I am now focusing on structural changes to make UMF even more efficient and ultimately strengthen the cohesiveness of our liberal arts experience.

Here’s what we are doing:

Strengthening all aspects of student recruitment including admissions, marketing, student accounts, and financial aid with a fully coordinated plan.
Expanding a southern Maine marketing campaign developed for UMF by Swardlick Marketing, building on initiatives supported by a 2009 grant from the Libra Foundation.
Launching our new Leadership Institute in the summer of 2009, made possible through a philanthropic start-up investment by an anonymous donor.
Reorganizing the university into one undergraduate college from a current structure with two separate colleges (Education, Health & Rehabilitation and Arts and Sciences). We spend too much time, money and effort supporting an academic administrative structure bigger than an institution of 2000 students needs. Other departmental structures will also change to ensure a more efficient curriculum.
Obtaining energy efficiencies by assigning a staff member to fully coordinate sustainable actions.

What does all this mean? UMF has positioned itself for a strong future. We are moving forward with new initiatives while we stop doing things we can't afford anymore. We are a major economic force for all of Maine, and of course for our region. Our impact on the local economy was recently calculated at about 22 million dollars per year, including goods and services purchased by us and by all our employees who live here, but also including service to the community by faculty, staff and students. Arguably, though, it is our graduates who stay in Maine who have the big long-term impact that needs to be recognized and supported.

I invite you to watch a video of my address to the campus on structural transformational changes at www.umf.maine.edu. Just click on “A Message from the President.”

Spirit of Leadership & Innovation

The spirit of leadership and innovation is a tradition at University of Maine at Farmington. At UMF, new ideas take root. In our classrooms, in our laboratories, on our athletic fields, and on our performing arts stages, we awaken new student interests and abilities. We are continually changing, adapting to new demands and needs. Our eye is on strategic priorities to strengthen UMF and the undergraduate student experience.

In 2008-2009, our faculty and staff will focus on the continued implementation of our Strategic Plan, raising the performance bar once again. We will continue to work with alumni and friends to invite their support for the work ahead. Here are examples of UMF’s positive results in two key areas: student success and philanthropic support.

Student Success

UMF's recent four and six-year graduation rates are the highest in the University of Maine System. What does this mean? UMF graduates accomplish their goals and enter the workforce or graduate school with university degrees in hand, in a timely fashion, and with an outstanding undergraduate preparation.

Within UMF’s peer group, the 25 members of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, our graduation rates place us in the upper tier: 9th in 4-year rates; 6th in 6-year. Research shows that retention and graduation rates are due to students’ engagement in the full academic enterprise.

The National Survey of Student Engagement collects data on a range of factors and ranks UMF very high in providing the best academic experiences. In comparison to students at other COPLAC universities and at all colleges and universities that participated in NSSE, UMF students, by senior year, have written more papers, made more class presentations, and are more likely to have participated in internships and community-based projects.

Our retention rates for first year to second year have increased from 70% to 75%. Our return rate (spring to fall) for all non-graduating matriculated students is holding steady at 84% despite downturns in the economy and increases in tuition.

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