FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington announced today it will be eliminating 14 and one half positions beginning July 1, 2009, as part of a reorganization overhaul to meet a projected $2.2 million shortfall.
Theodora Kalikow, the university’s president, said the personnel cuts will come through layoffs and attrition and include full-time faculty and full- and part-time staff positions. At the same time, administrative office management and academic programs will be reorganized for greater efficiencies, she said. UMF’s current budget totals $28 million and 350 people are employed on campus.
The reason for the cuts are four-fold: an anticipated decrease in state revenue, loss of short term investment revenue, conservative student enrollment projections and the need to keep tuition rates down.
Among the program changes to be made after July 1, 2009 are: Women’s and Gender Studies will move from offering a major to a minor and one faculty position will be eliminated. Russian language and its exchange program will be cut. Kalikow noted that Russian is currently offered at three other UMS campuses and many of the program cuts are due to low enrollments.
Ski Industries Program will be restructured to become a four-season program as an auxiliary enterprise on campus. Emphasis will be in a greater variety of workshops and certificates that are offered on weekends and outside the semester schedule to a broader clientele, possibly including matriculated UMF students, but also others from the community. Ski classes taken after Sept. 1, 2009, will no longer be offered for academic credit. The program loses one faculty position and one professional will be reassigned.
In addition, the Media Center will lose its one and one-half staff positions to become a self-service student lab. In the athletic department, coaches will take on teaching roles, which will reduce adjunct expenses. UMF will negotiate a reduction in its yearly contribution to the operating budget of Alice James Books, the poetry publishing house on campus.
In the Social Science Department, one geography faculty position will be eliminated and in Visual & Performing Arts, one faculty dance position. Dance 150 will remain as an optional course for Theater/Arts major and Kalikow said she hoped the UMF Dancers performance group would continue.
Also, one piano faculty position will be eliminated, with piano courses will be taught on an adjunct basis. The Merrill Center, which includes admissions and financial aid, will lose two temporary staff positions.
UMF departments affected by attrition: one staff position in admissions, one staff position at the library and one staff position in Student Life.
It was announced last week that the Archaeology Research Center’s would become an independent entity and one staff position would thereby be cut from UMF’s budget. One staff position each in the Center for Human Development and Enrollment Services will be eliminated.
UMF’s current majors in the liberal arts, professional studies and teacher preparation will remain unchanged, Kalikow said. And they will continue to look for savings and ideas to develop private grant revenues.
For those facing job loss, severance packages will be offered as will the assistance from UMF’s Department of Human Resources.
“This is not just a budget cutting exercise,” Kalikow said. “We want to take this opportunity to make things work better.”
