Penn State administrator named next president of USM

May 16—The University of Maine System chancellor and board of trustees has named Jacqueline Edmonson the 18th president of the University of Southern Maine.

Edmondson, an administrator in the Penn State University system, is scheduled to begin the job on July 1. Edmonson will replace Glenn Cummings, who served as president for seven years and announced his resignation in October.

Edmondson signed a three-year contract and will be paid an annual salary of $290,000. Cummings had an annual salary of $280,205.

Since 2017, Edmonson has been the chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Greater Allegheny, a campus near Pittsburgh. She has worked in higher education for almost 25 years and has a Ph.D in education from Penn State.

Penn State Greater Allegheny enrolls about 600 students. According the school's website, 80 percent are commuters and 30 percent are adult learners. The University of Southern Maine is also largely a commuter school with students of varying ages and backgrounds.

"She understands the lives of non-traditional students," said Lydia Savage, USM Associated Faculties of the University of Maine chapter president and chair of the Geography Department. Savage said she met with Edmonson twice during the presidential search process.

Savage, who has been at USM for close to three decades, said having classrooms of students that include 18-year-olds just out of high school and living in dorms, people looking to change careers, students with children and those who work full time jobs alongside going to school, among other groups, is one of the aspects of the community that makes the school special. She said she's pleased to have an incoming president who comes from a school with a similar student body makeup in that aspect.

Almost 6,500 students attend USM per year and the school employees 1,100 faculty, staff and administrators on campuses in Portland, Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn. USM is part of the University of Maine System, the state's network of public universities. The UMaine System enrolls over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students annually at its seven campuses across the state sand is staffed by more than 5,000 full-time, part-time and temporary faculty.

Edmondson comes to the University of Southern Maine at a tumultuous time for the University of Maine System.

Last week, University of Farmington students held a 24-hour sit in, protesting the system's decision to cut nine faculty positions in the social studies and humanities departments.

On Wednesday, University of Maine Augusta faculty passed a no-confidence resolution in Chancellor Dannel Malloy in response to the system's hiring of a president who had received a vote of no confidence from the faculty at his prior institution.

And on Friday, the University of Southern Maine Faculty Senate passed its own resolution of no confident in Malloy. The senate cited a lack of faculty input in important decisions, the departure of three system presidents in the span of a year and criticized Malloy for his plan to centralize management of the UMaine System, voicing concern about decreased autonomy for individual schools.

But there was a tense relationship between the USM faculty even before the events of last week.

Earlier this year, USM faculty raised concerns about the direction of the university and the school's independence in light of unified accreditation — the joint accreditation of all seven of the systems — rather that each university being accredited individually.

Some faculty also criticized the search process for the new USM president, saying it lacked transparency.

Despite the tensions with the University of Maine System, USM Faculty Union President Savage said she is confident that the search committee operated ethically and hired someone they thought was a good candidate. She said she is excited to welcome Edmonson on board.

Jacqueline Edmonson was not available for an interview prior to publication.

This story will be updated.