BANGOR, Maine — The University of Maine System board of trustees on Monday approved a report on how $2.3 million from the UMS Strategic Investment Fund is being allocated, as well as the purchase of a new boiler for the steam plant at the University of Maine.
It also named ex-UMaine President Peter Hoff a president emeritus and agreed in principle to a reorganization of the University of Maine at Augusta. The reorganization would eliminate a dean and reduce the number of colleges from three to two. The campus serves 5,000 students.
The board accepted a report outlining allocations to projects on each of the system’s seven campuses designed to implement the recommendations in a 2009 plan, “New Challenges, New Directions Initiative — the University of Maine System and the Future of Maine.” It was initiated by UMS Chancellor Richard L. Pattenaude to deal with an estimated $42.8 million systemwide budget shortfall over the next four years, beginning with the fiscal year 2011, which began on July 1.
Rebecca Wyke, UMS vice chancellor for finance and administration, told the board that the following amounts and areas were funded in the New Challenges, New Directions plan:
ä $892,834 for enrollment management activities.
ä $1.07 million for academic programs responsive to state needs.
ä $319,060 for revenue generation and efficiency investment.
The money came from the $5.5 million Strategic Investment Fund and were awarded to campuses on a competitive basis, Wyke said Monday. Fourteen of the 39 proposed projects were approved, and another 10 are in the process of being approved.
The projects include a UMaine program to incorporate innovation engineering across the state, a University of Maine at Fort Kent program in excellence in teaching and technology, and an engineering and science pioneers program at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, according to Wyke.
In other business, two of UMaine’s five boilers in the central steam plant on College Avenue will be replaced by one water tube boiler and economizer at a cost of $2,760,860. Information provided to the board said the estimated savings from better efficiency would be $488,300 a year and the payback period was 5.6 years.
The boilers to be replaced were installed in 1946 and are operating at an efficiency rate of 60 percent to 65 percent, according to a study conducted last year. The new boiler is expected to run at an 83 percent rate of efficiency. Installation is scheduled to begin this fall.
The replacement boiler will be funded from the more than $445,000 received from an asbestos claim and estimated utility savings in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The university also has applied for funds through the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s energy program division, Efficiency Maine, to help pay for the conversion to more energy-efficient boilers.
In addition, the board voted to name Hoff, 65, of Carrollton, Ga., who was president of the University of Maine from 1997 to 2004, president emeritus. Last week, he began serving as interim provost of the University of Western Georgia in Carrollton. Hoff is not a candidate for the permanent position, according to the university.
He stepped down on Aug. 15, 2004, a month after announcing his resignation, citing a desire to “take on new challenges,” according to a story previously published in the Bangor Daily News. Hoff then accepted a five-year position as a professor with UMS researching higher education issues.
Hoff, who began his career in higher education as an English professor, is a native of Georgia. His wife, Dianne Hoff, 58, of Carrollton, Ga., is the associate dean of education at the University of Western Georgia.
Some potential good news for the system was presented by Jim Breece, vice chancellor for academic affairs. He said Monday the system appears to be headed for a 5 percent or 6 percent increase in enrollment this fall. He warned that the figure is preliminary but said the improved economy appeared to be affecting positively the number of students attending Maine’s public universities and colleges.
The board’s next meeting will be held on Sept. 13 in Bangor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.