University of Maine at Augusta President Rebecca Wyke will continue to lead the university after endorsements from students, professors and other stakeholders, according to the University of Maine System.
University system Chancellor James Page, who is stepping down at the close of the academic year, announced during his final visit to the University of Maine at Augusta on Monday that the system’s board of trustees agreed to skip a national search for a new president and directly appoint Wyke instead.
Wyke has been leading UMA, which serves about 4,000 mostly commuter students at its campuses in Augusta and Bangor, since June 2017. She took over after James Conneely resigned after about a year and a half on the job.
Wyke is currently serving a fixed three-year term as president.
Before becoming UMA’s interim president, Wyke served nearly 10 years as the university system’s vice chancellor for finance and administration. In that position, she had a hand in budgeting and long-term financial planning at all of Maine’s seven public universities in that position.
Her tenure in that job was interrupted by a six-month appointment as UMA’s interim president before Conneely was hired. Her short tenure in that role led a number of staff members to ask that Wyke be appointed to lead UMA after Conneely’s resignation.
Before she joined the university system, Wyke served much of her career in state government. She served as commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services under Gov. John Baldacci after holding a number of positions in the Maine Secretary of State’s office.
Page’s decision to recommend directly hiring Wyke came after multiple meetings and forums with various groups on campus.
The Student General Assembly, which is a student government consisting of representatives from all the locations the university oversees, endorsed Wyke for direct appointment after a forum with Page, according to Jacquelyn Estrella, the assembly chair.
“We agreed that the climate of our institution changed for the better when she took leadership,” Estrella said. “Students feel like they can approach her, and that’s valuable.”
In a letter to Page, the faculty senate voiced its support for bypassing the search to hire Wyke. According to a letter from faculty senate President Gillian Jordan, more than 93 percent full-time faculty who responded to a poll preferred directly hiring Wyke over a search.
“President Wyke’s quiet, purposeful, innovative leadership has raised morale at UMA, and we finally feel that we are moving in the right direction,” Jordan wrote in the letter.
Wyke spent her first year as president formulating a strategic plan, which included integrating all the regional remote learning centers located around the state into the university and adding new academic programs.
“In the second year, we’ve been realizing some gains as a result of that plan,” she said. “In the future, we absolutely want to continue to implement those plans and proceed in a positive direction to service the community.”
Through their letters, students and staff said Wyke’s understanding of the university’s student population, a majority of whom are adults studying part-time, and her plans for the university were important factors that earned their support.
“We have a very unique population of students at UMA. She really understands that population and has showed us that,” Estrella said. “Our experience has been enhanced by her being in the leadership.”