Chancellor Malloy to visit UMF March 1 to discuss transitional leadership
University of Maine at Farmington President Edward Serna has accepted an appointment to lead his alma mater, Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Serna will be the 12th president of the institution when he begins his service in July.
“I’d like to personally congratulate President Serna for being offered the presidency at his alma mater, Winthrop University,” said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “Edward has been a strategic consensus builder at the University of Maine at Farmington who has successfully led the institution into its most significant academic transformation in nearly two decades. He will leave Farmington a university better positioned for success. UMS is fortunate to have had his service for the last three years.”
Chancellor Malloy will visit the University of Maine at Farmington on Tuesday, March 1, to discuss the need for transitional leadership beginning July 1, 2022, and to start planning for a national search for an ongoing presidential appointment in the upcoming academic year.
“It is with bittersweet feelings that I share the news that I have accepted a new position as president of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and I will begin this July,” said President Serna. “I am incredibly torn. I love UMF, and am proud and honored to have been able to learn from, work within and help lead this community. However, I have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be invited to lead my alma mater.
“In returning to Winthrop, I’m going to a place that feels like home to me,” President Serna said. “But that also means leaving a home that I deeply respect and cherish — one that made me feel welcomed from the moment my family and I arrived. That spirit fuels everything wonderful here in Farmington and I will miss it. My sincere thanks to everyone for their support during my time here at my Farmington home.”