The University of Maine System has extended the contract of the president of the University of Maine at Augusta, days after faculty took a vote of no confidence against her, the Sun Journal reported. However, a spokesperson said the UMaine System trustees were not notified about the vote until later.
President Jenifer Cushman, who was hired in 2023, will now serve in the leadership position through June 30, 2027.
Faculty members primarily objected to being left out of discussions about selling Handley Hall, a four-story building in downtown Augusta that is home to the school’s architecture program, according to the Sun Journal.
University officials have said the building, which was given to the school, is too costly to maintain.
In a May 4 letter to administrators, faculty said they attempted to give feedback after learning of the planned sale but were ignored, in a breach of shared governance obligations, according to the Sun Journal. UMaine System spokesperson Samantha Warren said on Thursday that Cushman paused plans to get approval to sell the building so more information can be gathered, in response to questions raised by faculty and others, and that faculty had been notified.
The faculty senate took the vote of no confidence on May 15, but trustees did not receive notice of the vote until a week later, on May 22, which was four days after they had renewed Cushman’s contract, Warren said.
Additionally, Warren said faculty had several opportunities to bring up the vote in meetings but did not.
In a May 27 response to the faculty senate, the Sun Journal reported that Chancellor Dannel Malloy and UMaine System trustee Roger Katz said Cushman has their “full confidence and support.”
The board of trustees noted Cushman’s efforts to increase enrollment at the school, the addition of academic programs and improved partnerships with the community and employers, the Sun Journal reported.
Correction: An earlier version of this story implied that UMaine trustees knew about the faculty’s no confidence vote when they renewed Cushman’s contract. A spokesperson said that was not the case.
