This story appears as part of a collaboration to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine between the BDN and The Maine Monitor. Read more about the partnership.
The University of Maine asked 158 faculty members at its campus in Orono and regional campus in Machias this week if they would consider retiring voluntarily in a move to address a steep budget shortfall.
The university told eligible faculty Wednesday that they could receive a one-time payment equivalent to their base salary if they voluntarily retire by next September. Faculty members are eligible if they are at least 55 years old and have 10 years of full-time experience at the school. They have until Jan. 2 to decide whether they want to accept the offer.
Maine’s flagship public university is grappling with a $19 million shortfall projected for the 2028 budget year, which starts in July. University officials said in September that they would need to lay off faculty and staff to address the gap.
So far, officials have said that UMaine will shave $10 million from the university’s academic expenses, which make up about half of the entire budget. In October, officials then announced that UMaine could save an additional $6 million through potential cuts in other units on campus, such as the president’s cabinet, and through new sources of revenue.
The retirement incentive comes after unions and other groups gathered in late October to condemn the cuts and call for administrators to seek alternative measures to solve the budget gap rather than laying off faculty and staff.
At the gathering, union leaders and students also called for the state to increase its appropriation to the university. State Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, who was recently reelected to his seat, also made an appearance and said that public higher education has been underfunded for decades.
University of Maine System spokesperson Samantha Warren said that the system, which oversees the state’s public universities, committed up to $6 million in one-time payout costs to schools, including the UMaine retirement incentive and a separate retirement incentive program that is underway at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Warren said that faculty union members at UMaine and its satellite campus had voted to move this incentive forward, and that officials at UMaine will work with units across the university to find other revenue streams and permanently reduce expenses. Federal labor laws limit the university from speaking further about the retirement initiative, Warren said.
The Maine Monitor was unable to reach two union representatives by press time Thursday.
This story appears as part of a collaboration to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine between the BDN and The Maine Monitor. Read more about the partnership: bangordailynews.com/the-maine-monitor.