BANGOR (AP) – As Chancellor Joseph Westphal steps down Friday after more than four years at the helm of the University of Maine System, the board of trustees is gearing up for a nationwide search for his successor.
Former Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart, who has been serving as a professor within the system, will return to his old job Saturday. As part of his duties, he will help recruit potential candidates for a new chancellor.
Trustees plan to form a search committee this summer, begin interviewing candidates by late fall and have a new chancellor in place by July 2007.
Westphal, whose tenure included a controversial reorganization of the system, came to the chancellorship from the Pentagon, where he served as an assistant secretary and acting secretary of the Army.
While the board is not ruling out other applicants with nontraditional backgrounds, Chairwoman Margaret Weston said the upcoming search could take trustees in a different direction.
“I think that someone who really understands public higher education systems would probably have an edge because there’s so much going on nationally that can help us in Maine and that we can learn from,” she said.
Weston said a candidate should be an experienced fundraiser who can work comfortably with a team of “strong presidents” and collaboratively with various organizations and systems.
While trustees have the final say in the selection, a 10-member group from the University of Maine wants to have input and plans to nominate a candidate.
“It could be an educator or someone who has been a leader in Maine. I think it’s worth noting that we have some very successful presidents in the system,” said Professor Tony Brinkley, a member of the group. He said the new chancellor should “care about the state, know it intimately and respect its cultural and economic diversity.”
While the board is prepared to consider all nominees, Weston made it plain that candidates will have to go up against the nation’s best.
“Even if we were to choose someone we already knew, that person needs to show they are capable of competing against a national pool,” she said.
The system is comprised of seven universities with a total enrollment of 34,000.
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