LEWISTON — If Harvey Kesselman has his way, the University of Southern Maine will have a bigger presence in the community.

The new president of USM said the school will become what he calls an “engaged university.”

More Lewiston-Auburn College students and professors will work with businesses, students, nonprofits and local governments.

More USM lapel pins will be worn.

Kesselman, 63, is the former provost of Stockton University in New Jersey, a public institution with 8,500 students. He will oversee the USM campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston. He begins July 1 under a six-year contract, which gives Kesselman a house on the Gorham campus, a car and an annual salary of $235,000.

During an interview with the Sun Journal editorial board Tuesday, Kesselman said there have been enough budget cuts.

USM, which had an annual budget of $140 million, had to erase a $16 million deficit. That was done by President David Flanagan, who had been hired on a temporary basis, through  layoffs and programs being eliminated or consolidated.

“They haven’t completely fixed it,” Kesselman said. “But I’ve been in this business a long time. The kind of measures taken in the last year to control USM’s budget are extraordinary.”

What’s needed now, he said, “is to rebuild in a smart, efficient way and utilize student success.” USM will “enroll them, retain them and graduate as many as we can.” When that happens, he said, “our financial problems will subside. More importantly, students will leave with a degree, something they can use.”

Kesselman grew up outside Philadelphia. He was a first-generation college graduate and put himself through school. 

“My mom graduated from high school,” he said. “My dad finished the eighth grade. They were hardworking people.” 

At USM, he pledges to work hard to ensure student success and to improve graduation rates. The best way to do that “is make sure the students you recruit you’re able to maintain in the institution,” he said. “They go through it in a manner they should with the least amount of debt. They graduate and become productive members.”

He plans to make that happen by engaging more students and professors in the community, what was achieved at his New Jersey Stockton University. That engaged movement began small, he explained.

Several classes of professors and students started working with public schools that had run-down parking lots filled with litter and broken glass.

“Some of our faculty members had our students develop gardens in those parking lots,” he said. 

When the gardens began to produce, hospitality and tourism students promoted local produce to local restaurants. Other students got involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters and delivered excess food to homeless shelters. What started as one idea took roots in different disciplines and causes.

“By the end of it, you have science students working to determine the appropriate soil for vegetables,” he said. “You’ve got hospitality and tourism students using that information to help restaurants.” 

It doesn’t take a lot money and it is transformative, he said.

One criticism of higher education is that educators work in silos and aren’t part of the real world.

“This is the easiest way to break down silos,” Kesselman said, explaining that students and professors are involved in learning that’s real.

The eventual result is that students not only get the academic background they need but become engaged “in all aspects of the community through the kinds of courses they took.”

In the past four years at USM, enrollment has fallen from 8,500 to 6,500. The reasons include a declining birthrate, increased competition from other colleges and a lousy economy that’s left many students underemployed and mired in student debt, discouraging some from enrolling at USM.

Declining enrollment “has got to stop,” Kesselman said.

In addition to retaining students and encouraging community partnerships in studies, USM needs to help more Mainers who didn’t finish their degrees to graduate.

And USM needs to recruit students from out of state and from other countries. That shouldn’t be hard, he said, speaking of the Lewiston-Auburn and Portland-Gorham regions.

“It’s beautiful,” Kesselman said.

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