University of Maine System trustees approved a sweeping new master plan for the University of Southern Maine on Monday that envisions a revitalized Portland campus.

The plan, first announced in 2016, would feature new dorms, a new student center and a new campus quad in Portland while eliminating a parking area to create a new central green space. At the Gorham campus, a parking area would be eliminated to create a “campus heart” green space at the top and center of the campus.

Also Tuesday, the trustees, who met in Orono, were briefed on a review of under-enrolled academic programs and approved the creation of two new programs, both at the University of Southern Maine. The 33 under-enrolled programs, selected for review because they only graduate a handful of students a year, must re-invigorate their numbers or possibly face consolidation or elimination.

After USM announced the master plan , it launched an $80 million capital campaign to pay for some of the proposals, including an arts center that would include a concert hall about half the size of Portland’s Merrill Auditorium, and practice, classroom and reception space. At the same time, the campus has been working closely with the Harold Alfond Foundation to establish a new graduate center.

The latest schematics for the master plan show two dorms, one for 200 students and another for 300 students, on the edge of Forest Avenue near Bedford Street; a new quad area where the surface parking lot off Bedford is now and a 40,000-square-foot campus and career center adjacent to the new quad.

It also identifies two “anchor site” locations on the edges of the 34-acre campus, which could be used for either the proposed arts center or the proposed graduate center. One is located between the Wishcamper Center and the interstate – currently a parking lot – and the other adjacent to the Brighton Avenue Extension.

Longer-range growth sites include the area currently used by the law school, which is slated for demolition, an area adjacent to the existing parking garage and a site on Falmouth Street between the Sullivan Athletic building and the science building.

It’s all part of a vigorous re-branding at USM under President Glenn Cummings, who vowed a “quick rebuild” when he took office in 2015 at the tail end of a major financial crisis, controversial budget cuts and declining enrollment that destabilized the campus, which serves about 8,000 students. The school is even considering a name change to University of Maine at Portland.

USM has long been split between Gorham – a 96-acre campus with the current dorms, athletic facilities and most of the buildings – and Portland, which has long been seen as a commuter campus. The distance between the two has been described as “the longest eight miles in the world.”

The master plan is designed for both commuter students and a new residential population, officials said.

Cummings said the new vision for the Portland campus will also be better for students, who tend to want to move to Portland after spending their freshman and sophomore years in Gorham. But the high rents in Portland mean many of those students reduce their credit hours because they are working more.

USM has delayed any proposals for the Lewiston-Auburn campus, a single building on a 10-acre site, until a review of academic programs was complete, according to the master plan.

On the academic front, the trustees were briefed on the ongoing academic review of under-enrolled programs system-wide. Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Robert Neely told the trustees that the initial list identified 130 programs – 72 undergraduate and 58 graduate – as not producing enough graduates, defined as five graduates a year at the undergraduate level, three a year at the master’s level and two a year at the doctoral level.

At this stage, campus academic officers are creating action plans for each of the remaining academic programs under review, which will be presented to the trustees in March.

“This should be part of our regular work,” Chancellor James Page said of the review.

The trustees also approved two new academic programs: a bachelor of science in public health and a Ph.D in Leadership Studies, both at USM.

Public health programs are the 9th-fastest growing program nationwide, and the bachelor’s will provide a pipeline for USM’s nursing master’s program. Campus officials say they anticipate that 65 students will enroll in the primarily online program in the first year.

Also Monday, university officials announced the search for a new chancellor will be confidential. Chancellor James Page announced in December that he will retire at the end of the academic year.

Trustee Sam Collins, who is leading the search committee, said the panel hired higher education recruiting firm Academic Search to find candidates, along with posting the position nationwide. Two to four finalists will interview with a committee that includes members of the university community and the public – but those committee members will sign a non-disclosure agreement, and the names of the finalists will not be publicly available.

Noel K. Gallagher can be reached at 791-6387 or at:

ngallagher@pressherald.com

Twitter: noelinmaine

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