Hiring records at the University of Maine System show loopholes, waivers and personal and political connections played a significant role in the appointment of seven former state officials to some of the highest-paying nonteaching jobs in the system. The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting looked at the backgrounds of these individuals:
Rebecca Wyke
State job: Commissioner, Department of Administration and Financial Services
University of Maine System job: Vice chancellor and treasurer
Salary*: $165,000
Date of appointment: August 2008
Job advertised: No
Job search: No
Approved by: System board of trustees
Education requirements: Master in public administration or master in business administration
Her degree: Master in public administration
Her comment: Did not respond to request for comment.
System comment: “Financial instability” and the resignation of the previous CFO were cited as the justification for waiving standard posting and search process, according to Tracy Bigney, chief human resources officer.
Joe Wishcamper, chairman of the board of trustees when Wyke was appointed, said, “Becky was probably the best hire in the system in the 10 years I have been on the board.”
Background: In 2008, Baldacci had nominated Wyke to become CEO of the Finance Authority of Maine and leave her state budget job.
If she had taken the FAME job, her appointment would have expired in 2012, when she would have been subject to replacement by a new governor. When the UMS job came open, she withdrew her nomination and took the system job, which is not subject to gubernatorial appointment.
In 2012, she was one of three finalists to be the new chancellor of the system. The job went to James Page.
M.F. “Chip” Gavin
State job: Director, Bureau of General Services
University of Maine System job: Director, Facilities Management and General Services, UMS
Salary*: $97,000
Date of appointment: January 2011
Job advertised: Yes
Job search: Yes
Approved by: Rebecca Wyke, system vice chancellor and treasurer
Education requirements: BA in business, architecture, engineering, construction management or public administration
His degree: BA in psychology
His comment: Did not respond to request for comment.
System comment: Tracy Bigney, the human resources chief for the system, said, “The experience Chip had was very relevant.” She added, “The job included not only facilities management but also procurement, where he had experience from his state position. We didn’t need an engineer for this job . . . The search committee must have looked at this and determined he met the requirements.”
Background: Gavin got into state government on the public relations side working for elected officials in Maine and Massachusetts. He had no experience in facilities management and four years in procurement.
The system’s search committee “work-in-progress” notes cite three strengths in Gavin’s application and four weaknesses. And one of the system’s employees who filled out a “feedback” form after meeting with Gavin wrote that he “should not be selected for this position since he does not have the required qualifications,” according to a confidential report obtained by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.
Among the finalists was John Furman, a former Coast Guard facilities commanding officer who held two civil engineering degrees and a Certificate of Facilities Management, the industry standard for the field.
The system’s search committee rated Furman strong in seven areas and noted only one “con:” no experience in higher education, but Gavin had none, either.
“It seemed like they were a little more comfortable with people they knew” and were “skeptical” of former military people, Furman said. He subsequently became facilities manager for Western Washington University.
Ryan Low
State job: Commissioner, Department of Administration and Financial Services
University of Maine System job: Vice president, administration and finance, University of Maine at Farmington
Salary: $108,000
Date of appointment: May 2010
Job advertised: No
Job search: No
Approved by: System board of trustees
Education requirements: None were listed in the job description. The previous chief financial officer had a master’s in business administration.
His degree: BA, political science
His comment: Low said his experience and success in overseeing the state budget in two positions over six years more than makes up for not having the usual finance or accounting degree. “I had a key role in that many billion-dollar state budgets, so I’m probably qualified to manage the $40 million budget at Farmington,” he said.
System comment: UMF justified a waiver for a posting and search on the basis that there was an emergency situation from the resignation of the previous financial chief and from an upcoming reorganization of the university.
UMF President Theo Kalikow said “reorganization” was what she called her plan to retire in 2012. She said Low was qualified despite his lack of formal training in finance because he had run the state’s billion-dollar budget.
“We knew the Baldacci administration was coming to an end and people would be looking for their next gig,” Kalikow said, and Low, a popular Farmington alum, was “our guy.”
Background: Low got his start in state government on the political side as chief of staff for the Democratic House leadership. Republican Gov. Paul LePage appointed him to his team to ease the transition from the Baldacci era and to help with LePage’s budget when his own budget chief was out on medical leave.
When Low’s interim position at Farmington was about to expire, he applied for and got a permanent job as the system’s chief lobbyist after a search limited to internal candidates. That job pays $125,000.
Disclaimer: President Kalikow has been a donor to the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.
Ellen Schneiter
State job: Commissioner, Department of Administration and Financial Services
University of Maine System job: Vice president, Administration and Finance, University of Maine at Augusta
Salary*: $110,000
Date of appointment: May 2011
Job advertised: Yes
Job search: Yes
Approved by: System board of trustees
Educational requirements: A relevant master’s degree, preferably in business or public administration
Her degrees: Bachelor’s in biology and master’s in health administration from University of Michigan, which states, “The program prepares students for management careers in the unique environment of health care, including careers in health systems, hospital, clinic, and emergency services management.”
Her comment: Declined to comment.
System comment: UMA Director of Internal Relations Bob Stein, who was on the search committee that reviewed candidates for the job, said Schneiter made up for a low score on her educational requirements “with everything else . . . she flew off the charts with everything except the master’s degree, which she had and we determined was relevant.”
UMA President Allyson Handley said Schneiter “has exceeded my expectations. Very bright.”
Background: Schneiter replaced Mirna Kolbowski, a certified public accountant, who had resigned.
Kolbowski’s title was chief financial officer, and she was paid $85,000. The upgraded position Schneiter applied for combined two jobs and paid $110,000.
The search committee rated a dozen candidates, including Schneiter, as meeting all of the qualifications, but cited Schneiter and one other applicant as being preferred, although no reason was given. UMA President Handley selected Schneiter from the two finalists.
Disclaimer: President Handley is a former member of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting board of directors and a donor.
Richard Thompson
State job: Chief information officer
University of Maine System job: Chief information officer
Salary*: $160,000
Date of appointment: April 2011
Job advertised: No
Job search: No
Appointed by: Rebecca Wyke, system vice chancellor and treasurer
Education requirements: No minimum education requirement is listed, but an advanced degree in a relevant field is “preferred.” The previous head of technology had two degrees in computer science.
His degree: High school diploma
His comment: Did not respond to request for comment.
System comment: The university system was “engaged in major facility and equipment upgrades” when the former chief information officer had to speed up his retirement due to an illness in the family.
This justified waiving the usual search, according to Tracy Bigney, the system’s human resources chief. She said “relevant experience can be substituted for the educational” requirements for any job, explaining why Thompson was hired despite having no college degree.
“He was extremely well-qualified,” she said, citing a national award he won from a technology group.
Background: The job description asks for a “minimum” of 10 years of experience in information technology; Thompson’s resume shows eight years of such
experience.
Thompson was brought into the state government IT job by Gov. John Baldacci and Rebecca Wyke, the state chief financial officer, to fix the notorious Medicaid billing errors due to computer problems in the state Department of Health and Human Services.
CIO magazine investigated the controversy, including Thompson’s role while head of state procurement in putting out bid requests for a new system to fix the billing problem. A technology expert quoted in the article calls Thompson’s handling of the bids “a big misstep” that contributed to lost time and money in solving the problem. Thompson was subsequently promoted to be the state’s IT chief.
*Benefits not included
Elaine Clark
State job: Director, Bureau of General Services
University of Maine System job: Executive director, Facilities and Real Estate, University of Maine at Orono
Salary*: $121,000
Date of appointment: January 2006
Job advertised: Yes
Job search: Yes
Approved by: System board of trustees
Education requirements: Law degree or master of business administration preferred
Her degree: Law degree
Her comment: Referred all questions to the system office.
System comment: Richard Pattenaude, chancellor, said, “We felt very lucky to attract people with this much experience.”
Background: Three separate ratings were done for applications for this position. Clark was rated third-best candidate in two, and fifth-best candidate in the third.
Tracy Bigney, chief human resources officer for the system, said, “The specific number in a ranking is not important. In the end, we look at the strengths and weaknesses and the overall picture of the candidate.”
Clark left the system this year for a similar position in the Connecticut university system.
Margaret (Meg) Weston
State position: Member and chairwoman, University of Maine System board of trustees (unpaid)
University of Maine System job: Vice president for Advancement at University of Southern Maine
Salary*: $137,000
Date of appointment: March 2009
Job advertised: Yes
Job search: Yes
Approved by: System board of trustees
Education requirements: BA
Her degree: BA in communications, master of fine arts
Her comment: Weston said someone in the system, possibly in human resources, mentioned the USM job to her while she was a trustee. Her board term had expired but she had stayed on until a replacement was named.
When the USM job opened up, “I thought it was appropriate for me to resign before being considered for that” job. She felt she was qualified for the position because she had fundraised as a volunteer for other nonprofits and had attracted investments when she was an executive in the business world.
She pointed out that her trustee position was unpaid, so she was not an employee of the Baldacci administration but a volunteer appointee.
System comments: USM President Selma Botman said in an email, “It is my understanding that Judy Ryan, former vice president for Human Development, may have called Meg Weston to inform her of the advancement opening” while Weston was trustee.
“I selected Meg Weston because of her long-standing work in Maine in business and philanthropy, her commitment to public higher education and her knowledge of corporations, foundations and donors in the community,” Botman said. “I saw Meg Weston as a perfect partner.”
However, system Trustee Joe Wishcamper, who was chairman of the board until recently, said, “In retrospect, that hire was not good judgment at all.”
Background: The report from the USM search committee showed that eight of the nine finalists had higher scores than Weston based on their resumes and
applications. She had the highest ranking in the more subjective phone interview category.
Tracy Bigney, the system’s human resources chief, said that in response to the Weston appointment, the trustees adopted a new ethics policy requiring a one-year waiting period between leaving the board and taking a system job “to avoid a perception of conflict of interest or any impropriety.”
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