Too late for Connecticut, Malloy shows his budget cutting chops in the Pine Tree State

It must be the clean, salt air, and a diet of lobster and seaweed that brought him to his senses

University of Maine Farmington faculty declare no confidence in university system Chancellor

Faculty at the University of Maine Farmington cast the third vote of no confidence in UMaine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy on Wednesday, joining colleagues at the University of Maine at Augusta and the University of Southern Maine, who cast no-confidence votes in the system leader last week.

The vote at UMF came on the heels of the layoffs of nine professors. The school is losing 18 professors in total because nine others have accepted early retirement packages.

The resolution from UMF’s faculty senate cited the cuts in Farmington, driven by budget shortfalls and a shrinking enrollment.

The senate’s resolution says the faculty cuts have gutted UMF’s humanities department and threatened other liberal arts programs. All faculty in the world languages, philosophy and religion, and women’s and gender studies programs have been cut, according to the resolution. 

“The nature and scope of these cuts threaten UMF’s identity and mission as a liberal arts college specializing in the preparation of teachers, and makes it impossible for students in multiple programs to complete their majors at their home institution,” the resolution said. 

Bonus: Several hundred students have just been spared accruing crushing debts earning useless degrees.