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The Faculty Senate at the University of Maine at Farmington on Wednesday voted no confidence in Dannel Malloy, the chancellor of the University of Maine system, who is facing a public backlash over his leadership.
The no-confidence vote follows similar votes at the University of Maine at Augusta and the University of Southern Maine, as well as a student occupation of an administrative building last week.
The University of Maine at Augusta cast two no-confidence votes last week, one in Malloy’s leadership and the other in the recent presidential search that resulted in Michael Laliberte’s hire. During that search, Malloy and trustee Sven Bartholomew failed to disclose to the committee that Laliberte had been the subject of a no-confidence vote in his previous job, touching off a storm of controversy.
While the no-confidence votes have referenced Malloy’s lack of transparency, they have also denounced other aspects of his leadership. At Farmington, that includes the decision to cut nine faculty members.
“At UMF a commitment to students is central to everything that we do. We teach our students to look at the data, to think critically about the issues, to listen to the viewpoints of others, and to keep an open mind. We seek to empower them to follow their conscience and speak and act with conviction. This is the process the Faculty Senate modeled in their nearly week-long deliberations before arriving at their vote of no-confidence in Chancellor Malloy. This vote was not taken lightly,” Sarah Hardy, UMF Faculty Senate president, said in an emailed statement.
Malloy, who previously said he will work to restore confidence in his leadership, responded to the most recent faculty broadside in an email to the university community on Wednesday evening.
“The System will continue to do everything that it can to find new opportunities for the members of the faculty who were directly impacted by these changes. I know this is hard, and I know that there will be those who disagree with this course of action. I am accountable for my decision to approve this plan, as difficult as it is, and understand that it is my responsibility to implement the vision and strategies set forth by the Board of Trustees even when that requires incredibly hard choices,” Malloy wrote in an email to employees. “Our focus must remain on serving our students and maintaining a university system that is accessible and affordable.”
