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Univ. of Maine System Flouted Its Own Policies, Review Finds

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July 7, 2022

An internal review found that the University of Maine system violated its own policies in a recent failed presidential search at the University of Maine at Augusta, Maine Public Radio reported.

System chancellor Dannel Malloy ordered the review after it was revealed that he and the chair of the search committee had withheld information from the committee, namely, that Michael Laliberte, the candidate for the UMA presidency, had been the subject of two no-confidence votes at his previous job.

Laliberte withdrew his candidacy, but only after faculty at several campuses voted no confidence in Malloy.

According to a draft copy of the review, the employee background and screening policy “was not followed” in the search for the UMA president.

While “negative information” about a candidate is not automatic grounds for disqualification, the policy states, “An individualized decision about suitability for employment, transfer, or promotion will be made by the hiring or employing department in consultation with the University of Maine System Human Resources Office based on relevant job-related considerations and the nature of the information.”

The report recommends that going forward, HR staff should be included in the search process. It also calls for making the candidates’ names and backgrounds public in the final stages of the search and requiring candidates for provost and president to declare whether they have ever been the subject of a no-confidence vote.

Susan H. Greenberg

Susan H. Greenberg is a senior editor at Inside Higher Ed. A career journalist and educator, she joined the publication in August 2021 after eight years in Vermont, where she freelanced and taught writing at Middlebury College and Champlain College. Prior to that, she spent 22 years writing and editing for Newsweek magazine, where she covered everything from international affairs to arts and culture. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and River Teeth, among others. She has taught English and journalism at Phillips Academy, where she served as an advisor to the student newspaper. She holds a B.A. in English from Brown University and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia. The mother of three nearly adult children, she is very much enjoying her newly empty nest.