University of Southern Maine

Board of Visitors

2020-2021 Annual Report

9/16/2021

Overview:

In 2020-2021, Luc Nya served as Chair of the University of Southern Maine’s Board of Visitors (BOV), with Jane Eberle as the Vice-Chair. The BOV focused its attention on the following areas: supporting, collaborating and helping USM achieve its goals, especially in the areas of enrollment and retention; consultation on USM’s 5 Year Plan; employment and career services; participation in system-wide joint BOT/BOV meetings; reaching out to Maine legislators in support of USM and the University of Maine System’s legislative agenda; and providing testimonials on the importance of USM and UMS to Maine’s economy and businesses, among other issues.

2020-2021 Membership

The USM Board of Visitors began 2019-2020 with twenty members (including the immediate past president). There was one vacancy during the year due to a resignation for work related reasons.  There were nine men and eleven women. Thirteen members reside in the Portland or its surrounding southern Maine communities; five reside in Lewiston/Auburn/Lisbon; one residents in the mid-coast region, and one resides in other areas.

Members’ professional backgrounds:

Arts (3)

Government/State/Economic Development (3)

Real Estate (3)

Financial (2)

Technology and Manufacturing (2)

Architecture (1)

Consultant (1)

Education/Youth Services (1)

Healthcare/Medical (1)

Law (1)

Nonprofit Management (1)

Retired (1)

Officers

Chair: Luc Nya

Vice-Chair: Jane Eberle

Schedule

The USM Board of Visitors met six times in 2020-2021.All six meetings were held remotely over Zoom. The Annual meeting is scheduled in June each year. Board of Visitors member’s terms had been extended to include the first meeting of the 2020-2021 BOV calendar due to COVID-19.

Meetings and Agenda Items:

Friday, August 28, 2020

Chair Nya welcomed everyone to the first BOV meeting of the 2020-2021 academic year and allowed new members to introduce themselves. Chair Nya noted Laongadao “Tak” Suppasettawat has informed him of her resignation due to a work related conflict. President Cummings provided a brief update on USM’s fall reentry plans as students had been welcomed back in the past 72 hours and were still quarantining. The student experience was discussed including how meals are served and activities available while quarantining. A brief budget and enrollment update confirmed optimism with spring retention numbers following past trends and strong Graduate and out-of-state enrollment. Discussion surrounded the role the pandemic was playing on enrollment. President Cummings transitioned and introduced the draft of USM’s Five year Plan, outlining 5 key priorities for discussion and feedback. BOV members provided helpful and necessary contributions that the Cabinet will take under advisement as they work to refine the plan throughout the year. Vice President of Human Resources Natalie Jones announced Dr. Idella Glenn will be joining USM as the first Associate Vice President for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. In closing the Foundation previewed the Great University Campaign. 15/20 Members attended.

Friday, October 30, 2020

The October BOV meeting opened with Chair Nya discussing the BOV’s role on the USM Foundation Board, updates from the Foundation structurally, and informing members that the Foundation would like to meet with each member to consider supporting the Great University Campaign. An update from the President followed, focusing on items relating to Enrollment, Finances, and USM/UMS COVID-19 testing schedule. Focus then shifted to USM’s work relating to Race, Equity, and Inclusion. Associate Vice President for Equity, Inclusion, and Community Impact, Idella Glenn, was welcomed and introduced to the BOV where she apprised members of her background, mission, and goals for work. Dr. Glenn introduced the co-chairs of USM’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Council (IDEC) and IDEC Fellows who briefed the Board. Will Johnson, Director of Intercultural Student Engagement, and Rebecca Nisetich, Director or Honors Program, also informed the board on additional work being done at USM. Questions and in-depth discussion progressed, making sure student voices are heard and promoted while doing REI work. The October meeting concluded with an update from the USM Foundation overviewing the newly launched Great University Campaign.  11/20 Members attended.

Friday, December 11, 2020

President Cummings began the December BOV meeting by updating members on the process USM is undertaking to keep the campus and community safe during the pandemic, finances, enrollment, LAC, and the Career and Student Success Center & Residence Hall construction project. Members discussed Finances with a shortfall being noted in Auxiliary revenue, asking for an update on the Roux Institute, and USM’s role in the Lewiston-Auburn community. Chair Nya then shifted the conversation to discuss how members envision the Board being run based on an article shared prior to the meeting, Shaping University Boards for the 21st Century. Discussion included deepening connections with Faculty, Students, and Staff and how administrative action that can help inform the Board. 14/20 Members attended.

Monday, February 8, 2021

The February meeting, the Board was joined by Chancellor Malloy who updated members on the System’s testing efforts, Unified Accreditation, and the recent gift from the Alfond Foundation. The Board would like to invite the Chancellor back to continue discussions. USM’s Foundation provided an update on their campaign, with the Chair of the Foundation’s Board, Dan Crewe providing a moving charge on the importance of the University and campaign. President Cummings followed with an update on the Roux Institute, development project, finances, enrollment, and testing. Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing, Jared Cash, and former Vice President for Enrollment, Nancy Griffin, closed the meeting with an in-depth presentation of USM’s five year enrollment plan. They focused on the impacts of COVID in admissions, what the current and future landscape of enrollment looks like locally and nationally, and action plans. 10/20 Members attended.

Friday, April 2, 2021

April 2nd meeting of the BOV began with President Cummings update on the Woodbury construction project, budget, enrollment, and the University’s Fall Return and vaccination effort. Representatives from Marketing and Public Affairs presented and discussed the alignment of external marketing and reputational branding with USM’s brand and promise. Discussion ranged from shifting to new media and what “winning” may now look like, data metrics to track progress, and external partnerships to strengthen performance. In an effort to get BOV members more involved with the University and deepen their understanding of things happening, presentations were held by the Student Government Association and Academic and Student Affairs leaders to discuss groups, organizations, boards and mentoring opportunities available to members. Many members volunteered as mentors and committed to discussing future roles. 13/20 Members attended.

Friday, June 4, 2020

The annual BOV meeting in June began with a welcome from Chair Nya and a discussion surrounding the BOV’s bylaws. Chair Nya and President Cummings welcomed interested members to join the Executive Team in discussion of further BOV related items. Rebecca Conrad’s membership was renewed unanimously. Luc Nya was extended unanimously as Chair for another year. Current Vice-Chair, Jane Eberle, expressed to Chair Nya that she would not seek an extension and Rebecca Conrad was nominated and unanimously approved as Vice-Chair for 2021-2022. Potential Memberships were discussed with members noting they would like to review the process and possibilities earlier, while also setting up an ad-hoc nomination committee. Two proposed members, Muhidin Libah and Annie King, were both nominated and approved unanimously. Proposed dates were approved with no objections. President Cummings concluded the year giving an update on record breaking enrollment numbers, diversity and academic standing in the incoming class. President Cummings also noted the impressive Commencement celebration, USM’s finalized Five-Year Plan, Finances, DEI Initiatives, results from the “Great Colleges to Work For” survey, and the ongoing construction projects. The USM Foundation thanked everyone for their efforts in support of the Great University Campaign, highlighting Roxane Cole’s matching gift on USM’s Day of Giving and previewed a large June announcement.

President Cummings thanks all members for their service for the past year and expressed his gratitude for their guidance. In his closing remarks Chair Nya highly recommended BOV Members attend the BOT/BOV summit.  10/20 Members attended.

Submitted by               Luc Nya, Chair USM Board of Visitors

Date                            9/16/2021