Trustees OK Maine Law's temporary move, delay budget vote until June
Photos / Peter Van Allen
The University of Maine School of Law, housed in the cylindrical building on the left, will move to temporary digs in downtown Portland shown on the right under a plan that cleared another hurdle on Monday before the University of Maine System board of trustees.
A plan to move the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center to a temporary home in downtown Portland got the official nod on Monday from University of Maine System trustees.
The board vote paves the way for a temporary move to a leased space at 300 Fore St. until a new building goes up at the University of Southern Maine campus in Portland.
Trustees also approved a host of capital projects but delayed final approval of the fiscal year 2022 budget "to provide time to develop a spending plan that holds tuition flat for in-state students for the upcoming academic year," according to a news release issued after the meeting.
The opportunity to forego the planned 2.5% inflation-based tuition adjustment for Maine residents follows Gov. Janet Mills' proposed 3% increase in state support for the UMaine System and better-than-expected deposit activity for fall 2021 student enrollment, according to the announcement.
Final approval of the budget is scheduled for June.
Authorized to negotiate lease
Monday's decision authorizes the University of Maine System to negotiate and execute a lease agreement for the interim downtown digs. The board will also seek endorsement for the building's intended uses from the city of Portland and make necessary changes to the facility to accommodate classes in coming months.
In the same meeting, the board of trustees authorized extending UMaine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy's term after his initial three-year appointment is due to expire on June 30, 2022, and a host of other projects.
James Erwin, who will be replaced by Mark Gardner as chair of the UMaine System board of trustees for the 2021-22 board year as his four-year term ends, said the system "has benefited tremendously from Chancellor Malloy's leadership."
Trustees also approved spending up to $1.5 million for design work of a planned $71 million "Factory of the Future" research facility at the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center in Orono and $3.7 million million for the renovation of University of Maine at Presque Isle's Wieden Hall.
The renovations, which will be funded by a bond approved by Maine voters in 2018, will help meet the needs of UMPI's student athletic program and build enrollment in health-related academic programs.
Building to be named for Black trailblazer
UMaine System trustees on Monday also voted to name a lecture hall at the University of Maine after Beryl Warner Williams, the school's first Black mathematics graduate. The Bangor native earned her bachelor of science degree in 1935 and died in 1999.
The move comes eight months after trustees voted to strip the name of a controversial eugenics advocate and tobacco industry advocate who served as UMaine president from 1922 to 1925 from the building.
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