Read the Summer 2012 issue - the University of Maine Alumni ...

MAINE Lines
by Susan E. Mullaney, CBC, '59H
The Dirigo Spirit
is alive and well
When Paul W. Ferguson
arrived on campus in
July 2011, he looked
forward to a new challenge.
Morale appeared low in some quarters.
Skepticism seemed high in others. The economic
downturn impacting all public universities
across the nation had taken a toll on UMaine.
He was assuming the helm of one of America’s
historic land- and sea-grant public universities,
the backbone of the nation’s 20th-century
progress and economic growth. Alumni,
students, faculty, and citizens were looking to
him with high expectations to develop a bold
new vision and strategy to help the university
realize its potential as a 21st-century public
research university. They wanted a reaffirmation
that “the college of our hearts always” still
has what it takes to be a leader for the new
century.
Paul Ferguson fully appreciated the scope of
the challenge and embraced the opportunity to
bring his style of leadership to Maine to address
the issues facing the university. He understood
that UMaine has a strong foundation, a tradition
of leadership, high-quality people, and a
sense of place: solid starting materials. And, in
his 25 years in higher education, he had developed
an approach that has served his previous
institutions well in achieving a record of
success: “First, you ask the right questions.
Then you listen closely.”
MAInE Alumni Magazine sat down
with President Ferguson recently to talk about
his first year and the high expectations he has
faced.
A conversation with
Paul W. Ferguson, UMaine’s
19th president
On the “Dirigo Spirit” and
what it means to UMaine’s future
UMaine’s tradition for producing leaders
in all fields—from government to business
8 MAInE Alumni Magazine