Ex-Gov. Malloy to head Maine’s university system
Half a century ago, a young dyslexic teenager from Stamford attended a summer enrichment program in rural Maine that helped him cope with learning handicaps, and put him on the path to college, law school and eventually two terms as governor.
Now, former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been selected to be the next chancellor of Maine’s sprawling state universities, heading a 30,000-student system with seven campuses and a $1.5 billion annual statewide economic impact.
The unanimous appointment of the former two-term Connecticut governor was announced Thursday morning during a Board of Trustees meeting in Orono, where Malloy’s main office will be located at the university’s flagship campus.
He starts July 1, with the main goal to unify the university structure and link course opportunities to 21st century jobs, while extending the range of learning beyond the enrolled student body and into the general populace, including adult education and advanced training.
Malloy, 63, who recently completed a one-semester stint as a visiting professor at his alma mater, the Boston College Law School, will face some familiar political terrain and public-policy challenges, as the system continues to cope with financial issues and declining enrollments in universities around the country.
“This is going to be great,” Malloy, the former 14-year Stamford mayor said in a phone interview.
“I want to be with young people. I’ve been interested in the academic world for the last year. It’s an era of declining school populations and rightsizing. To some extent, I’m being hired to move it farther along. It’s a difficult time in the educational arena. I’m superexcited.”
His salary will be $350,000 a year, university officials said.
The contract includes a housing allowance, and Malloy and his wife Cathy are expected to keep their home in Essex.