I read the article about university system hiring and the following editorial with dismay.

At the end of any gubernatorial administration, senior managers expect to be replaced and begin to look for work. At any given time, the university system has vacant positions that it struggles to fill because the packages offered are not competive nationally.

At the end of the end of the Baldacci administration, a number of senior people moved from state government to the university system. This is more typical than the authors admit.

The hires criticized in your papers gave great benefit to the state. Qualified, tested senior managers moved into critical positions in a timely fashion. Just as new governors struggle to attract senior people in national searches, so does the system. Everyone benefited.

It may make great headlines, but the reality doesn’t support conclusions you draw. The best example is the hiring of a chief financial officer by the system. This allowed the system office to quickly bring in a first-rate chief financial officer who knew the state and the budgets involved.

Unfortunate surprises like those faced by the Legislature this spring, as the result of inexperienced people being put in charge of complex systems, were avoided.

The university system is an easy target, but that is no excuse for shallow, pre-judged reporting. The energy would be better used in trying to find constructive solutions to the real problems the university system faces.

Wick Johnson, president

Kennebec Technologies

Hallowell

Past chairman, Board of Trustees

University of Maine System