I write in response to the cutting of the master’s program in applied medical sciences at the University of Southern Maine. My senator, when contacted earlier this fall, had no knowledge of this program or its being eliminated. How can this be?

As a seasoned educator and third generation graduate of the University of Maine System, I am distraught that the trustees and David Flannagan were successful in their quest to “balance the books” on the backs of our Maine students and to do so without having crucial conversations with the dedicated professors who have run this program for years.

My daughter was to graduate from this program in May, but currently, there is a large question as to who is left who is qualified to lead these graduate students in their research and thesis completion. Although the university promises to allow them to graduate, no one is actually responsible for this happening.

I am appealing to the trustees of the UM system and to our elected legislators, who should have the best interests of our Maine students on the forefront as they make decisions. Hiring a person with no personal link to the university nor to its faculty is the henchman approach.

The Rainy Day Fund would be an appropriate way to balance the sheets while waiting for the Legislature to allocate necessary funding for this program.

Nancy Adams Kelly

Augusta


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