FARMINGTON – Eric Brown, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maine at Farmington, will serve as the university’s interim president for the next year. The University of Maine System Board of Trustees unanimously approved the appointment Monday evening.
The current UMF president, Kathryn Foster, accepted a leadership position at The College of New Jersey and will be assuming the position of president there on July 1. The announcement was made in late March. Foster is UMF’s 14th president, following her appointment in 2012.
Brown has held the positions of provost and vice president for academic affairs at UMF since December 2016. He has also been a member of the university’s President’s Council and the system’s Chief Academic Officers Council. Brown’s previous teaching experience includes arriving at UMF as an assistant professor of English in 2003 and later serving as an associate professor and then a professor of English from 2012 to 2017.
He has a BA in English and a BA in Zoology from the University of Maine, a Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of English and American Literature at Harvard University.
“I grew up in Maine, graduated from high school in Maine, and went through public universities for most of my education,” Brown said, as part of a prepared statement released Tuesday. “I know where our students are coming from, literally and figuratively, and how much is at stake for them in our success as an institution. I am very much looking forward to working toward the sustainability and growth of a place I care deeply about.”
University of Maine System Chancellor James H. Page recommended the appointment of Brown after engaging with campus and community members following Foster’s March 27 announcement.
“Leadership transitions are an opportunity for our campuses to consider how best to advance our One University service to our students and state,” said Page. “I am pleased that Dr. Brown has agreed to provide steady and proven direction while we assess institutional priorities and engage our campus and community stakeholders in a discussion about how UMF can be an even stronger contributor to public higher education’s response to Maine’s dire demographic and workforce challenges.”
Brown’s one-year term, beginning on July 1, was confirmed Tuesday after the Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution appointing the interim president.
“As Interim President, my approach will be to identify, encourage, and invest in our best ideas, our more innovative programs, our most energetic and forward-looking initiatives,” said Brown. “There is no shortage of excellence at UMF, and I believe my experience as a scholar, teacher, and administrator here has well-prepared me to draw on this excellence to work towards solutions to both the immediate problems at hand and the larger challenges ahead.”
Representatives of the UMF faculty, advisory board and student body welcomed Brown’s appointment.
“We have been incredibly fortunate to have had a visionary leader in the form of President Kate Foster to lead us for the last six years and wish her well with her new position,” said Professor Clyde Mitchell, the UMF faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. “We are grateful for the appointment of Provost Eric Brown as the Interim President for UMF. Dr. Brown is well known and respected on campus and throughout the community. He has a deep understanding of UMF, its values, and its students, staff and faculty. His appointment will provide much needed stability and certainty in a time of significant change here at UMF.”
“Provost Brown has been teaching and leading at the University of Maine at Farmington since he first joined the faculty ranks in 2003,” said Lisa Laflin, Chair of the Board of Visitors at the University of Maine at Farmington. “UMF is an incredibly important resource for our community and we look forward to working with Dr. Brown and being a part of the discussion about the university’s future and its service to the region.”
“As the UMF Student Representative I am happy to share support for Dr. Eric Brown from the entire UMF student body,” said Isaac Michaud, UMF student representative to the Board. “Dr. Brown has been an asset to the University since he arrived and will continue to make a positive impact as Interim President. We are excited to see the continued growth of UMF under Dr. Brown’s leadership.”
Page intends to continue speaking with campus and community leaders over the summer before advancing a leadership search recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
