The University of Maine System’s trustees approved Theodora Kalikow’s appointment Monday as the new president of the University of Southern Maine.

Kalikow retired June 30 from the University of Maine-Farmington, where she was president for 18 years.

During their meeting in Bangor, the trustees also appointed Selma Botman, who was USM’s president for the past four years, to head the system’s recruitment of international students.

“One of the advantages to managing the university system as a true ‘system’ is that you have the ability to maximize talent and experience within the organization and utilize people’s expertise in meeting the broad goals of the system,” Michelle Hood, chairwoman of the trustees, said in a news release. “In this case, we are utilizing the talents of both Theo Kalikow and Selma Botman.”

In an announcement last week, Chancellor James Page said Botman requested the reassignment and suggested to him that new leadership might be the best direction for USM.

Page subsequently recommended Kalikow for the presidency and asked Botman to develop a systemwide approach to recruiting international students, according to the release.

The University of Maine System includes seven universities with a total of more than 40,000 students.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.