The man leading the effort to put the University of Maine System on a new, sustainable course survived multiple no-confidence votes by faculty last year, but this summer was awarded a new two-year contract – a clear vote of confidence by the board of trustees.

But some faculty are still not satisfied with Chancellor Dannel Malloy and say the contract renewal process lacked transparency and opportunities for participation.

The board of trustees this summer signed a two-year contract with Malloy worth over $800,000. He is to be paid $393,628 in the first year and $405,437 in the second. He will also receive an annual $30,000 to put toward housing and is eligible for a bonus of up to $51,172 in the first contract year and $60,815.55 in the second.

Malloy’s first contract with the state’s university system was for three years. But last year, after faculty at each of the system’s seven schools voted no confidence in Malloy or openly criticized his leadership, the board gave him only a one-year contract and instructed him to improve communication and transparency.

“The year will give the chancellor an opportunity to rebuild trust, increase transparency and sustain the momentum of needed change he has begun,” board chair Trish Riley said at the time.

While last year’s one-year contract renewal came with a lot of attention, the latest renewal did not. Faculty from every UMaine System campus said they felt the process of renewing Malloy’s contract lacked transparency and opportunities for participation.

“It was just very quiet,” said Shelton Waldrep, a University of Southern Maine professor and faculty senate chair. “I’m not surprised it happened, but I just wish I had known more. There was a lack of outreach, and I’m disappointed that it wasn’t a more transparent process.”

Riley, however, said the process behind the decision to renew Malloy’s contract was extensive and involved many parties.

The board worked with a consultant and sent a survey about Malloy to 54 stakeholders, including system presidents and vice chancellors, staff, faculty representatives to the board, faculty senate members, student board members, business leaders, public officials, civic leaders and legislators, Riley said. The system said they could not provide the names of the 54 stakeholders or the list of questions they were asked because of concerns about anonymity in the process.

Riley also said it was common knowledge that Malloy had a one-year contract and that the board would be considering renewing or drafting a new one in early summer, but no one reached out to the board on the topic.

Faculty members said they should have been actively invited to participate and that the process mirrors their frustration over what they see as a continued lack of transparency from Malloy.

“I have not seen a concerted effort on the part of the chancellor to really hear us,” University of Maine Augusta English professor Lisa Botshon said. “He holds office hours but that’s because he has to. What we say goes in one ear and appears to go out the other because we have not seen any change.”

But Malloy said that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I can’t imagine being more transparent,” he said. “We answer questions. We go to universities. We have discussions. That doesn’t mean everyone is always going to agree on what the challenges are, what the solutions are. That happens to just be the reality in an organization that has as many employees as we have.”

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