March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

UM’s Judith Bailey also contender for top Michigan post

ORONO — Judith Bailey, the University of Maine’s provost and one of four finalists for the campus presidency, is also a finalist for the top post at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

Bailey is one of two finalists who are under serious consideration for the NMU presidency, said Kristi Evans, a university spokeswoman.

Representatives from the Michigan school were on the Orono campus Monday to talk with faculty, staff and students about Bailey, who has been vice president for academic affairs at UM for two years. Bailey will be interviewed in Michigan by the university’s board of control on Wednesday.

A visit to Western Montana College of the University of Montana where the other finalist is chancellor has yet to be scheduled.

Deborah Stanley, who is also a finalist for the UM presidency, withdrew from the NMU search after she was named a finalist there as well. She is currently interim president at the State University of New York at Oswego.

Bailey said she was recruited to fill the NMU presidency, which will be vacated by William Vandement, who is retiring Aug. 30 after six years as president.

“The University of Maine has to have some options in finding the right person for its presidency and I need to have some options, too,” Bailey said.

She said UM and NMU are the only two universities where she is under consideration.

Bailey said she is giving both institutions strong consideration. She said NMU is similar to the Orono campus in that both schools serve a regional mission, have a lot of first-generation students and have a strong natural resources bent.

NMU, which is located in the Upper Peninsula, has about 8,000 students.

In looking for a presidency, Bailey said she is looking for an institution where she can have the greatest impact.

A member of the NMU board of control acknowledged that the university needed to move quickly in picking a new president because Bailey is also a finalist at UM.


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