Repositioning the Public Metropolitan University in a Multicampus State System

Abstract

The authors explore the difficult position of a public regional university that is part of a multiuniversity, single-board system. It describes initiatives taken by the University of Southern Maine to establish external linkages, assesses outcomes to date, and discusses the challenges posed by the existence of a statewide higher education system. Within the system are forces that simultaneously pull apart and bring together, which requires rethinking of the mission/role of the systemwide board and office and of the traditional centralization/ decentralization issues if we are to resolve the dilemma of campus advocacy and system loyalty.