From his office overlooking construction on the Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine (USM), President Glenn Cummings discussed the future of the Gorham campus and changes at the university during his tenure. “Gorham is the historic campus, and we continue to invest in its facilities and programs. The pastoral setting makes it particularly attractive to students from more rural areas who find Portland not right for them,” he said.
Cummings, who will be stepping down from the USM presidency in June to return to a position on the faculty, said Gorham will still have more dorm space than Portland and will continue to appeal to students, especially freshmen and sophomores.
During his administration, the university has made improvements to the dormitories, upgraded Brooks dining hall, improved campus WiFi, and made responsible renovations to historic buildings. Gorham’s large campus has made possible expansion of the university’s athletic facilities, particularly the softball and baseball fields.
Photo courtesy of Glenn CummingsGlenn Cummings, on the left, grew up in Bath with his brother Edward and sister Heather Hale, seen here with him at an event in the Hill Gymnasium on the USM Gorham campus.
“The music program will move to a new Center for the Arts under construction in Portland”, Cummings said, “but the theater program will remain in Gorham, and there still will be some productions on campus, although more will be held in the new space.”
The campus in Gorham has given USM the opportunity to offer college level courses to Gorham High School (GHS) students. According to Cummings, GHS students can take almost a full year of college courses. He also cited partnerships with other local organizations, particularly the Gorham Business Roundtable.
Cummings believes USM needs to attract more out-of-state students, partly, he says, “because Maine’s population of 18 year-olds is declining.” This made him an advocate for changing the name of USM to the University of Maine at Portland when marketing studies indicated it would give the university more national visibility. He now believes that a name that recognizes both the Lewiston-Auburn and Gorham campuses might serve the university better.
Cummings has personal ties to Gorham; his grandmother graduated from the Gorham Normal School and he taught history at GHS early in his career. He lives, however, in Portland and not in the president’s house on campus. His wife, Leslie Applebaum, teaches at Casco Bay High School in the city.
Before coming to USM, Cummings taught at Southern Maine Community College and UMaine at Augusta. He served four terms in the Maine Legislature and was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education in the Obama administration.
Cummings, who stayed a few years longer at USM than he thought he would, is now “looking at new options.” Given his background as an educator and a politician, he could go in a number of directions, but he sees his future in educational leadership, not politics. Although with his propensity to seek new challenges, the future for Glenn Cummings must still be an open question.