FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington’s new president plans to make finding ways to address the financial challenges of the college’s students a top priority.

Kathryn Foster, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., has been tapped as the next president of the college, it was announced Wednesday. She takes over from Theodora J. Kalikow, who retires June 30 after 18 years leading the college.

Also Wednesday, Linda K. Schott, a dean at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., was appointed to lead the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

They both will take over their campuses on July 1. Each will earn a salary of $160,000, according to a university system release.

Foster, 54, in a phone interview Wednesday from Washington, said “I’m ecstatic and deeply honored to be given this opportunity.”

Among her top priorities as president, Foster described her plan to devise ways to address the financial challenges facing UMF and the entire public university system in Maine.

She said recent drops in vital government funding nationwide have forced public colleges to rethink how they manage funding. She said her goal is to secure new revenue streams for the college in Farmington, making it a model to bring more funding to support all of the campuses in the system.

“I’ve had a chance to talk with the UMaine system representatives, and I’m so excited about the role UMF can play in really propelling the state,” she said.

She also wants to build on the college’s reputation as a leader among public liberal arts institution, promoting its unique educational programs that have gained national recognition under Kalikow’s tenure.

Foster credits spending 19 years at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, with molding her approach to higher education, starting as a professor and working her way up to administrative positions.

From 2005 to 2011, she served as director of a regional research and policy center tied to the college. At the time, she also was director of research at the college and associate professor in urban and regional planning.

Foster describes herself as an advocate for widespread access to quality higher education, saying the challenge in recent years is finding ways to ensure public colleges remain affordable and competitive alternatives to private ones.

To lead the college in Farmington, she will be cutting short her one-year fellowship at the Washington think tank, where she worked on projects to shape national governance issues.

Foster has a bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate in public and international affairs from Princeton University.

Kalikow on Wednesday said Foster brings a unique skill set that will benefit the college of about 2,100 full-time students. She added Foster’s background in urban planning and public policy advocacy should help guide the entire region.

“I think she’s going to be a really important asset to the local community and the university system,” Kalikow said.

At Presque Isle, Schott will succeed Donald Zillman, who has served as UMPI’s president since 2006. Zillman is leaving to return to his position as a tenured professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland, according to the university system release.

Schott holds a bachelor’s degree in history and German from Baylor University, as well as a master’s degree in history and doctorate in history and humanities — both from Stanford University, according to the release.

 

David F. Robinson — 861-9287

drobinson@centralmaine.com