Allyson Hughes Handley, Ed.D.
Named as UMA's Next President
University of Maine System Chancellor Richard L. Pattenaude recommended Allyson Hughes Handley as next president of the University of Maine at Augusta. That recommendation was approved at the January meeting of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
Handley will begin her new position on March 1, 2008. Her starting salary is $137,000.
Handley, 60, has a long background in higher education leadership and policy. Her background includes service as president of two colleges: Midway College (Kentucky) from June 1998-2002; and Cogswell College (California) from March 2002-December 2003. Handley left the Cogswell presidency to accept an offer from Kentucky’s newly elected governor to join his executive cabinet.
Handley’s background also includes service as dean and, later, as vice president of National University, one of the nation’s leaders in distance learning. She currently serves as a senior policy advisor for postsecondary economic development initiatives for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, which is the commonwealth’s higher education coordinating board. Prior to that position, Handley served as a senior member of the Kentucky governor’s executive cabinet.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Western Ontario; a master’s degree in education (learning disabilities) from The Johns Hopkins University; and an education doctorate (human communication and its disorders), also from Johns Hopkins.
“Dr. Handley brings well-rounded experience to the UMA presidency,” Pattenaude explained. “She is an experienced academic and institutional leader with a strong background in public policy, community relations, and institutional development. She also has considerable experience with distance learning, an important component of UMA’s operation. With UMA moving forward with its transition in mission to a baccalaureate-level institution, Dr. Handley offers the right combination of experiences and skills that UMA needs in its next president.”
“I am deeply honored to be selected by Chancellor Pattenaude for this position,” Handley stated. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with UMA’s outstanding and dedicated faculty and staff. I look forward to meeting and working with them and with the UMA students, alumni, and community partners in the Augusta and Bangor regions.”
Others expressed similar praise of Handley’s credentials.
“The search committee was very impressed with Dr. Handley,” according to Charles L. Johnson III, a University System trustee and chair of the UMA search committee. “She was among a very competitive pool of applicants for the job and proved to be one of three that we felt were fully qualified for the presidency. She rose to the top of the pool as a result of her experience, background, and her clear identification with the concerns of the university community.”
“I am delighted that Allyson Hughes Handley has been chosen as the next president of UMA,” said Richard J. Randall, who previously announced he would be retiring once his successor was appointed and ready to accept the position. “She brings significant skills and leadership experience that will serve the University well. I wish her every success and look forward to getting to know her and assisting with her transition.”
In 1965, the Maine Legislature established the University of Maine at Augusta to serve the academic needs of central Maine. Originally operated under the auspices of the University of Maine (Orono), in 1971, UMA became an autonomous institution and the seventh university within the University of Maine System. Today, UMA is a regional state university with more than 5,000 full-time and part-time students. UMA offers 19 baccalaureate and select associate degrees to meet the educational, economic and cultural needs of central Maine. With campuses in Augusta and Bangor (University College of Bangor) and courses offered on-line, through interactive television and compressed video, UMA specializes in delivering professional programs to both recent high school graduates and adults returning to the classroom.