Theodora J. Kalikow
University of Southern Maine President
Theodora J. Kalikow begins her presidency at the University of Southern Maine effective July 10, 2012.
She previously served as president of the University of Maine at Farmington from 1994 to 2012. Kalikow is a guiding force in Maine’s educational and civic life. She is known for her tireless efforts to provide the kind of honest, active, forward-thinking leadership and deep commitment to education that has been the hallmark of her administration. With a tenure of 18 years, she was the longest-serving UMF president since the Farmington school became a four-year college in 1945.
Under her leadership and directed by her deep commitment to education, UMF received top regional rankings in U.S. News & World Report for 15 consecutive years and was nationally recognized as one of 20 model universities committed to maximizing student potential in “Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter,” published by the American Association for Higher Education.
She is a former member of the board of directors of the Finance Authority of Maine and has previously chaired the University of Maine System’s diversity committee. She is a former board member and chair of the Western Mountains Alliance and has also served on the boards of the Association of American Colleges & Universities, the American Council on Education’s Commission on Women and the Maine Humanities Council.
| Kalikow’s active leadership and deep commitment to education have been recognized by many organizations in Maine and beyond. In 2000, she received the University of Maine’s Maryann Hartman Award from the Women’s Studies program, which annually recognizes four Maine women of achievement whose accomplishments provide inspiration for other women. In 2001, Kalikow was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame. Nominated by the Waterville branch of the American Association of University Women and supported by women across the state, Kalikow was honored for the statewide impact of her achievements, her effect on improving the lives of women in Maine and the enduring value of her contributions to women. |
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In 2006, Kalikow received the prestigious Deborah Morton Award which is presented each year by the trustees of the University of New England to recognize outstanding women who have achieved high distinction in their careers and public service or whose leadership in civic, cultural or social causes has been exceptional.
Kalikow has also been a leader in environmental stewardship as evidenced by her adherence to the sustainable campus movement and her early signing of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which pledges to take concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming. She was awarded a Green Building Leadership Award from the Maine Chapter of the United States Green Building Council in 2007 for her pioneering role in advancing the use of environmentally responsible buildings in Maine, and in 2010, her efforts to make UMF a clean energy campus a reality were honored by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kalikow earned her doctorate in philosophy from Boston University in 1974, her master’s in philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970 and her bachelor’s in chemistry from Wellesley College in 1962. She also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of New England in 2012.