University of Maine System awards tenure to 42 faculty 

AUGUSTA, Maine — University of Maine System (UMS) Chancellor Dannel Malloy and the Board of Trustees have awarded tenure to 42 faculty.

“Achieving tenure is a major milestone for our faculty that recognizes their sustained excellence in serving our students and our state through teaching, research and scholarship, and service,” said Chancellor Malloy. “I want to congratulate all granted tenure for their accomplishments and thank them for their continued commitment to our students and their contributions to our public universities and to Maine.” 

The tenure applications approved by the Board at their meeting this week at the University of Maine at Augusta are effective Sept. 1 and follow multiple levels of review and recommendation including by peers, leadership of the faculty member’s department and university, external stakeholders and the Board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee.  

“After thorough and thoughtful review, the Board is honored to confer tenure for these most distinguished University of Maine System faculty members,” said Chair Trish Riley. “Tenure recognizes our most highly qualified faculty and bestows upon them the lasting responsibility and opportunity to strengthen and serve Maine’s public universities, to mentor students and more junior colleagues, and to lead on campus and in our communities.” 

Those promoted include:

University of Maine

  • Fayeza Ahmed, Associate Professor with Tenure, Psychology
  • Onur Apul, Associate Professor with Tenure, Environmental Engineering
  • Robert Ballingall, Associate Professor with Tenure, Political Science
  • Jack Buttcane, Associate Professor with Tenure, Mathematics
  • Muralee Das, Associate Professor with Tenure, Management
  • Margaret Estapa, Associate Professor with Tenure, Chemical Oceanography
  • Sepideh Ghanavati, Associate Professor with Tenure, Computer Science
  • Michael Haedicke, Associate Professor with Tenure, Sociology
  • Hao Hong, Associate Professor with Tenure, Philosophy and Honors
  • Amanda Klemmer, Associate Professor with Tenure, Landscape Ecology
  • Nadège Levallet, Associate Professor with Tenure, Management and Information Systems
  • Ling Li, Associate Professor with Tenure, Sustainable Bioenergy Systems
  • William Obenauer, Associate Professor with Tenure, Management
  • Suzanne Ishaq Pellegrini, Associate Professor with Tenure, Veterinary Sciences
  • Kathryn Robinson, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing
  • Kathryn Swacha, Associate Professor with Tenure, Professional and Technical Writing
  • Jay Wason, Associate Professor with Tenure, Forest Ecosystem Physiology
  • Qiujie Zheng, Associate Professor with Tenure, Business Analytics
  • Jade McNamara, Associate Professor with Tenure, Human Nutrition

University of Maine at Augusta 

  • Patrick Cheek, Associate Professor with Tenure, Psychology 
  • Shannon Gauvin, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing 
  • Wendy St. Pierre, Associate Professor with Tenure, Mental Health and Human Services 
  • Anastasia Weigle, Associate Professor with Tenure, Information and Library Science

University of Maine at Farmington 

  • Kate MacLeod, Associate Professor with Tenure, Special Education 
  • Amy Neswald, Associate Professor with Tenure, Creative Writing 
  • Lewis Robinson, Associate Professor with Tenure, Arts & Humanities 
  • Donelle Schwalm, Associate Professor with Tenure, Environmental Biology

University of Maine at Fort Kent

  • Kennedy Rubert-Nason, Associate Professor with Tenure, Chemistry 
  • Stacy Thibodeau, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing

University of Southern Maine 

  • Eklou Amendah, Associate Professor with Tenure, Marketing 
  • Rachel Casey, Associate Professor with Tenure, Social Work 
  • Michael Cauvel, Associate Professor with Tenure, Economics 
  • Debra Gillespie, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing
  • Kristen Gleason, Associate Professor with Tenure, Psychology
  • Dorothea Ivey, Associate Professor with Tenure, Social Work 
  • William Kinne, Associate Professor with Tenure, Music 
  • Vanessa Levesque, Associate Professor with Tenure, Environmental Science and Policy
  • Jill Olausson, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing
  • Suzanne Parkman, Associate Professor with Tenure, Nursing 
  • Timothy Ruback, Associate Professor with Tenure, Political Science
  • Lori Sussman, Associate Professor with Tenure, Cybersecurity 
  • Donna Wampole, Associate Professor with Tenure, Social Work

Contact: Samantha Warren, University of Maine System Director of External Affairs, 207-632-0389, samantha.warren@maine.edu

About the University of Maine System

Established in 1968, the University of Maine System (UMS) unites seven Maine’s distinctive public universities, comprising 10 campuses and numerous centers, in the common purpose of providing quality higher education while delivering on its traditional tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service.

In 2020 UMS became the first and only statewide enterprise of public higher education in the country to transition to a unified accreditation for the system. Much different than a merger or consolidation, unified accreditation is a new operating model for the University of Maine System that removes the primary barrier to inter-institutional collaboration.

A comprehensive public institution of higher education, UMS serves more than 30,000 students annually and is supported by the efforts of more than 2,000 full-time and part-time faculty, more than 3,000 regular full-time and part-time staff, and a complement of part-time temporary (adjunct) faculty.

Reaching more than 500,000 people annually through educational and cultural offerings, the University of Maine System also benefits from more than two-thirds of its alumni population residing within the state; more than 123,000 individuals.

The System consists of seven main campuses: The University of Maine (UMaine), including its regional campus the University of Maine at Machias (UMaine Machias); the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA); the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF); the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI); and the University of Southern Maine (USM). The System also includes a UMA campus in Bangor, USM campuses in Gorham and Lewiston-Auburn, the University of Maine School of Law, and the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center.