Maine Law President/Dean Leigh Saufley and UMF President Joseph McDonnell had previously announced their intentions to retire as of June 30, 2026, but have agreed to extend their appointments to lead their respective institutions’ resurgence and progress toward fiscal stability
PORTLAND and FARMINGTON, Maine — The presidents of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine at Farmington will postpone their planned retirements until 2028 so they can continue to lead the resurgence of these essential institutions for the state.
Maine Law President/Dean Leigh Saufley and UMF President Joseph McDonnell had planned to retire on June 30, 2026, but have agreed to stay in their roles through June 30, 2028.
At a special executive committee meeting last week, the University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees accepted Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s recommendation to extend the current contracts of Presidents Saufley and McDonnell by an additional two years. Their respective campus communities were notified via a personal message from the Chancellor and the search committees established to select their replacements were disbanded today.
“Leadership matters. Under Presidents Saufley and McDonnell, two of our state’s most important institutions are again thriving with growing student enrollment, new programs and partnerships, and progress toward fiscal stability,” said Chancellor Malloy. “I am grateful for their transformational leadership and their willingness to continue to drive positive change, innovation and statewide impact. With their trusted leadership over the next three years, the remarkable progress of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine at Farmington will not just be sustained but built upon for the benefit of Maine and well beyond.”
“The Board recognizes the necessary and extraordinary work that Presidents Saufley and McDonnell have led in partnership with their faculty, staff, the System and other key stakeholders to stabilize and strengthen these universities for the future,” said Board Chair Trish Riley. “We are grateful they have committed to staying to finish the job and they have the Board’s full confidence and support in their efforts to do so.”
Turnaround at Maine Law leads to national rankings, highest enrollment since 1998
A proud Maine Law alumna, Saufley became its leader in April 2020 and was Chancellor Malloy’s first presidential appointment.
At the time, the law school’s future was highly uncertain (External Site). Recognizing the law school’s essential role in providing justice and leadership in the state, Chancellor Malloy and Trustees made rebuilding Maine Law a priority and recruited Saufley, the long-time Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. She is the law school’s first leader to report directly to the Chancellor and hold the titles of both Dean and President, reflecting that Maine Law is now an independent institution within UMS and its elevated standing in the System and the state.
Today, Maine Law is starting the 2025-26 academic year with 291 students — the most enrolled since 1998. While numbers vary with each class, about half of its students come from outside of Maine, yet as many as 80% of its graduates stay in the state to practice. The law school’s first-time bar passage rate is now nearly 90%, the highest among New England peers.
In April, Maine Law was ranked as one of the nation’s top 100 law schools (External Site) by U.S. News & World Report, which also recognized the school’s growing clinical programs (External Site), through which student attorneys prepare for practice and provide more than 17,000 hours of pro bono legal aid annually. Among them is a new rural practice clinic launched in Aroostook County in 2023 with funding President/Dean Saufley secured from Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. Already, that clinic has served more than 100 clients, many who otherwise would have gone without representation, including in domestic violence and landlord-tenant matters.
She additionally oversaw the 2023 relocation of the law school to 300 Fore St. in downtown Portland, closer to courts and commerce and co-located with collaborators from across the System — including faculty from the University of Maine and USM who deliver in-demand graduate and professional programming through the Maine Center.
“To go from where we were five years ago to now being recognized among the nation’s top law schools is a testament to the talent and dedication of our students, faculty and staff and the power of public and philanthropic investment, including from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the Maine Legislature and Governor Mills,” said President/Dean Saufley. “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past five years and I know how much it matters to Maine. With the strong support of Chancellor Malloy and the System’s Trustees, I look forward to Maine Law further enhancing its fiscal position and expanding practice-ready, public-minded legal education and statewide access to justice.”
Maine Law offers the most affordable Juris Doctor program in the region, however, the elimination next year of a federal loan program that more than one-third of its students rely on is a challenge Saufley will confront, as is the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff due to salaries that are significantly lower than at the nation’s other law schools and the need to grow major giving.
UMF recovering enrollment, launching career-focused programming
President McDonnell, who previously served as a faculty member, dean and provost at USM, became UMF’s interim president in 2022 and was its fourth leader since 2018, a period during which the university had experienced a 22% drop in enrollment and faculty retrenchment.
While UMF had historically focused on recruiting the declining population of traditional-age students who wanted a residential campus experience, President McDonnell acknowledged the reality of New England’s demographics (External Site) and set to work improving retention and launching programming that leveraged UMF’s reputation for excellence and was accessible and relevant to adult learners. In 2024, with strong support from faculty, staff, students and community partners, Chancellor Malloy appointed McDonnell to a two-year term as president.
Under President McDonnell’s leadership, UMF has expanded early college, graduate and online programming and made a long-planned transition from a four-credit-hour operating model to the three-credit-hour one used by most institutions of higher education. As a result, UMF has almost doubled its early college and graduate student enrollment and increased the number of transfer students by nearly threefold.
This semester, UMF became the first UMS university to partner with the University of Maine at Presque Isle to deliver a bachelor’s degree program (External Site) through its entirely online, competency-based YourPace platform, which has tripled UMPI’s enrollment. UMF is already developing seven other flexible YourPace programs and exploring the integration of AI into traditional liberal arts education.
President McDonnell has also initiated necessary improvements to UMF’s historic downtown brick campus — the oldest in the System — to enhance the student experience and reduce operating costs and energy usage, including through the modernization of residence halls.
As the new academic year begins today, UMF welcomed its largest incoming class (External Site) since the pandemic and has achieved the highest return rate of students living in its residence halls in 20 years.
“It’s an exciting time to be in Farmington as we create innovative programs to equip students with the skills necessary to succeed in a world marked by profound technological change,” said President McDonnell. “We are serving residential students in a hands-on learning community, older students completing their degree online and graduate students who are addressing Maine’s teacher shortage and mental health crisis. By better serving all types of learners, we are closing our budget gap and positioning UMF and Maine’s workforce for the future.”
About the University of Maine System
The University of Maine System (UMS) is the state’s largest driver of educational attainment and economic development and its seven public universities and law school are the most affordable in New England. Over the past two decades, UMS has awarded 106,362 degrees and spurred and strengthened thousands of small Maine businesses through its world-class research and development activities. For more information, visit www.maine.edu.
Media Contact:
Samantha Warren
Chief External & Governmental Affairs Officer
207-632-0389 / samantha.warren@maine.edu