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This letter is in response to a story published on April 25 in the Bangor Daily News, “Faculty departures at UMM have professors on edge.” In the article, the reporter states that Machias faculty are worried departing tenured faculty will be replaced by lecturers, instead of “fully credentialed professors” and that “lecturers often don’t have advanced degrees or deep research experience.” I feel the record needs to be set straight.
I’m not sure I understand what “fully credentialed” means to Maine Monitor reporter David Dahl, but I am a senior lecturer at the University of Maine. I hold a master of science and a doctoral degree in my field. I believe those are worthwhile credentials. I also engage in research regularly, which includes mentoring graduate students, leading to successful completion of thesis projects. Lecturers perform incredibly important roles in the University of Maine System. We are instructors, advisors, mentors, administrators, researchers, and much more.
With the current student demographics and enrollment challenges, it is imperative that faculty stick together and support each other, no matter what their rank. Only by working together can we meet our challenges head on.
Mona Therrien-Genest
Brewer
