ORONO, Maine - Susan Hunter will be staying on for another year as president of the University of Maine at Orono.
Hunter, a cell biologist, began her career in Orono as an adjunct professor in 1987 and is the first woman to lead the university system's flagship campus.
As part of the system's "One University" initiative, Hunter says she'll look for ways to forge more integration between Orono and the six other UMaine campuses "in a way that they haven't been before, that we haven't been before. And I think my having been there all these years prepared me in a different way for this job. And I think spending another year will help us and we won't have a discontinuity of leadership."
The "One University" plan is just one of several long-term initiatives to streamline services and cut costs, as the system looks to close a budget deficit that's projected to grow to $90 million by the year 2020.
A search is now underway for a new president at UMaine-Augusta. Glen Cummings, UMA's acting president, is leaving in July to take the top job at the University of Southern Maine.
James Page on Susan Hunter (RAW CUT)Clip 1: Broadcast quality | Audition quality
