I have read the text of the Globe article about the University of Maine and
have been impressed primarily by its shallowness and inaccuracies.
 
Of course, the NCAA investigation and the resulting sanctions had some impact
on student, faculty, and alumni morale, and that would undoubtedly impact
enrollment. But I don't believe it was as important as several other factors,
including declining appropriations from the Legislature and the resulting
increases in tuition.
 
As far as declining enrollment is concerned, much of the decline was due to
(a) a conscious decision by the University administration to reduce
enrollment, with a goal of raising academic standards, and (b) divesting the
so-called University College, a junior-college-type campus in Bangor, which
is now part of the University of Maine at Augusta. These decisions may or may
not have been wise, and they may or may not have achieved the desired
objectives, but they certainly had a lot more to do with UMaine's total
enrollment than the NCAA sanctions or Coach Walsh.
 
In short, both the Boston Globe article and Greg Ambrose's trumpeting of a
couple paragraphs of it reflect a very shallow understanding of what has been
happening at Orono and in Maine over the past few years.
 
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