Jan. 7—The University of Southern Maine has laid off six marketing department employees, school administrators announced Tuesday, but plans to create five new positions.
University leadership said administrators made the decision after a comprehensive review of the current department and strategy.
“How we recruit students has changed drastically over the past decade, and to thrive in the future, our team will need new and varied skills,” Meaghan Arena, vice president for enrollment management, marketing and student retention, said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
Arena said impacted employees were notified early Tuesday.
“They will receive severance, benefits and pay in lieu of notice in accordance with our collective bargaining agreements,” she said.
But Arena said the university will create five new positions, designed to “align our University’s aspirations, new trends in marketing, and the realities of the changing higher education landscape.” She said the new structure will be focused in digitalization, building the university’s reputation, the needs of students and data-driven marketing.
USM is part of the University of Maine System of public universities and has campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston.
The marketing department currently has nine employees, including a senior director, according to a staff directory on the university website.
In May, USM eliminated five management positions — the directors of advising, graduate studies, and student engagement and leadership, and the director and associate director of the Russell Scholars program — in a cost-saving measure. The move was met with concern from faculty.
This story will be updated.
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