University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy will remain in his position at least through June 2027.

The system’s trustees added two years to Malloy’s contract. Malloy, a former governor of Connecticut, became chancellor in 2019.

In a news release, the system cited Malloy’s creation of the system’s first strategic plan in nearly 20 years among the reasons for his contract extension.

In 2020, Malloyled the system in unifying individual institutional accreditations, allowing universities “to more easily collaborate and combine resources to meet student and state needs,” according to a news release.

The university system has also begun to address a $1.6 billion maintenance backlog. 

Malloy also secured a $240 million Harold Alfond Foundationchallenge grant “to accelerate engineering and computing, student success and retention, graduate and professional programs, and Division 1 athletics,” the release stated.

“Under the leadership of Chancellor Malloy and his strong team of presidents and staff, Maine’s public universities have improved educational quality and student outcomes, increased philanthropy and partnerships, and launched innovative new programming to meet the evolving needs of the state’s learners and economy,” system Chairperson Trish Riley said in the release. “Extending the Chancellor’s contract ensures he can continue to move this important work forward and deliver on the real potential of these investments and initiatives to strengthen our System and serve our state.” 

Malloy’s contract was extended despite a decline in enrollment across the university system. Undergraduate credit-hour enrollment has decreased 5.64% compared to this time last year, according to the Portland Press Herald. The newspaper also reported that undergraduate enrollment has dropped more than 13% since 2019.

However, the system noted a “32% increase in the number of Maine high school students earning free university credit and a 22% gain in graduate enrollment,” and credited a streamlined application process initiated by Malloy.

“While we continue to face many challenges, I am proud of the progress Maine’s public universities are making together and excited for our System’s future,” Malloy said in the release. “Leading the state’s largest education and economic development enterprise is an honor and a responsibility. Never has the University of Maine System mattered more, and never have we had a greater impact on the prosperity of Maine and its people.”