University of Maine System HR committee reviews 2025 workforce profile, reports 11.4% turnover

Chief Human Resource Officer Amy Parker told the University of Maine System Human Resources and Labor Relations Committee that the system employed 4,444 regular employees as of Oct. 31, 2025 and had 815 part'time faculty teaching in the fall 2025 semester.

Parker presented two connected reports'the 2025 workforce profile (snapshot date 10/31/2025) and the 2024'25 turnover analysis (covering 11/01/2024'10/31/2025). She said the systemwide turnover rate was 11.4%, down from 11.9% the previous year, and that total separations numbered 506, a decrease of 23 from the prior year. "Our systemwide retention rate stands at 88.5%," Parker said, noting the system remains below the CUPA peer benchmark of about 12.63%.

The presentation highlighted demographic and tenure patterns that could affect staffing and succession planning. Parker reported women made up roughly 53'54% of the workforce and about 9% of employees reported minority race or ethnicity, with the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine at Orono each reporting roughly 10% minority representation and the University of Maine at Presque Isle at about 8.6%. "Approximately 75% of our faculty hold doctoral degrees," Parker added, and about 70% of all employees hold at least a bachelor's degree; she noted 18% of employees did not report educational level.

Parker flagged an age and tenure concentration among senior administrators: administrators average about 55 years old and roughly 57% are age 55 or older, which she said makes succession planning a priority. "Nearly 6 in 10 are at, or approaching retirement age," she said, stressing the need for knowledge transfer and leadership development.

A notable finding was the distribution of separations by tenure: 32.6% of separations occurred within the first two years of employment, with 18% leaving within their first year and 14% leaving between years one and two. Parker called early'tenure attrition "an area where we need to focus," noting the cost of recruiting and onboarding new employees.

The committee also heard unit'level turnover details. Parker said regular part'time faculty showed a high turnover rate in the report (40%) but cautioned this reflects a very small regular population (about 15 individuals). The campus police unit had a 30% turnover rate (12 separations from an average headcount of 41). By contrast, the AFEM faculty unit had a low turnover rate (about 6.2%), while professional staff averaged about 11.8%, hourly ACSM staff 15.6%, service and maintenance about 14.5% and nonrepresented hourly employees about 18.2%.

On hiring, Parker said there were 470 total hires during the period (about 10.5% of average headcount), of which 215 were new appointments (about 4.8% of average headcount). She reported 63 hires (13.5%) identified as minority and said women made roughly 40% of hires; she noted a substantial share of hires did not specify gender (about 29'30%).

Parker also highlighted an equity concern: among minority hires with less than one year of service, 24% separated during that period compared with 18% for nonminority hires. She said the HR team is monitoring that gap and considering targeted supports for early'tenure employees.

Trustees responded with thanks and praise for the clarity of the reports. Vice Chancellor Carolyn Dorsey thanked the HR team for incorporating trustee feedback into the presentation. Chancellor Malloy commended Amy Parker and her team for their work and the progress shown in the metrics. The committee had no substantive policy votes in the public session; earlier the committee briefly voted to enter executive session for personnel and negotiation planning under Maine statute.

The committee adjourned after the presentation and brief remarks; Parker invited trustees to ask questions and noted the HR team will continue monitoring the early'tenure separation patterns and unit'level differences.