CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · History & Society

University of Maine System

public university system in Maine

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ2495861 ↗
Source-derived summary

The University of Maine System (UMaine System or UMS; also branded as Maine's Public Universities) was created in 1968 by the Maine Legislature and consists of eight institutions, each with a distinct mission and regional character. Combined, there are approximately 33,000 students enrolled at these institutions. The UMS includes every institution with a name including University of Maine, and the University of Southern Maine. Public colleges in Maine that are not part of the UMS are the Maine Maritime Academy and the members of the Maine Community College System.

Member institutions

Administration

The system's board of trustees consists of 16 members; 15 are appointed by the governor and approved by the Maine Legislature with the Maine Commissioner of Education serving as a member ex officio. Members are appointed for a five-year term and may be reappointed once. A student member of the board is appointed for a single two-year term.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “University of Maine System” as public university system in Maine. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around University, Maine and System.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1968—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with University, Maine and System providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “University of Maine System”, the useful work is to connect “public university system in Maine” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2495861. Authority coordinates are 44.900, -68.669. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1968.

Critical limits

Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “University of Maine System”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow University of Maine System primary sources, University of Maine System archive and University research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “University of Maine System”?
  2. Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “University of Maine System” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.