Finding Positives in the Pandemic

Bettina  “Betsy” Sawhill Espe
Interim Chief Business Officer
University of Maine at Presque Isle (Presque Isle, Maine)

Given the pandemic and the challenges we have all felt over the last year, is it possible to be optimistic in our interim positions? Is that part of what we are being expected to provide in our new roles? My role for The Registry at the University of Maine at Presque Isle has given me the opportunity to work for a University which revels in building vibrant and diverse educational programs. It is not just me who has a positive spin but the team I work with does as well. It makes me happy and that spills over into my daily activities.

The reason I like this work is that it is not just about being able to do the nuts and bolts of the job, even though that is central to being effective. The opportunity to lead and mentor the people in the roles which support the business and finance of the institution, as well as the team leading and supporting the President, is what is the true public image of my role. When I consider what it must feel like to be working with me, the Interim, I realize what a struggle it must be to have the gentleman who was the full time Chief Business Officer leave – they all love him. He is a great guy (I worked with him for 3 days) and was fabulous in this job.

Colleges and Universities all over the country are stripping away employees and their departments. Aroostook County Maine is the largest county in the US east of the Mississippi River and is the same size as Connecticut and Rhode Island combined with a population of 72,000 (while the population of Portland and South Portland ME is over 500,000). The county is marked with strikingly high rates of poverty and a very low percentage of adults with bachelor’s degree. Being worried about keeping your job in a region where the economics are bleak and at a time when our concerns about individual health are equally challenged is a huge burden to carry.  Being the catalyst to keep the team I work with positive and engaged is a priority. That is what I love about this placement. Finding the best in each employee and using it to build the operational and financial strength of the University is hard work but better than anything I have done before.

I started working in higher education in 1978 and have worked as a full-time employee at 4 colleges in the United States and 4 universities abroad. Hard economic times are no surprise for me and for the colleges/universities I have served. I have learned from some of the best mentors about being nimble and supportive. Asking the questions about what needs to be accomplished and listening carefully to the answers from a wide variety of voices is essential. From the 8 schools I have worked for I have an incredible education in how to accomplish many things but none of those individual schools can be overlaid onto the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Learning that the answer is quite often in the communication between colleagues and not in the actual plan of action from another school is important.

Perhaps the hardest thing about this work is something those in Finance and Administration often learn early in their careers. We are not the front of the house. We build strength for the institution from behind the curtain. I like to be a cook in the kitchen and support the operation without being out in front. I suspect that is fundamental to why I love what I am doing right now and why it makes me happy.