Selma Botman

Dr. Selma Botman (born 1950) became the President of the University of Southern Maine on July 1, 2008. She was appointed to the position by the University of Maine System's Board of Trustees at the March 10, 2008, meeting of the Board. She was officially inaugurated on April 25, 2009, succeeding Richard L. Pattenaude.

Since coming to the University of Southern Maine, Dr. Botman has focused on building a model 21st-century public comprehensive university, with student achievement as its focus. In fall 2008 she initiated a strategic planning process, which concluded in spring 2009 with the publication of Building Maine's Future: 2009-2014 [1]. She has introduced strategic budgeting to the university along with tight fiscal and operational accountability. Dr. Botman is now guiding the university through a complex restructuring effort designed to increase the quality of students' educational experiences and remove barriers to interdisciplinary exchange and programmatic development.

Previously, Dr. Botman served as the Executive Vice-Chancellor and University Provost of The City University of New York (CUNY). She was appointed to that position at CUNY in the fall 2004. Previously, she served as Special Assistant to the Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and as Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts system. She was a tenured full professor in the Departments of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Lowell campuses. She was also a tenured member of the Department of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Dr. Botman received a B.A. in psychology from Brandeis University, a B.Phil. in Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford University, and an A.M. in Middle Eastern Studies and a Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. Dr. Botman is a specialist in modern Middle Eastern politics. She has taught in the history PhD program at the CUNY Graduate Center and the history department at The City College of New York. She has published three books—Engendering Citizenship in Egypt, Columbia University Press, 1999; From Independence to Revolution: Egypt, 1922-1952, Syracuse University Press, 1991; and The Rise of Egyptian Communism: 1939-1970, Syracuse University Press, 1988—and numerous articles. Dr. Botman has been an Affiliate in Research at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and a member of Middle East Studies Association, the American Association of University Women, the American Association for Higher Education & Accreditation, and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.

Under Selma Botman’s leadership, CUNY initiated and coordinated several flagship programs, including the university-wide Campaign for Student Success, The Teacher Academy, the Black Male Initiative, the Latino Faculty Initiative, the Macaulay Honors College for undergraduate honors education, and a revised Distinguished Professorship initiative. She collaborated with the NYC Department of Education to establish CUNY as a national model for urban public education. Dr. Botman developed numerous programs to improve the university’s visibility, to enhance the breadth and rigor of its academic programs, and to make high-quality education available to every New York City public school student.

External links

•The University of Southern Maine