President/Dean Leigh Saufley with Her Husband Bill Saufley at the Grand Reopening of Mainw Law, 300 Fore Street, Several Years Ago. The Couple Met at Maine Law.
The presidents of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine at Farmington will postpone their planned retirements until 2028 so they can continue to lead the resurgence of these essential institutions for the state it was announced this afternoon.
Maine Law President/Dean Leigh Saufley and UMF President Joseph McDonnell had planned to retire June 30, 2026, but have agreed to stay in their roles through June 30, 2028.
At a special executivee committee meeting last week the University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustee accepted Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s recommendation to extend the current contracts of Presidents Saufley and McDonnell by an additional two years. Their respective campus communities were notified via personal message from the Chancellor and the search committees established to select their replacement were disbanded today.
“Leadership matters. Under Presidents Saufley and McDonnell, two of our state’s most important institutions are again thriving with growing student enrollment, new programs and partnerships, and progress toward fiscal stability,” said Chancellor Malloy. ‘I am grateful for their transformational leadership and their willingness to continue to drive positive change, innovation and statewide impact. With their trusted leadership over the next three years, the remarkable progress of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine at Farmington will not just be sustained, but built upon for the benefit of Maine and well beyond.”
“The Board recognizes the necessary and extraordinary work that Presidents Saufley and McDonnell have led in partnership with their faculty, staff, the System and other key stakeholders to stabilize and strengthen these universities for the future,” said Board Chair Trish Riley. “We are grateful they have committed to staying to finish the job and they have the Board’s full confidence and support in their efforrts to do so.”
Turnaround at Maine Law leads to national rankings, highest enrollment since 1998. A proud Maine Law alumna, Sauley became its leader in April 2020 and was Chanellor Marrloy’s first presidential appointment. At the time, the law school’s future was highly uncertain. Recognizing the law school’s essential role in providing justice and leadership in the state, Chancellor Malloy and Trustees made rebuilding Maine Law a priority and recruited Saufley, the long-time Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. She is the law school’s first leader to report directly to the Chancellor and hold the titles of both Dean and President, reflecting that Maine Law is now an independent institution within UMS and its elevated standing in the System and the state.
Today, Maine Law is starting the 2025-26 academic year with 291 students — the most enrolled sine 1998. While numbers vary with each class, about half of its students come from outside of Maine, yet as many as 80% of its graduates stay in the state to practice. The law school’s first-time bar passage rate is now nearly 90%, the highest among New England peers.
In April, Maine Law was ranked as one of the nation’s top 100 law schools by US News & World Report, which also recognized the school’s growing clinical programs, through which student attorneys prepare for practice and provide more than 17,000 hours of pro bono legal aid annually. Among them is a new rural practice clinic launched in Aroostook County in 2023 with fundning President/Dean Saufley secured from Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. Already, that clinic has served more than 100 clients, many who otherwise would have gone without representation, including in domestic violence and landlord-tenant matters.
She additionally oversaw the 2023 relocation of the law school to 300 Fore Street in downtown Portland, closer to courts and commerce and co-located with collaboradtors from across the System — including faculty from the University of Maine and USM who deliver in-demand graduate and professional programming through the Maine Center.
“To go from where we were five years ago to now being recognied among the nation’s top law schools is a testament to the talent and dedication of our students, faculty and staff and the power of public and philanthropic investment, including from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the Maine Legislature and Governor Mills,” said President/Dean Saufley “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past five years and I know how much it matters to Maine. With the strong support of Chanellor Malloy and the System’s Trustees, I look forward to Maine Law further enhancing its fiscal position and expanding practice-ready, public-minded legal education and statewide access to justice.”
Mainw Law offers the most affordable Juris Doctor program in the region. However, the elimination next year of a federal loan rogram that more than one-third of its students rely on is a challenge Saufley will confront, as is the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff due to salaries that are significantly lower than at the nations other law schools and the need to grow major giving.
For background information on the grand reopening of the Maine Law School on 300 Fore Street, please visit post herein dated January 12, 2023.