AUGUSTA -- Forty-five days after she moved into the president's office at the University of Maine at Augusta, Allyson Hughes Handley issued a challenge to each university employee: Recruit a new UMA student.

Handley, the new UMA president, is also challenging Saturday's newly minted graduates to join an evolving alumni association and pledge to contribute $10 annually to the university's coffers for five years.

The challenges are the beginnings of major initiatives Handley plans to pursue during her time at UMA, with the goal of seeking out new revenue sources for the college.

"If every UMA employee personally worked to recruit one new student to UMA, our revenues would increase significantly," she wrote in a letter to UMA staffers.

As Handley plants the seeds for those undertakings during a fiscally challenging year, colleagues on UMA's campus say she is moving at the right pace.

"She understands that she has to learn about us before she can implement some changes," said Greg Fahy, a UMA philosophy professor and Faculty Senate president. "I think it's a good thing that she's listening to us and trying to understand us."

Handley, who is earning a $137,000 annual salary, is challenging UMA employees to recruit new students in a year when the university cannot rely on state funding increases and is seeing lower-than-projected enrollment for the fall 2008 semester.

"We have to control our expenses," Handley said, citing rising salaries and increasing costs for personnel benefits and energy.

UMA will avoid major layoffs and program cuts, but the university will not fill some vacant positions and will budget conservatively for the coming year, cutting the operations budget by 2 percent, she said.

In the same letter in which she challenged employees to recruit new students, Handley also asked them to find areas for savings.

As UMA's new president budgets for the coming year, Handley is also holding one-on-one interviews with each college employee and conducting an internal survey asking employees to evaluate UMA's strengths and weaknesses.

"She's trying to get a lay of the land before she makes decisions about the thoughts she had before coming here," Provost Josh Nadel said. "When you become the president of an institution, that you're taking the time to meet with these people sends a very good message."

In August, when Handley delivers a "state of the university" address, she is pledging to roll out a plan for developing a campus fundraising operation at a university that has never had one.

Handley, 60, comes to UMA after more than 30 years in education, government and consulting.

She was president of two colleges and headed fundraising operations at another before joining the cabinet of former Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher in 2003. Later, she worked for a Kentucky higher-education advisory council.

She said she understands the difficulty of starting a fundraising structure from the ground up.

"If you're creating a whole new function, you can't count on it immediately as a source of revenue," Handley said. "That would be irresponsible."

As president of Kentucky's Midway College, Handley said, she oversaw the university's first capital campaign, netting $9.5 million for the college during her four-year tenure.

In that time, she secured a $2 million cash gift -- the largest in the college's history -- for a new math and science building.

When she steps down from UMA's presidency -- which Handley said will be her last full-time job -- she said she plans to leave behind a new building.

"We're pretty much maxed out in the space we have," she said.

A new structure can also drive fundraising.

"When you have a new building, that's certainly a tremendous opportunity for philanthropists with a connection to the university," she said.

UMA's fundraising operation will start small, Handley said.

If graduating students take up her challenge to donate $50 over five years, that will be a start, she said.

A strong alumni network and a show of support from university employees might also persuade affluent donors to open their wallets.

Most on campus "have never been asked to make a contribution," Handley said.

"The message is that we care enough about ourselves that we're making a contribution," Nadel said. "That helps her make her case about the nature of the institution -- that people in it are committed to it."

Graduating student Kelly Deprez, 26, UMA's student representative to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, said she was impressed with Handley when she interviewed for the job.

She has not been disappointed since the president's arrival.

"She's done really well," Deprez said. "She's getting a feel for the campus and how things work."

Deprez said she is also pleased to see an alumni association gathering momentum.

"It's not only about money," she said. "It's about connections."

In her brief time at UMA, Handley said she has also begun cultivating connections outside the college.

Handley met with local legislators and testified before the Legislature's Education Committee soon after her March start date.

Augusta City Manager William Bridgeo met Handley during her campus interview, and the two toured the area by plane.

"I got a clear sense from her that she's going to be a very good fit as the college president," Bridgeo said. "It's clear that she sees UMA as intricately a part of the Greater Augusta community."

Handley has agreed to work with Bridgeo and other city officials as they attempt to reinvigorate downtown Augusta, Bridgeo said.

"There's a lot of opportunity for the community and the university to collaborate," he said.

When such collaboration occurs, Handley will be happy to be on UMA's side of the table.

"I was so thirsty to get back to an academic environment," she said. "I'm just really excited by the challenge. I can't wait to get to work every day."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com