Marpheen Chann-Berry, a student at the UMaine School of Law, said Cummings was a promising choice, given his background as a former state legislator and an official at the U.S. Department of Education.

“I hope that he goes beyond simply ‘managing’ USM and uses his experience to be an advocate, not only for USM, but for the surrounding communities, towns and cities that are impacted by what happens at USM,” Chann-Berry said in an email.