University of Maine at Farmington President Edward Serna is leaving his post to serve as president of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He was appointed president in 2019. Submitted file photo

FARMINGTON — University of Maine at Farmington President Edward Serna will be moving on to Winthrop University in South Carolina after three years in the job.

University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy plans to visit UMF in the coming weeks to begin the transition in leadership and search for a new president for the upcoming academic year, UM System announced in a release.

In the days leading up to the Winthrop announcement, Serna said he wasn’t “looking to leave Farmington” but applied for the position because it is his alma mater.

“The kids and the wife, we just love Farmington,” he said Feb. 16.

In a statement, Serna wrote that he was “torn” and it is a “bittersweet” decision to leave UMF.

“I love UMF, and am proud and honored to have been able to learn from, work within and help lead this community,” he wrote. “However, I have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be invited to lead my alma mater.”

Serna began his tenure as UMF’s 15th president in July 2019.

He called Farmington “a home that I deeply respect and cherish — one that made me feel welcomed from the moment my family and I arrived.”

“That (welcoming) spirit fuels everything wonderful here in Farmington and I will miss it,” Serna said.

According to the Winthrop University release, Serna will assume the presidency of the Rock Hill, South Carolina, campus on July 1.