Lombardi chosen as new chancellor

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

John Lombardi (Stan Sherer photo)

n an unexpected announcement, President William M. Bulger said Wednesday that he is appointing former University of Florida president John V. Lombardi to be the next chancellor of the Amherst campus.

     "John Lombardi has demonstrated that he has the capacity to inspire greatness," said Bulger. "I am confident that he will lead UMass Amherst to new heights."
Lombardi, who is expected to take office on July 1, will succeed interim Chancellor Marcellette G. Williams, who has led the campus since last July after Chancellor David K. Scott stepped down after eight years in office.

     Lombardi's selection came less than a week after he and the other two finalists - Elizabeth D. Capaldi, provost of the University at Buffalo, and William E. Hogan II, a University of Minnesota regent and CEO of The Hogan Company - completed a marathon series of meetings with campus groups, trustees and Bulger.

     On Tuesday, Capaldi announced that she was withdrawing her name from consideration. Capaldi served as provost under Lombardi at the University of Florida.

     Although the appointment still requires the approval of the Board of Trustees, board chair Grace K. Fey, who also led the search committee, said the panel committee was impressed by Lombardi's accomplishments.

     "John Lombardi is equal parts visionary and skillful, exacting manager, and we consider ourselves fortunate to find a chancellor with these attributes. Dr. Lombardi's decade at the University of Florida truly was a period of innovation and accomplishment. We are pleased to welcome him to the University of Massachusetts," Fey said.

     "President Bulger honors me with his recommendation to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees," said Lombardi in a prepared statement. "It will be a great privilege to have the opportunity to work with the faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Working together, we can enhance Amherst's tradition of competitive excellence - always the hallmark of America's major research universities."

     Bulger said, "It was our good fortune to have three distinguished academic leaders as finalists. Each candidate presented distinctive strengths and each could provide outstanding leadership. Under John Lombardi's stewardship, the University of Florida ascended to new heights. I believe that John Lombardi's record of accomplishment cannot be overlooked and makes him the candidate best suited to lead our flagship campus."

     Music professor Ernest May, the secretary of the Faculty Senate and a member of the search committee, said, "I applaud the appointment of John Lombardi as chancellor, and the Faculty Senate looks forward to working collaboratively with him on the challenges and opportunities for transformation which face the flagship campus.

     "He is a serious active scholar in the humanities. He has deep administrative experience at top-tier institutions such as Indiana, Hopkins, and Florida. He has a charismatic personality and long experience as a crusader and prodigious fund-raiser. He believes in delegating decision-making to the lowest practical level. He is a national expert - perhaps the national expert - in studying the profile and characteristics of the nation's top research universities. The University ... is lucky to get him."

     Lombardi served as president of the University of Florida from 1990 to 1999.
During his tenure at the Gainesville campus, the student population rose from 33,282 to 42,336 and the minority enrollment climbed from 14 percent to 22 percent. The quality of incoming students also improved with entering freshmen having an average grade point average of 3.9. The number of graduate degrees awarded by UF also went up by 60 percent during the Lombardi years.

     Under Lombardi, the university's total budget also increased, from $800 million in 1989-90 to $1.5 billion in 1998-99. UF also saw its sponsored research funding more than double to nearly $300 million annually. The school's endowment increased by nearly 400 percent to more than $500 million. Lombardi also spearheaded a capital campaign that raised $750 million.

     Prior to his appointment at UF, Lombardi served for three years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University. From 1967 to 1987, he taught in the history department at Indiana University, where he held several administrative posts, including director of Latin American studies, dean of international programs and dean of arts and sciences.

     He is the author of seven books focused primarily on Venezuela. He has also written on international business, computer literacy and software evaluation.

     After stepping down as president at UF, Lombardi became director of The Center for Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Gainesville campus.

     A specialist in Latin American history, Lombardi has a Ph.D. and M.A. from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree from Pomona College.

     Lombardi was born in Los Angeles. He is married to Cathryn L. Lee. They have two children.

     In his announcement, Bulger also paid tribute to the "inspired leadership" of the interim chancellor.

     "Marcie Williams helped to calm and heal the campus after the outrage of September 11, and she has made difficult decisions during a time of fiscal challenge. She has touched the hearts and minds of many of our students. We are in her debt," Bulger said.