Chancellor search committee appointed
President Jack M. Wilson and the Board of Trustees have established a 24-person search committee to conduct a national search for a new chancellor for the Amherst campus.
The committee is chaired by Trustee Jennifer Braceras, a 1989 Amherst campus graduate, and includes faculty members, trustees, alumni, and business and community leaders.
“As a graduate of UMass Amherst, I take special interest in the search for a new chancellor of our flagship campus,” said Braceras. “I look forward to working with the committee and conducting a national search for a leader who will help UMass Amherst claim its place among the nation’s leading public universities.”
Campus representatives on the committee include Marilyn Billings, chair of the Faculty Senate Rules Committee; John Brigham, professor of Political Science; Education graduate student Edward Cutting; Shaw Ling Hsu, head of Polymer Science and Engineering; Barbara A. Osborne, professor of Veterinary and Animal Sciences; Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors and associate professor of Art; and senior Ruth Thompson, Amherst campus student trustee.
The other member of the panel are Trustee Matt E. Carlin, president and CEO, Resource Options Inc.; alumnus Paul J. Carney, member of the UMass Amherst Foundation board; Priscilla Clarkson, dean of Commonwealth College; Trustee John A. DiBiaggio, president emeritus of Tufts University and former president of Michigan State University and the University of Connecticut; Grace K. Fey, UMass Amherst Foundation board member and executive vice president, Frontier Capital Management Company; alumnus Heriberto Flores, executive director, New England Farm Workers Council; Mary Grant, president of the Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts; alumnus Eugene M. Isenberg, president of the UMass Amherst Foundation and chairman and CEO of Nabors Industries, Inc.; James R. Julian, Jr., executive vice president; Trustee Ruben J. King-Shaw, chairman and CEO, Mansa Equity Partners, Inc.; Aaron Lazare, chancellor emeritus of the Medical School; Trustee Robert B. McCarthy, Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts; alumna Kathleen Mitchell, managing director, Snow Cabin Goods; Trustee Robert K. Sheridan, President and CEO, Savings Bank Life Insurance; alumnus Joseph C. Sullivan; and Marcellette G. Williams, senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs and International Relations.
“This is an exciting time for the University of Massachusetts—research expenditures, the endowment and enrollment are on the rise and state leaders continue to support University initiatives,” said Wilson. “UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of a world-class, top-tier University and the next chancellor will be poised to lead the Amherst campus during a pivotal time for the campus, the University and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Wilson also expressed his appreciation to outgoing Chancellor John V. Lombardi, saying, “I would like to thank Chancellor Lombardi for his leadership of the Amherst campus. We wish him the best in his new endeavor.”
The search committee is charged with seeking, encouraging, interviewing and recommending the strongest possible candidates to the president.
The committee is expected to hold its first meeting this fall.
“A truly excellent public university should have a leader of the highest caliber at its flagship campus. We are committed to a national search that identifies chancellor candidates who will bring outstanding vision and leadership to the campus. Massachusetts is a national leader in innovation and in higher education and it draws talented students and researchers from across the nation and the globe. We will draw high-caliber candidates from all corners for the chancellor position at UMass Amherst,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Stephen P. Tocco.
More Information
Search website
August 15, 2007.
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