Javier A. Reyes, PhD, became the 31st leader of the University of Massachusetts Amherst on July 1, 2023, following his selection as chancellor of the commonwealth’s flagship campus by the UMass Board of Trustees.
Reyes is an economist who has devoted his career to the cause of public higher education, holding leadership positions at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), West Virginia University, and the University of Arkansas. He most recently served as interim chancellor of UIC, Chicago’s largest university campus. Born and raised in Mexico, Reyes is the first Hispanic person to serve as chancellor of UMass Amherst.
Reyes received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Estado de Mexico, in 1998, and his doctorate in economics from Texas A&M University in 2003.
Chancellor Reyes was formally inaugurated on April 26, 2024.
Read Chancellor Reyes' biography.
