WORCESTER - The University of Massachusetts Medical School Chancellor Search Committee held its second meeting today, May 30,and selected the executive recruitment firm of Isaacson, Miller of Boston to help guide the search process.
"We are making steady progress and have every confidence that this process will lead to the selection of an outstanding Chancellor for what is one of the finest public medical schools in the nation," said Philip W. Johnston, chairman of the 23-member search committee.
"I am pleased that we have been able to retain one of the most experienced and successful executive-recruitment firms in the nation to assist us in this process. Isaacson, Miller has a track record that is second to none," Johnston said.
Isaacson, Miller served as the consultant in the recently concluded UMass Amherst Chancellor search. It was one of eight firms to submit bids for the UMass Medical School search position.
With much of its organizational work now concluded, Johnston said the search committee could now move to seeking campus and community input before beginning to develop the candidate pool.
"This process is moving forward and is gathering momentum," said Johnston, who also serves on the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees.
The search committee's role is to present UMass President Jack M. Wilson with finalist candidates, with President Wilson then making a recommendation to the University's Board of Trustees.
The University is seeking a permanent successor to former Chancellor Aaron Lazare, who stepped down as Chancellor last year but continues to serve as the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor in Medical Education and professor of psychiatry at the Medical School.
Michael F. Collins, MD, is serving as interim Chancellor.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $179 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. One of five campuses in the University of Massachusetts system, UMMS is perennially ranked in the top 10 percent of medical schools dedicated to training the next generation of primary care physicians, and is the academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts. For more information visit: www.umassmed.edu
Contact: Robert P. Connolly, 617.287.7073