Diverse and distinguished search committee named to assist in identifying candidates to lead the Commonwealth’s flagship campus
BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees has officially launched a nationwide search for a new UMass Amherst chancellor.
A distinguished and diverse 21-member search committee that includes faculty, students, alumni, staff, and members of the UMass Board of Trustees has been formed. UMass Trustee Victor Woolridge, a UMass Amherst alumnus and current Chair of the UMass Building Authority, has agreed to chair the committee. Dr. Laura Haas, Dean of the UMass Amherst Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences, will serve as Vice Chair. The Committee will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, July 19.
The next chancellor will succeed Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, who recently announced that he will be retiring at the end of the coming academic year, following more than a decade of driving impressive growth in quality and impact for the university.
UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Manning praised the makeup of the Committee. "This is a stellar team of people who care deeply about the university mission and recognize the importance of that mission to the Commonwealth and nation,” Manning said. “At this pivotal moment for the university and for higher education in America, it is imperative that we find the best possible person to lead UMass Amherst forward. I want to thank each member who has answered our call to serve.”
Trustee and committee Chair Victor Woolridge said, “The recruitment and selection of the next person to lead UMass Amherst will be critical to the university’s success. UMass Amherst is a powerful engine of opportunity for its students and a powerful driver of the Massachusetts economy. I look forward to working with the committee members and all who care about our university to identify the strongest possible pool of candidates.”
“UMass Amherst, thanks in large part to Chancellor Subbaswamy’s leadership, is a university that has been on the rise for a decade,” UMass President Marty Meehan said. “Over the next decade, as shifts in the higher education landscape accelerate, we must identify an innovative and bold leader to build on this success. I am confident that UMass Amherst will be among the most attractive leadership opportunities in U.S. higher education.”
The Search Committee members are:
- Victor Woolridge* (Chair) – UMass Trustee; Chair, UMass Building Authority
- Laura Haas, PhD (Vice Chair) – Dean, Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, UMass Amherst
- Doug Berthiaume* – Retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Waters Corporation
- Mary Burns – UMass Trustee; Principal, Splash Media Group Boston, UMass Lowell alumna
- Paul Carney* – Board of Directors member, UMass Amherst Foundation
- Jose Cortez* – Board of Directors member, UMass Foundation
- Jeff Cournoyer – Managing Director, Mount Ida Campus, UMass Amherst
- Phil Johnston* – President, Johnston Associates; former UMass Trustee
- James Julian, JD – Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, UMass Office of the President; Interim Executive Director, UMass Foundation
- Karen Kalmakis, PhD* – Professor and Director of the DNP program, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, UMass Amherst
- Rick Kelleher* – UMass Trustee; Chairman, Pyramid Hotel Group
- Barbara Krauthamer, PhD – Dean, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst
- Barbara Kroncke – Executive Director, UMass Building Authority
- Angela McCall* – Director of Administration, Commonwealth Honors College, UMass Amherst
- Gaurav Mitra – PhD candidate in chemistry, UMass Amherst
- Anthony Paik, PhD – Professor and Secretary of the Faculty Senate, UMass Amherst
- Shayan Raza – President, Student Government Association, UMass Amherst
- Lindiwe Sibeko, PhD – Chair, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, UMass Amherst
- Rebecca Spencer, PhD – Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass Amherst
- Steve Tolman – UMass Trustee; President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO, UMass Boston alumnus
- Marcellette G. Williams, PhD - Past Chancellor, UMass Amherst; Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and International Relations Emerita, UMass Office of the President.
(* denotes UMass Amherst Alumni)
As with all chancellor searches at the University of Massachusetts, the Committee will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders, including community leaders, students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the coming months. A pool of candidates will be developed to submit to President Meehan, who will then make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
National executive search firm Isaacson Miller has been hired to assist with the recruitment process. Updates on the search and opportunities for feedback throughout the process will be available at https://www.umassp.edu/UMA-chancellor-search.
More about UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst has experienced a decade of unprecedented momentum under Chancellor Subbaswamy’s leadership and is strongly positioned for future success. In the latest U.S. News & World Report Colleges Guide, UMass Amherst is ranked No. 26 among the 209 public universities included in the national survey. A rankings rise from No. 52 in 2010 marks an extraordinary 26-step ascent, principally during Chancellor Subbaswamy’s tenure.
First-year undergraduate applications have increased by 30 percent over the past 10 years. The six-year graduation rate has increased steadily to 84 percent, and student diversity continues to grow, with 37 percent of this past year’s entering class being students of color, up from 21 percent a decade ago.
UMass Amherst enrolls more first-year students from Massachusetts than the Commonwealth’s top eight private universities combined. In addition, UMass Amherst awards more undergraduate STEM degrees than any other college or university in Massachusetts, public or private.
The UMass Amherst research enterprise is driving innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges and boosting the state’s economy. In FY 2021, UMass Amherst research expenditures totaled $214 million. The university was ranked first among public universities in New England in National Science Foundation grant awards.
UMass Amherst recently secured major investments in computer science, fueling the Massachusetts tech economy. An $18 million naming gift will endow the Robert and Donna Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. A state investment of $75 million—along with $30 million from the Amherst campus—will enhance and expand the college’s facilities, enabling accelerated enrollment growth.
The university is also playing a lead role in addressing the Commonwealth’s pressing health care needs supported by the largest gift in UMass Amherst history to the Marieb College of Nursing. The $21.5 million naming gift from the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Charitable Foundation is advancing the university’s innovative nursing engineering center and providing support for student scholarships, an endowed professorship, and mentorship and research initiatives designed to further access, equity and excellence in nursing education.
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