Presidential search on track, search committee taking "important steps"

BOSTON -- June 14, 2010:The University of Massachusetts Presidential Search Committee today held its second meeting, with search committee Chairman James J. Karam citing the progress that committee has made and saying the process is "on track and destined to yield a very good result."

"This search is still in a very early stage but this committee is taking the important steps it needs to take in order to be successful," said Karam, who also serves as the vice chairman of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees.

Meeting at the University of Massachusetts President's Office, members of 23-person Search Committee today approved a position advertisement that will be placed in the appropriate national publications and also selected the executive search firm of Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc. of Miramar Beach, FL, to help guide the search.

The committee also received a briefing on University finances from Executive Vice President James R. Julian Jr. and Senior Vice President David J. Gray, and in a roundtable-style discussion, members cited the attributes they would like to see in the University's next president.

The search is being conducted to find a successor to President Jack M. Wilson, who has announced that he will conclude his presidency when his current term ends on June 30, 2011. Wilson, 64, has led the five-campus University of Massachusetts since September 2, 2003.

The Search Committee's role is to recommend finalist candidates to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, which would then elect a new president.

Contact: Robert P. Connolly, 617-287-7073