University officials praise Newman and outgoing Interim Chancellor Barry Mills
BOSTON — The UMass Board of Trustees on Wednesday officially appointed Katherine Newman interim chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston effective July 1, with Chairman of the Board of Trustees Rob Manning and UMass President Marty Meehan praising the appointment.
“In Katherine Newman, UMass Boston is getting a leader with the academic background, leadership skills and institutional knowledge to ensure that its progress and momentum continues,” said Chairman Manning. “UMass Boston is one of the most important institutions in the capital city and the Commonwealth as a whole, and it is in excellent hands.”
“Dr. Newman is a world-class academic with a passion for faculty research and student success, and an accomplished administrator who is well-prepared to hit the ground running,” President Meehan said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to support Dr. Newman, and we know that we are lucky to have a leader of her stature at this critical moment at UMass Boston.”
“It is an honor to serve this remarkable student body, distinguished faculty, and dedicated staff,” said Newman. “Our value to the city, to the neighborhoods that surround us, to the business community that is eager to incorporate our students, and to the UMass system as a whole, is clear and compelling. I can’t wait to get started.”
Newman will succeed Interim Chancellor Barry Mills, who took over the Columbia Point campus in July 2017.
“Given her experience, academic credentials and passion for our special mission, I am certain that Katherine Newman will be a fabulous leader for UMass Boston,” said Mills, who has served as interim chancellor of UMass Boston for the past year. “I conclude my tenure with full confidence in the person who steps in to guide the campus that is an engine of hope, opportunity and transformation for so many students and for society.”
President Meehan and Chairman Manning thanked Mills for his work and commitment to UMass Boston over the past year, noting that because of Mills’ efforts, the campus is well-positioned for success.
“In a very short amount of time, Chancellor Mills was able to restore fiscal stability, bring three major construction projects to near-completion, establish innovative industry partnerships and generate a projected surge in freshmen enrollment,” President Meehan said. “We are indebted to him for his service.”
“UMass Boston’s achievements under Barry Mills were nothing short of remarkable,” said Chairman Manning. “I know that he developed a deep love for the campus and will remain an important member of the university community moving forward.”
Newman is currently Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for the University of Massachusetts system. She previously served as Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Torrey Little Professor of Sociology at UMass Amherst from 2014 to 2017 and as the James B. Knapp Dean of the Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University from 2010 to 2014.
She is the author of 15 books on topics ranging from the sociological study of the working poor in America’s cities to school violence on a mass scale, and she has written extensively on the consequences of globalization for youth in Western Europe, Japan, South Africa and the U.S.
Prior to becoming the Dean at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Newman was the Forbes Class of 1941 Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton and Director of the Institute for International and Regional Studies, the founding Dean of Social Science at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study and the director of Harvard’s Multidisciplinary Program on Inequality and Social Policy. She taught for 16 years in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University and for two years in the School of Law at the University of California Berkeley.
About UMass Boston
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