LOWELL - May 1, 2006:Chancellor William T. Hogan, who has been at the helm of the University of Massachusetts Lowell for 25 years, today announced his retirement, effective July 3.
He is one of the longest serving chancellors in New England. The average tenure for a University chancellor or president is six years.
Under Hogan's guidance, UMass Lowell has become a national model for how an urban public university can contribute to the state in the tradition of America's land-grant institutions. Massachusetts is on the verge of witnessing a historic recommitment to public higher education, due in part to the chancellor's role as a key advocate for state investment.
"I love my job. I have been fortunate to work with an incredible group of people, from those responsible for keeping the buildings running to the deans and vice chancellors. But, after 25 years, it is time to retire," he said.
Hogan has elevated the University's status and been its premier champion through dozens of successful and bold endeavors including, formation of the School of Health and Environment, creation of the Department of Regional, Economic and Social Development, construction of the $20 Million Recreation Center and partnerships with the City of Lowell on the building of the Tsongas Arena and LeLacheur ballpark.
All eligible programs at the University are now professionally accredited. Hogan has steered the institution toward growing research in its advanced materials, manufacturing and engineering base to where it is now a leader in the emerging fields of nanotechnology, biomanufacturing and green chemistry.
"Lowell has done extremely well. We are on track to become a recognized leader in the most innovative technologies of the future," he said.
Hogan's astute fiscal acumen has ensured that the University has flourished, despite several economic downturns over the last two decades. Under his watch, there were staff layoffs only one time, during 1990, an occurrence after which he vowed would "never happen again."
In 2003, he announced a 10-year transformation strategic plan designed to fundamentally improve the way the faculty teach and the way students learn, as well as to reduce the cost of providing an educational unit. It will take seven more years to complete the plan. He recently announced a $266 million campus renovation plan designed to bring the University's facilities into the next decade. It will take 10 years to complete this major undertaking.
Hogan said that, considering he will be 74 years old on his next birthday, it is "highly unlikely" that he would be able to stay to complete these projects, as he would be well into his 80's.
"I think it is in the very best interest of the campus and the university system to retire now so that the Board of Trustees can conduct a search that will attract a wide field of candidates, unlike what would happen if I were to stay for a few more years when the projects are half-complete," he said.
Hogan joined the University as an associate professor of mechanical engineering in 1963. Over the next four decades, he helped guide the institution's progress toward its current status as a nationally ranked research university as a full professor, department chair, dean of the College of Engineering, vice president of academic affairs, president, and chancellor when the University became part of the UMass system in 1991.
He received doctoral and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in the same discipline from Northeastern University.
UMass Lowell, a comprehensive university with special expertise in applied science and technology, is committed to educating students for lifelong success and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health of the region. UML offers its 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students more than 80 degree programs in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management, and the School of Health and Environment and the Graduate School of Education. Visit the website at https://www.uml.edu.