Committee moves quickly to launch process, promises to maintain "leadership excellence"
LOWELL- June 18, 2015: The Committee charged with conducting the search for a new Chancellor began its work today saying it would seek to maintain UMass Lowell's"standard of leadership excellence" and by taking steps intended to get the process off to a fast start.
The Search Committee scheduled campus forums that will take place June 24, hired a higher education executive recruitment firm to help guide the search and made plans to advertise the position in national higher education publications.
"We intend to conduct a search that mirrors UMass Lowell itself, which is to say a process that will be distinguished by its focus, commitment and excellence," said R. Norman Peters, co-chairman of the 24-member search panel.
The Committee met the day after the UMass Board of Trustees voted it into existence and charged it with assisting in the process of selecting a successor to UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, who will become president of the five-campus UMass system on July 1.
Victor Woolridge, chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, thanked the members of the Committee for agreeing to serve, and said: "We are looking for a strong, passionate leader who can articulate and follow through on a vision for UMass Lowell that enables the campus to carry out its special mission by continuing to develop excellence in its teaching, research and service endeavors."
"You know UMass Lowell well," Chairman Woolridge told Committee members, "you understand its history and traditions, you understand where it has been and where it is going and you have high hopes for its future. You know that UMass Lowell helps define the region and our state and will help to define the future."
The Committee consists of UMass Lowell faculty, students, administrators and alumni, as well as representatives from the Lowell community, members of the UMass Board of Trustees and other UMass officials.
John Pulichino, a UMass Lowell graduate, honorary degree recipient and the chairman and CEO of Group III International Ltd., was named co-chairman of the Search Committee. "The Committee understands the tall order of seeking the most qualified person for the job while maintaining the incredible momentum of the campus," said Pulichino. "We have the right people on the Committee, with strong representation from the very faculty and alumni who have helped build that momentum."
The Boston-based recruitment firm, Isaacson, Miller was selected to assist in the search.
The Search Committee's role is to select finalist candidates and advance those finalists to the President, who makes a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which then votes on the President's recommendation.
"We are seeking a leader who will take what is already an outstanding public research university and bring it to even higher levels of accomplishment and acclaim," Chancellor Meehan said."I have every confidence that this Committee will execute its charge with diligence and excellence, and find the right person to be the next leader of UMass Lowell."
"We should cast a wide net and find the very best candidates - those who seek the challenge and honor of leading this campus. We should also move forward expeditiously as a new semester and new academic year are not far away," Chancellor Meehan added.
Under Chancellor Meehan's leadership, the Lowell campus has achieved impressive gains. Enrollment grew 48 percent to more than 17,000 while selectivity and diversity increased; 10 new buildings opened, research more than doubled, and the university gained in national reputation. UMass Lowell is now ranked among the top in the nation for graduates' return on investment and is one of only six institutions in the country to advance in U.S. News & World Report's standings every year since 2010. The university's 27-spot climb during the last five-year period is among the fastest in the nation.
- Co Chairman: R. Norman Peters
Member of the UMass Board of Trustees and founding partner of Peters &Sowyrda - Co Chairman: John Pulichino'67, '14 (H)
Chairman and CEO, Group III International Ltd. - Lisa Abdallah
Chairwoman and associate professor, School of Nursing, UMass Lowell - Lawrence Carpman
Member of the UMass Board of Trustees and Partner, Northwind Strategies - Michael Carter
Chairman and associate professor, Department of Economics, and president of the Faculty Senate, UMass Lowell - Julie Chen
Vice Provost for research, UMass Lowell
James Christopher
UMass Lowell Student Government Association president - Jerry Colella '78
President and CEO, MKS Instruments - Nancy Donahue '13 (H)
Community leader and co-founder of Merrimack Repertory Theatre - Robert Giles
Professor of physics and director, Submillimeter Wave Technology Lab, UMass Lowell - Anita Greenwood
Dean of the Graduate School of Education, UMass Lowell - Charlie Hoff '66, '04 (H)
Chairman, The Hoff Foundation Inc. - John F. Kennedy '70
Former president and CFO, Nova Ventures Corp. - Margaret Koziel
Assistant vice provost of clinical and translational research, UMass Medical School, and co-director of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) - Scott Latham
Interim Dean of the Manning School of Business, UMass Lowell - Charlotte Mandell
Vice Provost for undergraduate education, UMass Lowell - Stephen McCarthy
Professor of plastics engineering, UMass Lowell, and co-director of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) and the Center for Irish Partnerships - Carol McDonough
Professor of economics, UMass Lowell, and president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors Lowell - Keith Mitchell
Associate professor of English, UMass Lowell - Amanda Robinson
Student trustee-elect, UMass Lowell - Dana Skinner
UMass Lowell director of athletics - Kumble Subbaswamy
Chancellor, UMass Amherst - Marcellette Williams
UMass senior vice president for academic and student affairs and international relations - Margaret Xifaras
Member of the UMass Board of Trustees and attorney, Law Offices of Lang, Xifaras & Bullard.
Contact: Jan Brogan 781-467-9900