The search for a new chancellor for the University's flagship campus in Amherst will take its next step when members of the UMass Amherst Chancellor Search Committee gather in Amherst on October 22.
The meeting, the committee's second, will take place at noon on the 26th floor of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, on the UMass Amherst campus.
"We believe that the search is off to a very good start and look forward to building on the strong momentum that was established at the committee's kickoff meeting," said Jennifer C. Braceras ('89), the Chairman of the search committee and a current member of the University's Board of Trustees.
"I am confident that we will find a world-class leader for this world-class campus," Braceras said.
A search committee review panel is now in the process of selecting an executive search firm to guide the selection process.
Members of the UMass Amherst Chancellor Search Committee were upbeat after the committee's initial meeting last week in Amherst.
The meeting was primarily introductory and procedural. Braceras opened the meeting by announcing her appointment of Kathleen Mitchell ('79), president of the UMass-Amherst Alumni Association, as Vice Chairman of the search committee.
Braceras described the Amherst campus as a "campus that is on the move" and noted that UMass Amherst is "a fabulous place to be," and that this is "a particularly exciting time for a new chancellor to be taking the helm."
"[W]homever becomes our next chancellor . . . will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chart a course for this campus that will propel it to the very top of its peer group," Braceras stated.
In his formal charge to the committee, 性闻联播 President Jack M. Wilson asked the committee to seek a strong, passionate leader with a track record in fund-raising and team-building.
He told the 25-member panel that a new chancellor should have "a passion for higher education" and demonstrate leadership for "a globally active research university."
In its only formal item of business, the search committee unanimously voted to retain an executive search firm to help recruit candidates and assist with the process. After the vote was taken, Braceras announced that six search firms have bid on the job and appointed a seven member panel to review bids, interview firms, hire a firm and negotiate the contours of the university's relationship with that firm.
The committee plans to present President Wilson with approximately three finalists, and he will make a recommendation to the University's Board of Trustees. Officials hope to name a new chancellor by late spring. Thomas W. Cole Jr. is serving as interim chancellor of the Amherst campus during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Contact: Robert P. Connolly
617-287-7073