University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson announced Monday he will be stepping down from his seat in June 30, 2011.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as a steward of this University. It has been a joy to work on behalf of the students, faculty and staff of the University through the good times and through the challenges,” Wilson, the state school system’s 25th president, said in a press release. “But now it is time for me to prepare to hand the baton to the next President.”
After having been in office for over six years now, Wilson, 64, has not announced yet what his plans for the future are, or whether he will continue to be part of the university. However, he said in the release that he does not expect to retire.
“I feel that it will soon be time to open a new chapter in my career,” he said.
Known for his efforts to make UMass more financially viable for students, Wilson will exit on the heels of the creation of the state’s first public law school, recently approved and set to open in September, as well as other monetary advancements, according to the release.
“This year, we have reached a new high in meeting 93 percent of students’ demonstrated financial need &- a number far higher than any of the other public universities in the region, Wilson said.
Wilson has also worked around five different campuses merging all into one large university, prompting needed renovations.
As a physicist, the release said, Wilson focused as president on economic development, technology and innovation research, which he said he hopes the University will continue.
Look for more details in The Daily Free Press tomorrow.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
