Provost at BU picked to lead WPI

Boston University provost Dennis Berkey, a 30-year veteran of the school who was a finalist for its presidency last year, is leaving June 30 to become president of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

He is the second top BU administrator to announce his departure this month. Law School dean Ronald Cass, who had also been a finalist for president, recently resigned his post to return to scholarship. BU currently has an interim president.

Berkey, a mathematician, said he wanted to broaden WPI's offerings and bring in more women. The school was ranked 55th among doctoral universities by US News & World Report, but women make up only 23 percent of the student body.

In an interview, he said he admired WPI's strong math and science curriculum, its project-based approach and international emphasis. He said he wants to strengthen its curriculum and make it a model for other universities.

"Harvard should take a close look at the WPI plan," Berkey said Thursday, in reference to Harvard College's ongoing review of its undergraduate curriculum.

Berkey, 56, said his proudest accomplishments at BU include improving undergraduate education and beefing up programs in the life sciences. He said he was honored to be a finalist for the BU presidency, and understood that trustees were "looking for a different type of person."

They chose NASA chief Daniel Goldin, and later revoked the offer in a $1.8 million settlement.

Jack M. Wilson was also a finalist for the WPI job, but accepted the presidency of the University of Massachusetts last month. The other finalists were Robert Kennedy, executive vice president and provost at the University of Maine, and Allen L. Soyster, dean of Northeastern's College of Engineering, said search committee head David K. Heebner.

Of Berkey, Heebner said: "He has a rich background of experience which shows him to be a great scholar, an experienced educator, and above all a terrific leader. . . . This is Jupiter aligning with Mars. This is a perfect fit of an extremely well-qualified individual with an institution that has a great deal of opportunity in its future."

Marcella Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@globe.com.