Interim leader of UMass-Amherst selected
Trustees to name former president of Clark Atlanta
University of Massachusetts trustees are expected today to name Thomas W. Cole Jr., a former president of Clark Atlanta University, as interim chancellor of UMass-Amherst.
Jack M. Wilson, president of the UMass system, is recommending Cole to step in for outgoing chancellor John Lombardi, who becomes president of the Louisiana State University system Sept. 1.
In May, news that Lombardi would step down as chancellor as part of a series of leadership shuffles sparked controversy on the Amherst campus and a faculty no-confidence vote in Wilson.
Cole will not be a candidate for the permanent chancellor position, which administrators and trustees agreed was a requirement for the interim post. That condition eliminated several strong candidates from consideration, said Stephen Tocco, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
"We didn't want to hamstring ourselves for the permanent search," Tocco said.
Former Northeastern University president Richard Freeland and Evan Dobelle, president of the New England Board of Higher Education and former president of the University of Hawaii, were mentioned as top candidates for the interim position.
Tocco said he hoped Freeland, Dobelle, and others would remain interested in the permanent position. Trustees will announce a search committee today of more than 20 members to find a permanent chancellor. The search is expected to last at least eight months.
Trustees are also expected to vote on Cole's salary at today's meeting.
Tocco said he came away impressed after meeting with Cole yesterday.
"He has a great vision for higher education and its importance in people's lives," Tocco said. "He's been a great leader and has enormous experience. We're lucky to have him."
Robert Connolly, a Wilson spokesman, said Cole "has the experience, the passion, and the leadership skills needed to keep UMass-Amherst moving in the right direction and building on its tradition of excellence."
Cole, 66, who is a chemist, retired as president of Clark Atlanta University in 2002 and served as the president of Great Schools Atlanta, a local education fund, from 2004 to 2006.
Clark Atlanta University is a historically black, private liberal arts college with about 5,800 students. It was created when Atlanta University and Clark College consolidated in 1988, and Cole became its first president the following year.
That experience will help Cole forge closer ties with the other four campuses in the UMass system, Tocco said. At Amherst, Cole will oversee a university of approximately 25,500 students.
Faculty leaders cited advantages to selecting a chancellor who was not involved in the controversy surrounding Wilson's restructuring plans this spring.
"He's well outside of the current levels of controversy and doesn't have ties with the political players," said Ernest May, secretary of the UMass-Amherst Faculty Senate.
Max Page, president of the UMass-Amherst faculty union, said an outside appointment was necessary to avoid the impression that the chancellor was a close ally of Wilson or the trustees.
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. 