Chairman of state higher education board to resign

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Frederick W. Clark Jr. has announced his resignation as chairman of the state's Board of Higher Education after a 15-month stint.

Clark, an executive at an Easton real estate development firm, cited "serious and sudden economic conditions" in the real estate industry as the reason for leaving the post. He will resign next week following a special board meeting to recommend former Northeastern University president Richard Freeland as the next commissioner of the state higher education department.

In a letter sent last week to Governor Deval Patrick, who appointed Clark as the head of the 13-member board last August, Clark wrote that he departed "with complete confidence that the Board is in a stronger, more relevant, position to positively impact opportunities for the higher education advancement of our students."

On Friday, a search committee chaired by Clark unanimously recommended Freeland as the next commissioner. The nomination needs the approval of Paul Reville, the state's education secretary.

A spokesman for the state's education office said Patrick and Reville will discuss Clark's replacement. Patrick can name the board chair without a vote.

Clark wrote that Freeland "will have a profound and lasting impact in higher education policy and planning."

Freeland, 67, would succeed Patricia Plummer, who stepped down in September after a two-year stint to work as a senior adviser to the president of the University of Massachusetts.

Freeland, who retired in 2006 as Northeastern's president, served as dean at the University of Massachusetts at Boston from 1982-1992. He is a professor at Northeastern and Clark universities.

Clark is a former executive officer of the Massachusetts State College Council of Presidents and former trustee of Bridgewater State College.

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