Meehan rethinks role on board at Suffolk
Had temporarily left post amid law school debate
(Joanne Rathe/Globe staff)
UMass Lowell Chancellor Mary Meehan (left), meets with staff on Feb. 14, 2008.
Martin Meehan, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, said yesterday that he is reconsidering his future on Suffolk University’s board of trustees amid concern by faculty, alumni, and some trustees over governance of the beleaguered school.
Meehan said he temporarily resigned from the board of the Beacon Hill school last month because of an appearance of a conflict of interest over the attempt by the UMass system to open the state’s first public law school, which Suffolk Law School opposes.
At the time, he told the Globe that he intended to rejoin the board next year once the law school issue is decided. (The state’s Board of Higher Education is scheduled to vote on the matter in February.)
But yesterday, Meehan said he was no longer certain about his return to the board. “That’ll be determined in the future,’’ he said.
Board members have said it will be difficult for Suffolk to keep its trustees if issues over how the university is run are not straightened out. Among their concerns: a board culture that fails to weigh equally each member’s perspective.
Last week, board chairman Nicholas Macaronis announced he would step down in February, following pressure from fellow trustees and criticism over his steadfast defense of the college president’s hefty pay package.
Macaronis, longtime friend and Suffolk law classmate of the university president, David Sargent, urged trustees last month to agree to a contract extension for Sargent as an outward show of support amid outrage over news of Sargent’s $1.5 million compensation package, the second highest in the nation among private college leaders in 2008.
Sargent will be 82 when his contract expires in July 2013, though few believe he will serve out the term.
Meehan, a former congressman, said yesterday that he is not vying for the Suffolk presidency, despite the fact his UMass Lowell contract expires in June. He is negotiating a new three- to five-year contract with UMass.
“There’s still a lot I want to accomplish at UMass Lowell,’’ he said. After that, he said, he would consider the Suffolk presidency along with other options.
