Another day, another crack in the UMass system and, this time, it has led to the collapse of the search for a permanent leader for the Boston campus.
UMass President Marty Meehan announced yesterday that all three finalists for the chancellor position pulled their names from consideration after a group of faculty members openly declared they felt "none of the final candidates have demonstrated that they are sufficiently qualified to serve as the chancellor." In the statement, Meehan apologized to the candidates and called the critiques about them "sensationalized."
Henry Thomas, the search committee's chair, backed up Meehan in a statement of his own. "This petulant behavior will inflict long-lasting damage on UMass Boston’s reputation and future ability to recruit the academic and administrative leaders we need at UMass Boston," said Thomas, in reference to the faculty.
But on the heels of a vote of no confidence for Meehan by the same faculty, and UMass Amherst's purchase of Mount Ida, which rocked entire the system, where does school go from here? Adam Reilly was joined by Jennifer Smith, news editor at the Dorchester Reporter, and Gintautas Dumcius, a reporter with MassLive, to discuss the issue.
