The Countdown Begins For UMass's Wilson
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COLLEGE TRY: Jack Wilson says he's focused on several key projects in the last seven months of his tenure at the helm of the $2.7 billion UMass system.
In years past, Jack Wilson, president of the University of Massachusetts System, says he’s always been able to comfort himself at the end of a busy day with the thought that the next big project could wait until next year. But now, he admits, “That excuse has been taken away from me.”
That’s because he has just seven months left in his tenure before he leaves the UMass system for good. And in the meantime, he’s got plenty on his plate.
Moving On
Wilson, a resident of Westborough, announced this spring that he would be leaving his post at the helm of the $2.7-billion UMass system in June 2011. Until then, he’s still responsible for setting the course for the giant statewide system that includes not only the medical school in Worcester, but also the flagship campus in Amherst as well as the satellite campuses in Lowell, Dartmouth and Boston. Under his nine-year tenure, the UMass system has also grown. It established an online education arm in 2003 — UMassOnline — and acquired a law school last year.
With all that’s on his plate, you can’t blame Wilson for saying, “Really what I’m focused on is the next seven months.”
One of the larger projects is the medical school’s Albert Sherman Center, which Wilson describes as “pretty exciting.”
The 480,000-square-foot center, now under construction, will house both research and education programs. It’s slated for completion in late 2012. And although the building won’t be complete by the time Wilson leaves his post, he says he’s pleased that he’s been able to witness the project “becoming quite tangible.”
Another key project for Wilson is the new green high performing computing center to be located in Holyoke. That $168 million project is a collaboration between the UMass system, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Boston University. When completed, it will be a venue for researchers throughout the state to complete high-level computational research. Holyoke was selected as the site, according to Wilson, because its geography and natural resources easily lent itself to a green approach, including hydropower and wind energy. That aspect was important, according to Wilson, because computing centers are huge consumers of energy.
Wilson says he expects to announce a full-time executive director for the computing center in the next few weeks.
And finally, Wilson is focused on the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United State Senate, which is a $60 million project in the late senator’s memory. The building will be located in Dorchester next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum on the UMass Boston campus.
National Focus
While Wilson has his hands full with projects in Massachusetts, he also has a much broader focus. He was recently named chairman of the National Board of the Fund for the Improvement for Post Secondary Education. The board was established to advise the secretary of the U.S. Department of Higher Education, Arne Duncan, on priorities for improving higher education in America.
Wilson calls his new role – he joined the board on Dec. 13 and ran his first meeting in Washington, D.C. shortly after – “a little bit daunting.”
In particular, he points to the critical role that colleges and universities play in economic development. But at the same time, cash-strapped states, including Massachusetts, are unable to invest in public higher education as they have in the past.
“There are raised expectations with somewhat lower resources” he said.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Now that his tenure at UMass is winding down, Wilson says he was surprised by two lessons he learned.
The first was “how difficult it is to get everything done in the public eye.” With nearly 16,500 employees, and thousands of alumni, nothing UMass does goes unnoticed.
Throw in political pressures from Beacon Hill, and you can get a pretty challenging job.
The other thing that shocked Wilson when he came to Massachusetts, and remains puzzling to this day, was “the public perception and the press’s treat- ment of public higher education,” he said.
While UMass enjoys a strong reputation outside of Massachusetts, inside the Bay State there are some vocal critics.
“I still scratch my head over that one,” he said.
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