When the University of Massachusetts needed to find the successor for Dr. Michael Collins after his historic 19-year tenure leading UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, leadership relied on one man to head the search committee: David Brunelle.
Although often behind the scenes, Brunelle has been an influential figure in the Central Massachusetts business community for nearly all of this century. When Worcester-based Commerce Bank was acquired by Boston-based Berkshire Hills Bancorp for $209 million in 2017, Brunelle was one of two Commerce board members to transition to the Berkshire board. He then became Berkshire chair in 2021 and remains in that role today, including after Berkshire Hills’ merger with Brookline Bancorp and the creation of Beacon Financial Corp. and Beacon Bank. In the community, he is chair of the nonprofit Worcester City Campus Corp. and serves on the UMass board of trustees.
As head of the UMass Chan chancellor search, Brunelle led a 20-member committee that included two former lieutenant governors, the UMass Amherst chancellor, and a Nobel laureate. Their work resulted in the selection of Dr. David McManus, who is taking over as chancellor on July 1.
