UMass Names Robert Caret New President

The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees has tapped Robert Caret as the new president of the five-campus UMass system.

Caret will replace departing UMass President Jack Wilson, who is stepping down June 30.

Caret is president of the Towson University in suburban Baltimore, where he's also served as a faculty member, dean, executive vice president and provost during the past 25 years.

Caret also has New England roots, having received degrees at the University of New Hampshire and Suffolk University in Boston.

He beat out two other finalists Friday. They include Phillip Clay, chancellor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2001, and Charles Bantz, chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Wilson is leaving after nearly eight years leading the $2.8 billion university with 66,000 students.

Caret was chosen from an initial field of 300 candidates.