Panel To Search For Next UMass-Amherst Leader

A search committee has been set up to find a new chancellor for the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The 18-member committee will be chaired by Philip Johnston, a UMass trustee and former state Democratic Party chairman. The panel will be seeking a successor to chancellor Robert Holub, who announced in June that he planned to leave the post at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Johnston says the national search will be "open and transparent" and will seek to identify candidates who are committed to maintaining high standards at UMass-Amherst, the state university's flagship campus.

The search committee will send a small number of finalists to UMass President Robert Caret, who in turn will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. No timetable was given.