Martin Meehan began his tenure as president of the University of Massachusetts Wednesday by a holding a roundtable discussion with students at UMass Boston.
Meehan said he intends to build UMass into “the best public university system in the nation.” During an interview in May he talked about ways to elevate the university’s stature.
"It is looking at how to improve, achieve more excellence. You can always increase your research and continue to improve," he said.
Meehan, a former congressman, was chancellor at UMass Lowell for the last 8 years. He succeeds Robert Caret who left after four years as president of Umass to head up the University of Maryland.
Meehan was the unanimous choice when the board of trustees met on May 1st to select a new leader.
He will be paid $769,500 in the first year of a five-year contract. If Meehan leaves before the five year contract expires he will have to pay a financial penalty to the university.
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