About the President

University of Massachusetts > President's Office > About President Wilson

Jack M. Wilson, PhD

Jack M. Wilson is the 25th President of the five-campus, 60,000-student University of Massachusetts System. He has served as President since September 2, 2003. During his career, he has served various institutions as Professor of Physics, Department Chair, Research Center Director, Dean, Vice President, Provost, and a private sector entrepreneur.  At the University of Massachusetts, he served previously as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and as founding CEO of UMassOnline.

Prior to arriving at UMass, Wilson was the J. Erik Jonsson '22 Distinguished Professor of Physics, Engineering Science, Information Technology, and Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also had served as a Dean, Research Center Director, and Provost.  Before being appointed at Rensselaer, he served at the University of Maryland, College Park and as an officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Institute of Physics, and the American Physical Society. As the CEO of UMassOnline, he helped to build the system-wide initiative into one of the largest externally directed online programs in the United States.

President Wilson is nationally and internationally known for his leadership in the reform of higher education programs, winning the Theodore Hesburgh Award, the Boeing Award, and the Pew Charitable Trust Prize for his innovative programs. He was awarded an Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the U.S. Army for service to the Army Education program.

He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and has served as a national officer of the Physical Society, American Institute of Physics, and the American Association of Physics Teachers. He has also served as a member or chair of several National Academy of Science and National Research Council study committees and task forces.