About the President

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

President Jack M. Wilson, PhD

Jack M. Wilson, PhD, is the 25th president of the University of Massachusetts. He was appointed by the Board of Trustees on March 24, 2004. He has served as interim President of the University, Vice President for Academic Affairs and as the founding CEO of UMassOnline, the University's online education division.

Prior to arriving at UMass, Wilson, a physicist, 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 and interim Provost. 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.