J. Keith Motley

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Motley was first hired by the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) in 2003 as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. In 2004, he was named interim chancellor of the university and became a finalist to become chancellor after Jo Ann Gora became the president of Ball State University. In 2005, University of Massachusetts (UMass) System President Jack Wilson recommended Michael F. Collins, former chief executive of Caritas Christi Health System, for the permanent role, despite the support shown for Motley by many students, staff, faculty, and community leaders, including Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a UMass Boston alumnus. [3] [4]

Motley went on to serve as vice president for business, marketing, and public affairs at the UMass System president's office, citing his hope that UMass Boston would move forward from the controversy. [5] Less than two years later, Wilson announced a leadership rotation; [6] following the retirement of UMass Medical School Chancellor Aaron Lazare, Collins moved to the Medical School to serve as interim chancellor, and Motley was ultimately named the eighth chancellor of UMass Boston. [7] He is the first African American to serve as the university's chancellor. [8]

Motley (left) with Governor Deval Patrick during Motley's ceremonial inauguration as chancellor 2007-11-09 motley 02web.jpg
Motley (left) with Governor Deval Patrick during Motley's ceremonial inauguration as chancellor

Motley became chancellor of the UMass Boston on July 1, 2007, following more than 30 years of experience in higher education administration. As chancellor, he oversaw a strategic planning initiative to enhance the university's academic offerings and research enterprise, grow enrollment to meet the increasing demand for a well-educated workforce, and build the university as a resource of knowledge and public service. [9] As the first African American chancellor of UMass Boston, which is considered the most diverse public university in New England, Motley highlighted inclusion among its key missions. [10] Motley also oversaw its 25-year master plan to enhance the campus and improve its layout on Columbia Point. [11] The project includes the construction of a new Integrated Sciences Complex, [12] University Hall, [13] and housing for students, [14] as well as the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which the late senator requested to be located on the UMass Boston campus next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

On April 5, 2017, University of Massachusetts Boston officials announced that Motley would resign at the end of the academic calendar year on June 30, take a one-year sabbatical, and return as a tenured faculty member. UMass System President Marty Meehan stated that UMass Boston Deputy Chancellor Barry Mills, appointed the previous month, [15] [16] would serve as interim chancellor "until [university] finances are stabilized and the university is positioned to attract a world-class chancellor through a global search", [17] specifically to address the university's 2017 operating budget deficit of $30 million. [18] [19] In response to the appointment of Mills and Motley's resignation announcement, UMass Boston faculty publicly expressed concern that Motley was being scapegoated for the university's budget deficit while Boston City Councilors Tito Jackson and Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, and Massachusetts State Representative Russell Holmes called upon System President Meehan to reject Motley's resignation. [20] [19] [21] On April 8, 2017, at a UMass System Board of Trustees meeting, UMass Boston faculty and students protested decisions by university administration to cut offerings of courses (many required for graduation) in the upcoming summer semester, [22] as well as other programs and to make expense adjustments which reduced the deficit to approximately $6 million or $7 million. [23]

On July 1, 2017, Mills became interim chancellor after Motley's resignation. [17] [24] In November 2017, an audit System President Marty Meehan commissioned from KPMG was presented to the System Board of Trustees that found that faulty record keeping, a lack of discipline in its budgeting process, and a failure on the part of UMass Boston administration to appreciate the cost of the campus renewal construction projects on the university's operating budget led to the university's $30 million budget deficit, [25] and in the same month, the university laid-off 36 employees after laying off about 100 non-tenure track faculty the previous academic year. [26] [27] [28] In April 2018, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Mount Ida College administrators announced that the former school would acquire the latter's campus in Newton after the latter college's closure. [29] The acquisition was immediately opposed by UMass Boston faculty and students due to inadequate consultation with the Boston campus faculty, the Boston campus' budget deficit, and that because of the proximity of the Mount Ida campus to the Boston campus, the faculty contended that the new campus would compete with the Boston campus. [30] [31]

In April 2018, the UMass Boston campus was the sole campus in the UMass System with a majority-minority enrollment. [32] In May 2018, following the approval of the sale by the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, [33] the UMass Boston Faculty Council passed a motion of no confidence in System President Marty Meehan and the System Board of Trustees. [34] In the same month, 10 days after three finalists for the UMass Boston Chancellor position were named, [35] on May 21, 2018, all three finalists withdrew from consideration after faculty members questioned the qualifications of the candidates. [36] On June 20, 2018, UMass System Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Katherine Newman was appointed as the university's interim chancellor by the System Board of Trustees effective July 1, 2018. [37]

In May 2019, the Pioneer Institute released a white paper co-authored by former Massachusetts State Representative Gregory W. Sullivan (who also served as the Massachusetts Inspector General) that reviewed records obtained from the UMass System Controller's Office (as well as other publicly available documents) that concluded that Motley and other UMass Boston administrators were scapegoated for the 2017 fiscal year $30 million budget deficit and that instead the approval by the System Board of Trustees of an accelerated 5-year capital spending plan in December 2014 without assuring that capital reserves would be made available to pay for the plan, as well as an error to a 5-year campus reserve ratio estimate prepared by the UMass Central Budget Office and presented to the System Board of Trustees in April 2016, was the cause of the $26 million in budget reductions implemented by interim Chancellor Barry Mills and that the reductions were made at the direction of the UMass Central Office. [38] [39]

Additionally, the white paper states that KPMG's 2017 audit was not conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards or reported in accordance with auditing standards prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and that the purchase of Mount Ida College in April 2018 was conducted by a wire transfer from the UMass System for $75 million without being included on the previously approved university capital plan at the time the UMass Central Office ordered the budget reductions rather than UMass Amherst purchasing the Mount Ida campus with loanable funds to be repaid with interest (and in contrast to how the transaction was described in a press statement issued by Meehan's office). [38] [40] The following month, interim Chancellor Katherine Newman issued a press statement disputing the findings of the white paper. [41] In April 2023, UMass Boston administration named the dormitories constructed under the master plan Motley proposed in 2007 in honor of him and his wife at a dedication ceremony. [42] [43]

Community service and honors

Motley is a founder of the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School and chair emeritus of the school's Board of Trustees. He also is the founder and education chair of Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, Inc., and the Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development, an academic and social enrichment program for school-aged children of color. He also serves on numerous boards of community organizations with local, regional, and national reach, including:

Motley also chairs the Boston Committee for the “Do the Write Thing Challenge,” an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence.

He is former chair of the Newbury College Board of Trustees and was appointed as the co-chair of Success Boston, a college-completion initiative founded by former Boston mayor Thomas Menino. On a national level, he has chaired the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and is a mentor for its Millennium Leadership Initiative, a premier leadership development program that provides individuals from underrepresented populations in high-ranking positions in higher education the opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the higher education landscape, develop skills, and build the networks needed to advance to the presidency. He also serves on the boards of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and New England Association of Schools and Colleges. He is a member of the American Council on Education’s Commission on Effective Leadership, past chair of APLU’s Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence.

Motley was named to the Boston Business Journal's list of area influencers five years in a row. [44] In 2016, he was named to Colette Phillips Communications Get Konnected! 100 list of Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color. [45] The Boston Business Journal also selected him to receive its 2014 Leaders in Diversity Awards, which honor companies and businesspeople for their leadership in promoting inclusiveness and economic opportunity. [46] In 2012, he was chosen by the Boston Globe as one of a dozen local leaders who have promoted diversity for its "Diversity Boston" list. [47]

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References

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  2. ↑ "Ibid".{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Russell, Jenna. "Ex-CEO picked to lead UMass-Boston". Boston.com. Retrieved May 19, 2005.
  4. ↑ Forry, Bill and Patrick McGroarty. "Collins to depart, Motley take helm at UMass-Boston". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  5. ↑ Russell, Jenna. "Critics silent as chancellor appointed". Boston.com. Retrieved May 26, 2005.
  6. ↑ Forry, Bill and Patrick McGroarty. "Collins to depart, Motley take helm at UMass-Boston". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  7. ↑ Manly, Howard (2007-05-17). "Motley to become first black chancellor at UMass". www.baystate-banner.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  8. ↑ Manly, Howard. "Motley to become first black chancellor at UMass". Bay State Banner. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
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  10. ↑ Keene, Cindy Atoji. "Why I Stayed in Boston". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ "25-Year Campus Master Plan". University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Integrated Sciences Complex". University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ "University Hall". University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ Office of Communications. "UMass Boston To Offer Student Housing In 2018". UMass Boston News. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Barry Mills Appointed Deputy Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer at UMass Boston". UMass Boston News. March 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Krantz, Laura (March 13, 2017). "UMass Boston chancellor's authority is diluted amid campus financial woes". The Boston Globe . Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Norton, Michael P. (April 5, 2017). "UMass-Boston Chancellor Keith Motley To Step Down June 30". WGBH . Retrieved January 15, 2022.
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  19. 1 2 Krantz, Laura (April 5, 2017). "Motley to step down as UMass Boston chancellor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
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  21. ↑ Arnold, Olivia (April 8, 2017). "UMass Boston rallies around departing chancellor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  22. ↑ "UMass-Boston Cuts Summer Courses As It Grapples With Deficit". WBZ-TV. April 10, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  23. ↑ Young, Colin A. (April 13, 2017). "Anger, frustration mark UMass board meeting at Dorchester campus". The Dorchester Reporter. Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Board of Trustees Officially Appoints Barry Mills Interim Chancellor of UMass Boston". UMass Boston News. July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  25. ↑ Krantz, Laura (November 9, 2017). "Chaotic management led to UMass Boston deficit, audit says". The Boston Globe . Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  26. ↑ Krantz, Laura (September 15, 2016). "Could $22.3m budget gap threaten UMass Boston's growth?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  27. ↑ Oakes, Bob; Amer, Yasmin (September 14, 2017). "UMass Boston Community Members Call On State To Help Close School's Budget Deficit". WBUR. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
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  29. ↑ Creamer, Lisa; Thys, Fred (April 6, 2018). "Mount Ida College To Close; UMass Amherst To Acquire Its Campus In Newton". WBUR. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  30. ↑ Rios, Simón (April 19, 2018). "UMass Boston Students, Faculty Want UMass Amherst To Drop Mount Ida Acquisition". WBUR. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  31. ↑ Rios, Simón (May 3, 2018). "For Some At UMass Boston, Mount Ida Deal Stokes Feeling Of Second-Class Citizenship". WBUR. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
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  36. ↑ Thys, Fred (May 21, 2018). "All 3 Finalists For UMass Boston Chancellor Withdraw". WBUR. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  37. ↑ "UMass Board of Trustees Appoint Katherine Newman Interim Chancellor of UMass Boston". UMass Boston News. June 21, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  38. 1 2 Sullivan, Gregory W.; Paxton, Rebekah (2019). Fiscal Crisis at UMass Boston: The True Story and the Scapegoating (PDF) (Report). Pioneer Institute . Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Gregory W. Sullivan – Pioneer's Institutes Research Director". Pioneer Institute. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Read the full statement from UMass's president on Mount Ida College". The Boston Globe . April 12, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  41. ↑ Smith, Jennifer (June 6, 2019). "UMass takes heated issue with Pioneer Institute's campus report". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  42. ↑ "UMass Boston dorms celebrate Motleys". Dorchester Reporter. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  43. ↑ Forry, Bill (May 3, 2023). "UMass Boston gives Motleys their due". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Meet the Boston Business Journal's Power 50". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Meet 100 of Boston's most influential minorities - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  46. ↑ "BBJ names 2014 Leaders in Diversity for upcoming event - Boston Business Journal". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  47. ↑ Burnett III, James H. "Champions of Diversity J. Keith Motley". Boston.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
J. Keith Motley
Chancellor J. Keith Motley.JPG
8th Chancellor of UMass Boston
In office
1 July 2007 –30 June 2017
Campus
Umb - 002.jpg
Chancellors
Miscellaneous
Italics indicates interim chancellor
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