It became official on Friday, April 1 that Interim Chancellor Keith Motley will move on with the next round of finalists in the search for a permanent chancellor for the UMass Boston campus. This decision by the Chancellor Search Committee came after many rumors surfaced that he was not among the finalists. Next month UMass Boston President Wilson will select one of three highly distinguished and capable leaders to lead UMB permanently. Marvin Krislov, Michael Collins, and Motley are the names that President Wilson will find on his desk. Wilson will select one of these three men and recommend him to the Board of Trustees to be chancellor of UMB.

This short list is the result of five long months of the chancellor search committee’s quest to find the most appropriate chancellor for the university. The search committee met in executive session for close to four hours deliberating over this vote, which would take place in public. This vote marks the final work for the search committee, chaired by Trustee Stacey Rainey. Close to sixty-five Motley supporters filled the President’s office waiting to learn the results. When the committee came out of executive session, the Motley supporters were invited into the room to watch the vote.

The search committee first announced Krislov and Collins to move forward in the search. Prof. Robert Johnson, a member of the committee, made a motion to add Keith Motley. The motion was seconded by Trustee Pham and was accompanied by a round of applause from those watching the process. UMass Boston student and Massachusetts State Representative Jeffery Sanchez made a brief presentation to the committee, sharing his thoughts on Dr. Motley. “We call him Keith because that is who he is in our community.” Rep. Sanchez expressed the view of those in attendance by sharing the way the UMB community feels about Dr. Motley.

This vote by the search committee was a relief to those that had been vocal about their support for Dr. Motley. At the beginning of the week there were rumors around the UMB campus that Dr. Motley did not make the final cut. If there were any doubts in the minds of search committee members whether or not Dr. Motley should be a finalist they were certainly reassured by the communities reaction.

According to a press release issued by the president’s office, President Wilson praised the members of the 22-person search committee for, “Providing wisdom, energy, insight and diligent service throughout this process.” Search committee Chairwoman Rainey also praised the committee for their service by adding, “I believe that we have forwarded a strong slate of candidates to President Wilson-candidates who are capable of bringing UMass-Boston to new levels of academic and research excellence. All three of these candidates have great respect for UMass-Boston’s urban mission and would work to build on the campus’s record of accomplishment as a driving force for social and economic progress in the city of Boston and throughout the Commonwealth.”

The final decision is now in the hands of President Wilson, who will make his ultimate recommendation of the three finalists to the board of trustees next month.