John McCarthy

Retired, University of Massachusetts Amherst
ACAO Advisory Council Member

 John McCarthy is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus. He served as Provost & Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for five years, from 2017 to 2022, after previously serving as Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1992, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015. 

During his tenure as Provost, UMass Amherst had the highest percentage of women academic deans of any R1 university, and recruitment of tenure-system faculty from historically underrepresented groups rose from 5.9% to 22.1%. During the pandemic, the number of student credit hours delivered dropped by only 0.1% compared to the pre-pandemic year, and the first-to-second year retention rate remained steady at 91%. The University launched new academic programs in Biomedical Engineering, Veterinary Technology, Public Policy, Finance, Informatics, and other fields. Working with the faculty union, he developed supports for remote instruction, a more expansive view of the criteria for promotion to full professor, professional improvement leaves for lecturers on continuing appointment, a spouse/partner hiring program, and other programs. 

Areas of significant institutional experience:

• Relations with unions representing faculty, post-docs, and graduate assistants.
• Recruiting deans and other campus leadership.
• Internal and external recognition of faculty excellence.
• Launching new academic programs.