Edward M. Kennedy Institute Announces Leadership Transition

Boston, MA– The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate (EMK Institute) today announced that Andy Tarsy is resigning as president of the Institute and will be succeeded on an interim basis by Jean F. MacCormack, former Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tarsy will assist the Institute during a brief transition phase to ensure continuity of operations as staff prepares to move into the Institute’s new building.

“Over the last two years, Andy has helped lead the efforts to complete the Institute’s facility, which will be ready to be occupied by our staff at the end of the month, and to select our first Executive Vice President and Museum Director, whom we expect to name soon,” the Institute’s Board of Directors said in a statement. “We thank him for his contributions, and look forward to working with Jean MacCormack as we now turn our attention to preparing for the public dedication and opening of the Institute this spring.”

MacCormack will begin her duties as interim president immediately. She led UMass Dartmouth for 12 years, overseeing a major transformation of the school that included growing enrollment to nearly 10,000 students, increasing research funding from $7 million to $26 million annually, attracting significantly higher private support and expanding facilities on campus and throughout the SouthCoast region. She also oversaw the historic opening in 2010 of the UMass School of Law, the state’s first public law school. MacCormack retired as Chancellor at the end of the 2011-12 academic year. Before her appointment as Chancellor in September 1999, MacCormack served for 12 years in senior leadership positions at UMass Boston.

She continues to serve as Chair of the SouthCoast Hospitals Board and is a Director of the Bristol County Savings Bank. She is also devoting time to a new book on transformative leadership.

“Jean is a proven leader who made enormous contributions to the University of Massachusetts, both at UMass Boston and during her tenure as Chancellor of the Dartmouth campus,” said UMass President Robert L. Caret, a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors. “Her energy and experience will serve the Institute well, and I am personally pleased to have the chance to work with her again during this exciting time heading into the final months of preparation for our opening.”

“I am honored to be joining the Institute as its enters the next chapter in its journey to realize Senator Kennedy’s dream of creating a center that will provide an unparalleled view into the workings of the Senate, and explore not only its past in shaping our democracy, but its future as well,” said MacCormack. “There is a lot of work ahead of us, and I am eager to collaborate with the Institute’s exceptional staff in the opening of the Institute and in carrying out its mission.”

The Institute’s 68,000-square foot Columbia Point facility on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston, adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, will open to the general public with a formal dedication in March of 2015. Designed by world renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, the Institute will be a dynamic center of learning and civic engagement and use cutting-edge technology to convey the history of United States Senate and its pivotal role in America’s development and governance.

The Institute is in the process of completing its search for an Executive Vice President and Museum Director and expects to announce the new director in September.

About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to studying and exploring how our government and the Senate works - and how it can work better - invigorating public discourse, and inspiring visitors and the next generation of citizens to become more active in their own communities. More information can be found at www.EMKInstitute.org.