Embattled UMass President Says Goodbye to Students (original) (raw)

U.S.|Embattled UMass President Says Goodbye to Students

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/31/us/embattled-umass-president-says-goodbye-to-students.html

Aug. 31, 2003

William M. Bulger, president of the University of Massachusetts, said his goodbyes to academic life at the school's campus here on Friday, less than a month after he resigned under pressure.

Mr. Bulger, 69, has said his Aug. 6 resignation resulted from a ''calculated political assault'' by Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican. Mr. Bulger officially steps down on Monday.

The governor, along with Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a Democrat, said Mr. Bulger was unfit to lead the university because he had failed to cooperate fully with a Congressional investigation of his fugitive brother, James J. Bulger, also known as Whitey.

James Bulger, who fled in 1995, is on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list. He was indicted for racketeering and 21 murders.

''I've had seven and a half wonderful years,'' William Bulger said on Friday. ''It's been one of the great privileges of my lifetime.''

He was greeting 480 students entering Commonwealth College, the Amherst campus's honors program that he pushed to create.

Before his university post, Mr. Bulger was a powerful Democratic lawmaker, serving 17 years as president of the State Senate. He has not said what his plans are.

If asked, he said, he would help raise money for the school, which faces state budget cuts.

Jack Wilson, a former physics professor who created the school's online education program, will take over as interim president until trustees hire a successor.

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