Michael F. Collins

Michael F. Collins, MD, a tenured professor of population & quantitative health sciences and medicine, was appointed chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in 2008 after serving in an interim capacity from June 2007 to September 2008. Dr. Collins’ interim appointment also coincided with his being named as the senior vice president for health sciences for the University of Massachusetts, which, at the time, was a newly established system-wide position. As the senior vice president, Dr. Collins has spearheaded two five-campus life sciences strategic planning processes and continues to guide the strategic direction of the University’s life and health sciences portfolio.

As chancellor of UMMS, Collins oversees one of the most entrepreneurial medical schools in the nation, which is consistently recognized as a leader in student satisfaction, primary care training, basic science research, innovation and public service. He provides strategic management to a burgeoning enterprise that includes: more than 5,100 employees; approximately 1,200 graduate-level students; 600 medical residents and fellows; three schools; and one regional campus. UMMS generates $1 billion in annual revenues and operates a $400 million research portfolio. Unique among all medical schools, UMMS is home to two strategic business units: Commonwealth Medicine, a substantial health care consulting division that partners with Massachusetts and other states to maximize health care expenditures and deliver health services to vulnerable populations; and MassBiologics of UMMS, the only university-based, nonprofit FDA-licensed discoverer and manufacturer of vaccines and other biologics in the United States.

Collins joined the University of Massachusetts in 2005 as chancellor of the UMass Boston campus, making him the longest-tenured chancellor within the UMass system. Before coming to the University of Massachusetts, Collins served as president and chief executive officer of the Caritas Christi Health Care System from 1994 to 2004.

An alumnus and former board chair of the College of Holy Cross and a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, Collins is a board-certified physician in internal medicine. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, as well as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Collins currently sits on the boards of UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc.; Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives; the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts; and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.