The presidential search committee at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) has narrowed its search down to two primary candidates, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Jack M. Wilson and Alan D. Solomont are the two finalists for the position.

Wilson is the interim president of UMass. Prior to that, he had been working at UMass as a professor of physics. He has also served as the director of UMass OnLine and he held several administrative posts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institution, according to the Gazette.

Solomont currently owns a consulting firm in a Boston suburb. According to the Gazette, Solomont has also served as the treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. He is a graduate of UMass at Lowell and chaired the UMass Lowell board of trustees.

The committee interviewed eight other candidates during the month of January. Although reports indicate that the committee will make its final decision between Wilson and Solomont, the committee also seriously considered at least two other candidates, according to the Gazette.

The committee could make a final decision on March 30th. Their decision will be subject to review by the board of trustees and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

College refuses labor code

The board of trustees at Mt. Holyoke College has again rejected suggestions by the student body, faculty and staff to adopt a fair labor code, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. More than 200 people attended a rally last month in an effort to change the school's current policy.

The Student Coalition for Action demanded that wages be set at a minimum of $12 an hour, that laborers hired by contractors get the same benefits as other college employees, that the College be neutral to unions and that a committee be established to monitor labor problems, according to the Gazette.

College officials, however, say that Mt. Holyoke is too small for the school to change public labor policy while remaining competitive on contracts, according to the Gazette. College administrators have urged students and other concerned parties to contact their state and federal legislators regarding the issue.