Robert Caret, the newly-appointed University of Massachusetts president, quipped yesterday that the next chancellor of the state’s flagship campus should be someone who has superb abilities in managing and running the University.

“We want someone who can walk on water,” said Caret in jest “At the end, we’re probably going to have someone who will sink a little.”

He and the 18 members of a newly-appointed search committee, along with some other administrators, participated yesterday in the first meeting. The group will select finalists for the chancellorship and hand over its recommendations to Caret.

The committee – which is composed of members of the student, faculty and alumni body – will meet over the next several months and will select finalists to take over the reigns of the post – which will be vacated by current Chancellor Robert Holub by the end of next July – according to Philip Johnston, the chairman of the committee.

“We’re going to be playing a crucial role … in choosing the next leader of this campus,” said Johnston, who is also a member of the University’s Board of Trustees.

While many committee members want the selection process to move along quickly, they need to take some time to ensure they pick the best candidate for the position, according to James Karam, the chairman of the Board of Trustees who officially ushered-in the search process by formally recognizing the committee at yesterday’s meeting.

“There’s probably nothing more important that we do at the University … than selecting leadership,” said Karam.

But the mantra hammered in at yesterday’s inaugural meeting dealt with some of the qualities that committee members and administrators hope the next chancellor will possess – namely the ability to work well with other groups and people, as well as a commitment of dedication and a sense of strength.

“We need a leader to develop [the] flagship into what we know it is,” said Caret, who noted that the Amherst campus is the largest public research institution in New England.

Those involved in the process of selecting the next chancellor should also spend time on campus talking to the various bodies of community members, Johnston said.

“I intend to spend a lot of time up here,” said Johnston, who added that the next leader of the school should have good political skills and be able to work with the chancellors of the other four schools in the UMass system and the trustees. “I want to meet with all of the constituencies on campus.”

The next chancellor of the campus should also be someone who has the skills and experience of dealing with organized unions, Joseph Bartolomeo, a professor of English at UMass and a member of the search committee, said.

At yesterday’s committee meeting, members of the group present for the gathering each gave introductory remarks and spoke about what qualities they’re looking for in the next chancellor. They were presented with background information on how to follow the open meeting law during the search process – a measure that was initiated by Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office after her office deemed that the trustees violated the state’s open meeting law earlier this year when selecting Caret to become the next president of the University system.

“I’m certain that we’ll be able to conduct a search process that will be as open as it can be,” Karam – who had to leave the meeting early – said during the outset of the meeting.

The search committee members will continue to the meet over the next few months and will eventually select a few top candidates for Caret to review. Once Caret reviews and recommends a person to the post, the trustees must approve the appointment.

It was announced in late June that Holub would leave his post by July 31, 2012. The announcement of his departure came on the heels of reports that an evaluation committee – which was also chaired by Johnston – had given Holub a negative review in private sessions and recommended at the time that his contract not be renewed.

Yesterday’s search committee meeting immediately followed a meeting of the trustees on campus. At that meeting, both Caret and UMass Amherst student trustee Tina Kennedy addressed the board and remarked on future initiatives for the campus.

William Perkins can be reached at [email protected].