Caret is president of Towson University in suburban Baltimore, where he has also served as faculty member, dean, executive vice president and provost during the past 25 years. He also served as president of San Jose State University from 1995 until 2003.
Immediately after the board's vote, the 63-year-old Caret began laying out his vision for the university. He said he will be a strong advocate for public higher education and will press state and federal officials for the funding needed to keep the university system affordable.
"I don't think having public education become private education is the way we want to go," Caret said. "The public option has to always be there and it has to be a high quality option. You shouldn't have a public option that only the people who can't afford to go to the privates can go to. You want a public option that people choose to go to."