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University of Massachusetts

 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: University of Massachusetts
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Massachusetts, University of, main campus at Amherst; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1863, opened 1867 as Massachusetts Agricultural College. It was called Massachusetts State College from 1931 to 1947. The university's W. E. B. DuBois Library houses the scholar's papers and a noted collection of rare books and periodicals relating to agriculture. The medical school is at Worcester, and there are additional campuses at Boston (1964), Lowell (1894), and Dartmouth (1895). There is a statewide extension service.

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Wikipedia: University of Massachusetts
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
University of Massachusetts may refer to: UMass Amherst; Middlesex University
This article is about UMass. For the Wikiproject, see WikiProject University of Massachusetts.
University of Massachusetts
UMass Seal.png
Established 1863
Type Public university
Endowment $250 million
President Jack M. Wilson
Staff 14,000
Students 60,000
Location Amherst (Flagship Campus)
Boston
Dartmouth
Lowell
Worcester (Medical School), Massachusetts, USA
Nickname UMass
Website www.massachusetts.edu
UMassOnline

The University of Massachusetts (officially nicknamed UMass) is the five-campus public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The system includes UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth (affiliated with Cape Cod Community College), UMass Lowell, and the UMass Medical School. It also has an online school called UMassOnline.

Contents

Campuses

UMass Amherst

Main article: University of Massachusetts Amherst

UMass Amherst is the flagship and the largest of the UMass campuses, enrolling over 25,000 students. It was also the first campus established. Like many colleges and universities, Massachusetts Agricultural College (as it was called) the Amherst campus was founded as a land-grant college in 1863, receiving initial start-up funding as part of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. It is part of the Five College consortium in the Pioneer Valley region. It became Massachusetts State College in 1937, and University of Massachusetts in 1947. The library system is the largest state-supported library system in New England with over 5.8 million items. The campus has many architecturally distinctive buildings commissioned by the Commonwealth and designed by world-renowned architects. UMass is also known for its NCAA division I sports teams.

UMass Boston

Main article: University of Massachusetts Boston

UMass Boston is a major research university located in the City of Boston. Located on the Columbia Point peninsula, the University is surrounded by the Boston Harbor, the John F. Kennedy Library and the Massachusetts State Archives. The Boston Globe is also headquartered adjacent to campus. Subsequently, the university holds many partnerships with its neighboring organizations, providing research and employment opportunities. The university also conducts classes in downtown Boston, Braintree and other outpost locations. UMass Boston has an enrollment of over 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the second largest campus in the system. UMass Boston boasts larger graduation and retention rates than any of the other campuses.

UMass Dartmouth

Main article: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Located in southeastern Massachusetts, UMass Dartmouth started in 1895 as the New Bedford Textile School, the Bradford Durfee Textile School and later Southeastern Massachusetts University.

UMass Lowell

Main article: University of Massachusetts Lowell

UMass Lowell is a comprehensive University with a national reputation in science, engineering, Management and technology, and committed to educating students for lifelong success in a diverse world and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health of the region.

Umass Lowell offers programs in accounting, finance, management, management information systems and marketing, and provide students with a broad range of skills necessary for success.All the management programs are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the highest level of business school accreditation.

Located in the Merrimack Valley Region, UMass Lowell started in 1894 as the Lowell Normal School (South Campus) and in 1895 as the Lowell Textile School (North Campus).

UMass Medical

Main article: University of Massachusetts Medical School

Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, UMass Medical was founded in 1962 and is affiliated with the UMass Memorial Health Care system.

University President

From 1996 to 2003, the President of the University was William Bulger, president of the Massachusetts State Senate for seventeen years, and prominent and influential Democratic politician with roots in South Boston. Bulger became involved in court testimony about his notorious brother, Whitey Bulger. He was forced to resign after a sustained campaign for his ouster by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

The President of the University from the Fall of 2004 has been Jack M. Wilson, former CEO of UMassOnline and interim President of the University after the departure of William Bulger.[2]. For his work at UMassOnline, Mr. Wilson was inducted into the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame in October 2004.[3]

Board of Trustees

The University of Massachusetts is governed by a lay Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees functions as a legislative body dealing mainly with questions of policy. The Board is not an administrative or management board. In certain rare instances when required by the Massachusetts General Laws, it may function as an appeal body. The Board establishes the general policies governing the University, but has delegated many powers to the President and, through the President, to campus administrators for day-to-day-operations.

Composition of the Board

The founding Board had fourteen appointed members and four ex officio members. Formerly, Trustees were appointed by the Legislature or the Board itself; currently, members are appointed by the Governor. The size of the Board has fluctuated between twelve and twenty-four members. The current Board is composed of nineteen voting members and three ex officio non-voting members. Seventeen Board members are appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth; at least five of those appointed must be alumni of the University and one must be a representative of organized labor. The other two voting members are students.

Overall, the board has five student members, elected for one-year terms, from the Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester campuses. Voting membership rotates among the campuses: two students are voting members and three others are ex officio non-voting members.

Current Board

Trustees Student Trustees
  • Robert J. Manning, Exp. 2011 (Chair)
  • James J. Karam, Exp. 2009 (Vice Chair)
  • Ruben J. King-Shaw, Jr., Exp. 2010 (Vice Chair)
  • Matthew E. Carlin, Exp. 2009
  • Janet D. Pearl, M.D., Exp. 2009
  • Lawrence F. Boyle, J.D., Exp. 2011
  • Jennifer C. Braceras, J.D., Exp. 2011
  • Richard J. Lawton, J.D., Exp. 2011
  • Kenneth A. MacAfee, II, D.M.D., Exp. 2011
  • Stephen P. Tocco, Exp. 2011
  • Edward W. Collins, Jr., Exp. 2012
  • Philip W. Johnston, Exp. 2012
  • Henry M. Thomas, III, J.D., exp. 2012
  • John A. DiBiaggio, D.D.S., Exp. 2013
  • Kerri Osterhaus-Houle, M.D., Exp. 2013
  • Paul Reville, Secretary of Education, Exp. \infty
  • Emily Bloch, UMass Amherst (Non-Voting Student)
  • Tara-Jean DeSisto, UMass Boston (Non-Voting Student)
  • David Koffman, UMass Lowell (Voting Student)
  • Matthew Hoyt, UMass Dartmouth (Non-Voting Student)
  • James Young, UMass Medical (Voting Student)

Notable alumni

Ambox style.png
 This July 2009 may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this July 2009 if you can. (July 2009)
Listed in alphabetical order

Trivia

Ambox style.png
 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2009)

"U-Mass" is also the name of a song by the Pixies off their album Trompe le Monde. It was named after the university where band member Frank Black attended (but dropped out).

Before the UMass Amherst mascot was the Minutemen it was the Redmen. but because this name had the potential to offend Native American groups, the mascot was changed in the 1970s. The UMass Lowell mascot was changed from the Chiefs to the River Hawks in the mid-1990s for the same reason.

References

  1. ^ http://www.massachusetts.edu/presidents/index.html Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  2. ^ Campus News (2004). UMass Lowell Magazine, Fall 2004, 13.] Retrieved February 152005, http://www.umass.edu/senate/minutes623-wilson.pdf Address by Jack M. Wilson, Interim President, University of Massachusetts at the 63rd Regular Meeting of the Faculty Senate on October 16, 2003.] Retrieved February 152005
  3. ^ Wilson inducted into distance learning hall of fame (18 Oct 2004). In the Loop: News for Staff & Faculty. Retrieved February 152005.

External links

v • d • e
Public institutions of higher education in Massachusetts
Two-year colleges
Four-year and above

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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