for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
Nov.
10, 2000
|
Chancellor details progress on by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff
 hancellor
David K. Scott presented highlights of the campus's accomplishments
over the last six years to the Faculty Senate Nov. 2 in a retrospective
of the campus' "Strategic Action" plan. "We believe we have met or exceeded two-thirds of the goals," he said. "We are better today as a result of this plan than we would be if we hadn't had a plan. "Our buildings are better. Our reputation is better. We have become a wired campus. We have improved access by holding down tuition and fees and increasing aid to students. We have a planning process that goes hand-in-hand with our budget process. We have created partnerships locally and internationally. Our research has increased, and it has been accomplished with fewer faculty." Focusing on 20 goals in the report, "Towards a Commonwealth of Learning," Scott cited evidence that the campus has exceeded 12 of them, including fostering the internationalization of the University, reflecting the diversity of Massachusetts' college-bound high school graduates in the entering class, achieving gender equity in sports without compromising men's athletics, connecting student rooms and staff offices and labs to the Internet, and creating partnerships with external communities. He said the campus was still striving to meet five of the goals: reorganizing the schools and colleges, making major resource investments in the physical plant, improving the Libraries' ranking, increasing sponsored research, and achieving the profile of an American Association of Universities/land-grant institution. Of the 19 institutions that are both AAU and land grant, Scott said, "These, I believe, are the powerhouses of American higher education for the future. "'Towards a Commonwealth of Learning' has tried to move the University forward on many fronts to blur the boundaries and become a more connected and less fragmented University, internally and externally. These are intangibles, but I believe the University is more settled and more resilient than it was six years ago. This is a great tribute to the faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to building the University through good times and bad." The chancellor's complete report is available online (www.umass.edu/chancellor/vision/). |
