UMass Amherst Cuts 150-Pound Birthday Cake to Celebrate Campus’ Sesquicentennial

AMHERST, Mass. – Thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends attended festivities marking Founders Day celebration on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus today on the 150^th anniversary of the signing of the campus charter. Among the highlights was the ceremonial cutting of a 150-pound birthday cake created in the shape of the university’s iconic Old Chapel.

 

It was on April 29, 1863 that Governor John Andrews signed the charter to form Massachusetts Agricultural College, creating the first Board of Trustees for what would become Massachusetts State College in 1931 and the University of Massachusetts in 1947.

 

Befitting the occasion, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy cut the huge cake in the shape of the Old Chapel as the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” accompanied by a large crowd including the Minuteman Marching Band, Sam the Minuteman and members of the UMass football team. A “green and sustainable” picnic lunch featured locally produced foods such as cole slaw, potato salad, free-range chicken, all-natural burgers, roasted vegetables, fruit salad and sesquicentennial cupcakes.

 

Also at the birthday party, organizers of “UMassGives” launched the campus’s first-ever social media-driven fundraising campaign at noon, which will last 36 hours. The first 1,000 donors will receive a T-shirt. The campaign’s goal is to support the campus in providing access to world-class education to students of all backgrounds. A core group of alumni, friends, faculty and staff who are already active on social media are serving as online ambassadors to spark 30 to 40 percent in first-time donors in the new online environment. The UMassGives effort is part of the $300 million UMass Rising comprehensive campaign launched this weekend.

 

Subbaswamy said, “In 2013, UMass Amherst is celebrating its sesquicentennial. One hundred and fifty years ago, the university began with four faculty members, four wooden buildings and 34 students. Today, UMass Amherst is one of the nation’s top public research universities.”

 

The student farm, permaculture initiative, student-run farmers’ market and Garden Share and Chicken Club all had booths at the celebration. For the cake, UMass Amherst head pastry chef Simon Stevenson said the 150^th birthday cake is the biggest he has ever made. About 10 sheet cakes formed the base for a three-foot rendering of the Old Chapel carved from Styrofoam and decorated with frosting. The edible base cakes, frosted to look like grass, were served to party guests. Dining Services bakers worked for more than a week to create the huge pastry.

 

“Making sure it’s a good rendition of the chapel was a challenge,” says the chef. “We used a lot of photos to get the proportions right.” He and assistant pastry chef Pamela Adams, with bakers April Bent and Shannon Santangelo, carefully shepherded the cake in the back of a truck from their kitchen to the Goodell Hall lawn at about three miles per hour to deliver it intact.