Enabling Community

Remarks from the Community Breakfast, August 31, 2001

Over the last several days as I have been preparing remarks for beginning-year events such as this one and reviewing the wide range of examples of excellence that constitute this campus we affectionately call UMass, I am struck by how much we have accomplished. Collectively we constitute an extraordinary weave of intellectual, topographical, humane and spiritual threads. But how have we accomplished this?

The answer to that question is easy and comes readily and I hope in your experiences here you will soon feel the spirit of community–a spirit sometimes palpable, as we strive to work together to accomplish things we must. At UMass--in this community-- we believe that cooperative and collaborative efforts not only make for better, more effective results, but also that the process whereby issues were discussed and solutions to challenges emerged was informed by better, more diverse, perspectives.

I think of a community as a place where together people agree to live in a vital and constructive interdependency; where people matter; where there is a tacit agreement to create opportunities and seek solutions to challenges together; where growth in one part of the community enhances vitality in another; where together people commit and recommit to identifying and living shared values.

Well, I want us together to revitalize the campus and our communities from a firm platform of shared values, common purposes, and cooperative and collaborative efforts. Among the values I believe this community holds dear are fairness; diligence; loyalty; a passion for continuing traditions of excellence; determination; perseverance; a harmony of parts; conscientiousness; integrity; respect; and cooperation (and this list is not definitive). While there have been times we were more successful than at others, we continue to strive to "get it right" for us as a community.

Let me give you some examples:

The partnership agreements between the University and the towns of Amherst and Hadley more formally established over the past several years;

the student firefighters, comprised of students from area colleges, who have become an important part of Amherst’s public safety efforts. This year the Amherst Fire Department will sponsor 36 student firefighters, whom the town will have as volunteers to support the services offered by the professional fire-fighting force; the students will experience an important leadership development opportunity and practical job skills that will enhance their futures;

the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce has been working this year with the University to develop the Chamber’s first fall welcoming event for students, which will take place on the evening of September 12th. This event will encourage students to explore the downtown area, visit businesses, meet local residents and help instill in those students the sense that they are also a part of a vital community–one that extends beyond the borders of the campus;

COMECC (Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Charitable Campaign). Last year employees at the University contributed nearly a half million dollars to local, regional, and international charities through our workplace campaign–we call it the UMass Caring and Sharing Campaign;

through our Community Service Learning initiatives we have matched hundreds of students with long-term volunteer opportunities with local non-profit organizations helping to meet critical needs in the community. Students, in turn, learn the critical skill of enablement–for others, but also for themselves;

and the current Housing study that’s underway is the first step in addressing finally the interconnections between the campus’ housing needs and those of the communities.

Our larger community is, in a sense, a tapestry whose overall integrity is dependent upon the strength, resilience, and interconnectedness of each of its threads. For the University this weaving together of parts has constituted our mission from our land-grant beginnings. Today we are renewing that mission in the conscious context of Community–where we view the creation of knowledge and research as a public trust; its dissemination to our students, whether traditional or life-long, as a moral vocation; and its application beyond the campus boundaries as a societal obligation.

Each of the examples given of partnering between the University and the communities have in common the enablement of both partners. We must remember to reflect on our accomplishments together–and let me acknowledge that the accomplishments of the past 8 years with the leadership of former Chancellor David Scott have been most significant–reflect on these accomplishments and use them as a firmer, broader base to achieve further successes together. I look forward to our partnerships this year. Thank you for coming this morning to renew these commitments together.