UMass Amherst: In and For The Commonwealth

Presentation for the Board of Trustees
November 7, 2001

As you know, last weekend was Family Weekend on the campus. It was good to hear directly from parents that they have been reassured by the letters and emails we have sent to them and to their sons and daughters in the wake of the events of September 11 and since then. It is a reminder of the trust the public has in us and a reminder of our obligation to them and to the members of the UMass Family members.

When talking with parents and students about the University, we say that its purpose is to serve the citizenry of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and (beyond) by providing access to excellent and affordable opportunities for learning invigorated by the creation of knowledge and research, the dissemination of that knowledge and research to our students; and the application of that knowledge and research throughout the Commonwealth. My presentation to you today focuses on how we strive to fulfill our societal obligation by applying the harvest of the knowledge and research from the campus throughout the Commonwealth.

As you know, approximately 75% of our students come from Massachusetts, with an equal or higher percentage of students remaining in the state after graduation, contributing in the long-term to the tax base of the Commonwealth. However, UMass Amherst also attends to the immediate needs and health of the Commonwealth by extending its knowledge and research throughout the Commonwealth. We have a critical presence in each of the counties of the Commonwealth, contributing to the economic development and vitality of the area. I would like to talk briefly with you today about that presence by highlighting some of those activities. Let me say, too, that the preparation for this presentation revealed that we do not yet have a definitive list of all the outreach activities from the campus.

Massachusetts, like many other states, has critical areas of concern and focus: education; economic and workforce development; health; the environment; arts and culture; and policy formulation . The outreach dimension of the campus mission gives attention to many, if not all, of these critical areas of focus. The following handout material provides the information of the presentation in each of the categories, making the strong, visual case of UMass Amherst: In and For the Commonwealth:

UMass Amherst: In and For the Commonwealth Handout (PDF 318k)