2024: Captured on Campus

As 2024 winds to a close, we at UMass Magazine are reflecting on the year gone by. It’s been an eventful year, and we want to remember and share some of the major celebrations and tiny moments of joy that have made it unique. Here’s a taste of life on campus over the past year.

Two students watch the April 8 solar eclipse. On the first warm spring day after two weeks of chilly, gray New England weather, campus and community members gathered on Metawampe Lawn to grab a free pair of eclipse glasses and witness the astronomical event together. Although Amherst was not in the path of totality, viewers were able to see an impressive 94 percent coverage.

Students from the Farmer-Florist Practicum decorate an arbor with flowers and foliage at the Earth Day Extravaganza on Goodell Lawn.

Jaden Busch ’23, ’24MS goes above and beyond as a member of ZooDisc, the Division 1 UMass Ultimate Frisbee team.

Ruben P. Sança, executive director of the new recreation and wellbeing unit within Campus Life and Wellbeing, watches participants arrive at the official inauguration ceremony for Chancellor Javier Reyes.

Helping hands plant an American Dream Oak near South College at the Founders Day Ceremonial Tree Planting.

More Founders Day fun: Tethered hot air balloon rides rising to 75 feet up offer a unique view of campus.

Distinguished Professor Alice Y. Cheung, an internationally renowned researcher studying plant reproduction. Flowering plants are an essential part of the global food supply, but their vitality is threatened by the effects of climate change and other environmental damage caused by humans. Understanding plant biology, and how plants reproduce, is critical to addressing these challenges.

Taking a break, Spider-Man style, during a photo shoot with the UMass Climbing Club in the new on-campus Ascend Climbing Wall. Located in a spacious facility in the Fieldstone residential building, the wall provides opportunities for climbers of all levels to reach heights of up to 14 feet, and a lounge, patio, and fire pits offer space for building community.

UMass Police Department Detective Jessie Liptak, joined by a hardworking member of the UMass Mounted Police Unit (who apparently also has a thirst for knowledge). Bringing the horse into the classroom from outside was an unexpected moment during a photo shoot for UMPD recruitment materials. Two of the unit’s equine members, Miranda and Miller, retired early this year, but the remaining horse, Outlaw (pictured here), was joined by two new recruits—Cash and Major—from the Worcester Police Department’s recently disbanded Mounted Division.

Fresh faces beam on a ride during the New Student Orientation and Transitions Kickoff Carnival.

The UMass community welcomes the class of 2028 to campus with fun and festivities during UFest.

Dancers perform in the annual Cultural Connections Showcase put on by the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success (CMASS). This annual event is designed to welcome new and returning students, faculty, and staff to campus and celebrate the rich cultural diversity on campus.

An unexpected visitor rides along on a student’s shoulder while they pick up their farm share. The UMass Student Farm offers a community supported agriculture (CSA) program that grew more than 40 different types of different types of vegetables, flowers, and herbs in 2024—with a little help from beneficial insects like this praying mantis.

A bicycle ride past the pond on a sunny autumn day.

The UMass Minuteman Marching Band during their “Fifth Quarter” performance after the November 16, 2024, football game—just under two weeks before their big showing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Share your own memorable UMass moments from this year on Instagram with #UMassMagazine—and be sure to follow us at @umass_magazine!