Goodbye from Hillside
The Scotts say farewell in their 2000 holiday card
| The card sent out from Hillside in December. |
The campus was taken
by surprise last November 28 by Chancellor David Scott’s announcement
that he would leave office this June – even though, as he told the
Faculty Senate two days later, “I think you always knew I was going
to step down sometime between that point and two years from now.”
He’d “never planned to stay longer than 10 years” in the post, said Scott. He said that as he worked on his “Strategic Action” retrospective – the report on the accomplishments of the past six years which he’d presented to the senate earlier in the fall – he’d come to feel that the beginning of a new planning cycle was a natural juncture for a change of leadership.
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| THEY'LL BE CHEERING UMASS FROM THE SIDELINES: The Scotts at Hillside in October. |
This year’s holiday card from Hillside, the chancellor’s house, contained a message from David and Kathleen Scott on their impending departure. It appears at upper right as a way of extending their thanks and good wishes to as many members as possible of the community they hold in such clear affection and esteem.
Similarly, the following highlights of Scott’s “Strategic Action” report summarize for our readers the chancellor’s assessment of the current state of the campus, which he introduced this way to the senate:
“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.”
Highlights include:
- Over $130 million raised in Campaign UMass, a year ahead of schedule.
- A new logo, higher national profile, and enhanced reputation.
- Four new buildings (polymer science, computer science, animal care, and daycare), Fine Arts Center lobby, $4.5 million in classroom renovations. Total expenditure on physical improvements: $78 million.
- Wired 98 percent of campus, including all residence halls, allowing installation of 21,633 Internet connection ports. Total capital investment in information technology: $15 million.
- Established vice chancellery for outreach, making outreach equal to teaching and research.
- Increased access by holding tuition and fees constant and increasing financial aid from 5.1 to 7 percent of budget.
- Increased selectivity, accepting 69 percent of applications in 2000 compared to 86 percent in 1994; improved retention rates, achieved goal of entering classes reflecting diversity of state’s college-bound students.
- In athletics, ranked among top 16 in Title IX compliance; led Atlantic-10 in all-conference academic selections; won 1998 Division I-AA football championship; renovated Garber Field, opened new softball stadium.
- Created Commonwealth College, welcomed 100 Massachusetts valedictorians and salutatorians in the Class of 2004.
- Created 58 new international programs, increased number of students studying abroad by 43 percent.
Scott said that while much has been achieved, much remains to be done. He singled out the library and physical plant as two areas where “we must do better,” and said faster growth in sponsored research is a priority.
The strategic planning and action of the past six years have “tried to move the university forward on many fronts,” to make it “a more connected and less fragmented” institution, Scott said. He added, “These are intangibles, but I believe the campus 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.”
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This year’s card contained an affecting message from the Scotts:
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