| University of Massachusetts Boston | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1852 Boston State College 1964 UMass Boston |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | J. Keith Motley, Ph.D. |
| President | Robert Caret |
| Provost | Winston Langley, Ph.D. |
| Academic staff | 800-900 |
| Students | 15,400 |
| Undergraduates | 11,044 |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Campus | Urban, 175 acres (0.7 km²) |
| Colors | Pantone 7462 , and White |
| Nickname | UMass Boston |
| Mascot | The Beacon |
| Website | www.umb.edu |
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system.[1] The university is located on 177 acres (0.72 km2) on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Students are primarily from Massachusetts but also from other parts of the United States and from foreign countries.
UMass Boston is the only public university in the city of Boston.
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The University of Massachusetts Boston was established by vote of the State Legislature in 1964. Freshmen classes started for 1281 students in Sept. of 1965 at the temporary Park Sq. location, and the Founding Convocation was held December 10, 1966 at the Prudential Tower in Boston. John W. Ryan was installed as the University's first Chancellor.[2] UMass/Boston is part of the Greater Boston Urban Education Collaborative,[3] In 1982 it merged with Boston State College (est. 1852).
In 1974, it opened its new campus on the Columbia Point peninsula on Dorchester Bay. The university originally occupied five buildings: McCormack and Wheatley halls, the Science Center, Healey Library, and the Quinn Administration Building.
The original Harbor Campus buildings were said to have had sparse and unattractive interiors, with odd mazes of hallways; the campus was known as "the fortress" or "the prison" colloquially.[4] They were rumored to have been designed by architects who were primarily familiar with prisons, although the library had been designed by the distinguished Chicago modernist architect, Harry Mohr Weese.[5] At one point in his career, Weese had designed the Metropolitan Correction Center in Chicago.
The contracting of the construction of the new Harbor Campus had resulted in a huge scandal.[6]
The Clark Athletic Center was added later, including an ice hockey arena, swimming pool, and basketball courts. It also hosted the first presidential debate between then Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore in 2000. The cancellation of two days of classes in order to create security for the debate resulted in a protest by UMB students, faculty, and staff members at the UMass President's office in downtown Boston.
In 2004 a new Campus Center was opened, designed by the Boston-based architectural firm of Kallmann McKinnell & Wood[7] and built by Suffolk Construction at a cost of $80 million. It houses offices, restaurants in a food court, event space, student clubs, and activities space. It also serves as the new entrance for the campus and was the first major building erected since the original Harbor Campus was built in the 1970s.
The original buildings fell into disrepair, and there are plans for replacement. Allegations of shoddy construction surfaced again in 2006 when the underground parking garage had to be closed because it had become structurally unsound. All parking is now outdoors, except for the Campus Center garage.
On June 2, 2006, Barack Obama addressed his commencement speech at UMass Boston to the graduating students. In his speech he talked about several things including his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004.[8]
In 2007, the university proposed a plan to change the nature of the campus from primarily a commuter campus with many parking lots for cars to a more residential campus with dormitory style living.[9][10][11]
J. Keith Motley, is the University's first African-American chancellor.
In 2009, the nearby Bayside Expo Center property was lost in a foreclosure to a Florida-based real estate firm, LNR/CMAT. The University of Massachusetts Boston has acquired the property for future campus facilities.[12][13]
(from UMass Boston website[14], note that this also contains the history of Boston State College)
UMass Boston is located off Interstate 93, sited within walking distance of the JFK/UMass MBTA stop on the Red Line. Free shuttles run between the JFK station and campus. The MBTA also operates bus stops on campus.
The university confers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, and also operates certificate programs and a corporate, continuing, and distance learning program.
There are eight colleges at UMass Boston: the College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Mathematics, College of Management, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Public and Community Service, College of Education and Human Development, John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies and Global Studies, and University College.
The university is a member of the Urban 13 universities, alongside schools like Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh.
UMass Boston is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Additionally, The College of Management is accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the College of Nursing and Health Services hold accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. UMass Boston is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools and the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools.
UMass Boston's faculty of over 900 consists of roughly half tenure-stream and half non-tenure track ("adjunct") professors. It includes Lloyd Schwartz, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in 1994, Monet expert Paul Tucker, and gay historian William A. Percy.[15] 96 percent of the Faculty hold the highest degree in their fields and there is a 14:1 student to faculty ratio.
The UMass Boston faculty and librarians are represented by the Faculty Staff Union. Over the past ten years, the FSU's aggressive bargaining accompanied by a number of protests has achieved benefits, livable salaries and job security for many of its non-tenure track members.
According to the 2010 World University Rankings released by The Times of London newspaper, UMass ranked 56th in the top 200, which the newspaper describes as "the gold standard for world-class research institutions."
Intercollegiate athletics, intramurals, and recreation for the students, staff, and faculty are the primary programs of the UMass Boston Department of Athletics. The department offers 18 varsity sports and is a member of the NCAA's Division III. UMass Boston has teams competing in the ECAC, the Little East Conference, and ECAC East Ice Hockey. The Beacons have been named All-Americans 93 times in seven sports. The Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams have won four NCAA Team Championships and 38 individual NCAA Championships.[16] In the years 1999 through 2006 the National Consortium for Academics and Sports named the Department of Athletics at UMass Boston first in the country for community service. The department is also recognized as a leader in community service by NADIIIAA-Jostens Community Service.
UMass Boston's independent, student run and financed newspaper is The Mass Media. Other student publications include the yearbook and Watermark literary magazine.
UMass Boston's undergraduates are represented by the Undergraduate Student Government, which consists of the Undergraduate Student Senate, the executive office of the USG President, and the office of the USG Chief Justice. UMass Boston's graduate students are represented by the Graduate Student Assembly. UMass Boston's graduate student employees (teaching assistants, research assistants, and administrative assistants) are represented by the Graduate Employee Organization/UAW Local 1596—UMass Boston Chapter.
The University was once recognized for its advocacy of human and civil rights. UMass Boston works to promote social justice around the world.[17]
The University also has a large waterfront recreation program. The Division of Marine Operations operates the Universities waterfront which supports recreational and Environmental education programs. Full-Time Umass Boston students are offered free sailing lessons and boat rentals, paddleboards, kayaks and harbor cruises. Marine Operations recently developed the U-Sea Fund Grant for UMass Boston Faculty who are interested in developing a classroom component around our ocean environment. Starting Summer 2011 Marine Operations will work in conjunction with B&G, Boating in Boston, to offer a sailing camp for youth up to age 18. Boating in Boston has operated for years in other locations and have shown considerable interest in Umass Bostons grand waterfront.
UMass Boston was mentioned in Martin Scorsese's 2006 crime drama, The Departed. The exterior of the campus can also be viewed in a scene from the beginning of the film. A character says that the university is in South Boston, and Mark Wahlberg's character ridicules him for the obvious comment. However, this is a common error. UMass Boston is on Dorchester's Columbia Point, and very close to the South Boston line.
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