MESSAGE FROM
J e a n F . M a c Co r m ac k Dear friends:
T
his spring a group of nearly 50 UMass Dartmouth administrators, faculty, staff and students gathered for two days of discussion about the future. The dialogue was energetic, realistic, and very thoughtful. There was friendly debate about strategy and priorities, and a very clear consensus was articulated — that our university must continue its development as a premier regional research university serving the region and Commonwealth. The dialogue followed the release of Engaged, Embedded, Evolving: A Report on Progress (www.umassd.edu/chancellor), that updated the community on our many achievements and the challenges we face at the mid-point of our 10-year strategic plan. We are educating more students and conducting more research, and we are more fully engaged in the community. We have perservered through some very difficult financial challenges. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is stronger, smarter, and even more innovative than when we entered the 21st century. Over the next five years, we will be operating in an atmosphere of increasing accountability and higher expectations. A four-year degree is now considered the ticket to a viable vocation, yet we also want our students to be critical thinkers and to have imagination that will power a knowledge economy. We also want them to be kind, caring people who are committed to democracy and the social contract. The pages of this magazine illustrate the various impacts of our university on the greater community. Ethnic and religious conflict, climate change, technological progress, and other world-flattening issues are forcing us to rethink what we do within the confines of Ring Road. Closer to home, our region and Commonwealth continue to struggle with drop-out rates that are devastating to individuals, families, and communities. Our region is trying to emerge as a serious player in the bio-technology, advanced materials, and marine science industries. Young, smart, innovative people who graduate from college are leaving our state at an alarming rate, weakening our long-term economic and social fabric. What will be our response as students, teachers, researchers and citizens to these urgent challenges? I am confident that the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth— its faculty, students, staff, and alumni — is prepared to lead on these issues. Sincerely, Jean F. MacCormack, Chancellor
practice love #12, “ghosts” 36”x36,” mixed media on canvas, 2005
practice love #31, “ghosts” 36”x36,” mixed media on canvas, 2006