Chancellor's Monday Message
Monday, November 10, 2014    

My backyard is ablaze with the brilliant foliage of orange maples, yellow birches, and bronze beeches. On my drive home from yesterday's Open House on campus and grocery shopping afterwards, I passed by the Paskamansett River's stunning reddish copper spectacle reflected in the water, reminiscent of Fredric Edwin Church's Hudson River School landscape paintings of autumn. Nothing rivals the beauty and splendor of a New England fall!


As we consider these blessings on the eve of Veterans Day, let us also take a moment today or tomorrow to pause and reflect on the men and women who have so selflessly served their country, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Countless members of the UMass Dartmouth community -- students, faculty, staff, and alumni -- have worn the uniform or continue to do so today. I am very pleased that last month we earned official designation as a "Military Friendly" campus, meaning we have built quality programs to serve veterans and their family members at UMass Dartmouth, demonstrating the great respect we have for those citizens who are willing to place themselves in harm's way to protect the freedoms we hold dear. 

 

Yesterday's Open House with 1,700 registered attendees was buoyant with the eager anticipation of families who traveled from various towns and cities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont, as well as New Jersey. I met, among many, Erin Kelly from Springfield, who is contemplating a business degree; Caroline Connick, an honor student at Tiverton High School, whose father is also an alumnus and who desires a career in writing and communication; and Mackenzie Fox from Halifax, who is interested in our Bioengineering program. A huge thank you to Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Ian Day, Admissions Director Mike Lynch, Assistant Marketing Manager Kelley Mahoney, Marketing Manager Sherri Miles, Monica Faria, and the Student Ambassadors; Deans Angappa Gunasekaran, Robert Peck, and Jen Riley; as well as all the faculty and staff who organized and attended this record-breaking event.

 

The past week was hectic, beginning with the trip to the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) Conference in Orlando in the company of our Cabinet members as well as President Caret and other UMass campus officials. The theme was Progress Through Partnerships, with ample opportunities for us to network with other public research universities that are leading the way in economic innovation in collaboration with corporations, federal and state governments, and K-12 schools.

 

On Wednesday, I joined Dean Kimberly Christopher, Professor Emeritus Jeanne Leffers, and Nursing faculty and students to honor UMassD Nursing alumna retired Rear Admiral Julia Plotnick, who traveled here from Washington DC with her sister Pat. Admiral Plotnick, who grew up in Fall River, served our nation with utmost dedication as a community health and maternal child health specialist and journeyed to Iraq, Rwanda, Romania, Zaire, Ethiopia, and other countries under the auspices of the World Health Organization. We conveyed our profound gratitude for her $1.25 million philanthropic gift to establish the Julia and Harold Plotnick Global Health Endowed Professorship in the College of Nursing.

 

With the exceptional leadership of Co-Chairs Peter Kavanaugh and Nick Christ and the assiduous work of Senior Vice Chancellor Gerry Kavanaugh, we relaunched the SouthCoast Development Partnership last Thursday, November 6. In attendance were Mayors John Mitchell and William Flanagan, Representatives Tony Cabral and Paul Schmid, Dartmouth Town Administrator David Cressman, former Senator Joan Menard, and a host of community and business leaders. The rebirth of this partnership includes the addition of Superintendents Pia Durkin, Meg Mayo-Brown, and Linda Enos; Workforce Investment Board Directors George Hempe and Tom Perreira; Deans Angappa Gunasekaran and Robert Peck; and Public Policy Center Director Michael Goodman and Urban Initiative Project Director Colleen Dawicki.

 

I was thrilled to participate in the Facilities Master Planning meeting on Friday with Assistant Vice Chancellor Michael Hayes and his team; Design Lab architects Bob Miklos and Ben Youtz; Ayers Saint Gross architects Adam Gross and Kevin King; and Provost Mohammad Karim and Cabinet members. This is the second stage of our three-part campus planning process: 1. Strategic plan, already completed; 2. Facilities master plan, to be publicly launched on November 20; and 3. Budget strategic plan, yet to be scheduled.

 

Also on Thursday, our Alumni Association 2014 Awards were held at the Claire T. Carney Library Grand Reading Room. The celebratory evening sparkled with delightful conversation, friendship, and merriment, with the gracious presence of Trustee Mardee Xifaras and several of our Cabinet members and Deans. Congratulations to all the award recipients: Nuno Couto '97, Richard Aubut '75, Chancellor Emeritus Jean MacCormack, Catherine O'Keefe '13, Valquiria Ribeiro '05, Stephen Marshalek '94, and Roger Dugal '89. Hats off to Bob Saltzman, Chad Argotsinger, and Nancy Tooley for their efforts in making the event an unqualified success.

 

We have begun our public events to launch UMassDTransform2020, starting last Friday at our CVPA at the Star Store in downtown New Bedford. With about 40 people in attendance, I was pleased to see in the audience two City Councilors from New Bedford who are UMassD alumni: David Alves and Steven Martins. At today's Student Government meeting at 6:00 PM in Library Room 205, I will answer students' questions about the strategic plan, which Provost Karim presented to them several weeks ago. Students, I look forward to seeing you there!  

 

Have a great week!

Chancellor's Signature
UMass Dartmouth