Two weeks ago, Princeton University's Kwame Anthony Appiah, one of the leading national thinkers in the academe, wrote in the New York Times an article titled "The College Crossroads." Plunging into the national dialogue about what college is for, he referred to two competing visions, Utility University and Utopia University. Appiah averred that Utility University is concerned about value and skill, whereas Utopia University is concerned about values and soul. Utility U concentrates on preparing for jobs or professions and postgraduate earnings, the return on investment. Conversely, Utopia U deals with a liberal education, preparation for citizenship, learning civility and building a democracy.
At UMass Dartmouth, we do Utopia education and Utility education well, as evidenced by our students' appreciation of their professional education as well as their civic engagement pursuits as part of the curriculum. That is why we ranked high, #24 on the Washington Monthly among 700 Master's Universities, based on upward social mobility of our students - the return on investment for Utility U, as well as community service - citizenship building for Utopia U. Are you proud to be in a university that does both missions well?
What a heady and heartwarming experience was this past Alumni Homecoming weekend! Ushered in by Friday's Athletic Hall of Fame celebration, there was a jubilant cacophony as the honorees entered the tent and reunited with their friends, teammates, and coaches. Inducted to the UMassD Corsair Hall of Fame were former student-athletes
Michael Cotton (football), Meghan Coache (women's swimming),
Greg McCann (men's basketball), Kyle McCullough (ice hockey), and the 1985 football team from our precursor institution, Southeastern Massachusetts University. With football alumni like Jeff Duchemin, CEO of Harvard Bioscience; retired US Navy Judge Advocate General
Kevin O'Neil; Dartmouth lawyer Matt Quinn; Atlanta human resources consultant Brian Ego and many others present, it was exhilarating to hear the stories they narrated with nostalgia, the camaraderie and goodwill they shared undiminished through the passage of 30 years.
At Saturday's packed Alumni Tent, the festivities continued with alumni mingling with their friends and current students, enjoying the glorious, cool but sunny autumn day. Josh Encarnacion, who graduated last year and as Senior Class President led the establishment of a scholarship endowment for students, was on hand for a "Dream Scholarship" event. When the UMassD v. Plymouth State game commenced, the 1985 football athletes gamely joined our current Corsair football team on the field, shook their hands in a gesture of solidarity, and presented a plaque to their former Coach Paul Harrison. Standing on the sidelines as a spectator, I reflected on the powerful bonds forged on campus through athletics, the discipline imposed by coaches that help student-athletes mature and succeed, and the friendship that binds team members in a shared spirit that remains with them forever. Kyle McCullough said it best, "I am proud to be part of UMass Dartmouth Hall of Fame history, but UMass Dartmouth will always be part of mine."
Yesterday, at the 45th Annual Alumni Awards, I beamed with pride as I joined UMassD Alumni Association President Jennifer Granger and UMass Law Alumni Association President Herbert Kusako in presenting the awards. The accomplished alumni recipients were Caitlyn Camara (Accounting, 2007), Vice President of Black Rock Investments;
James French (Industrial Relations, 1978), President for R&D, Panasonic North America; Michael Joyce (Textile Technology, 1985), President of PrimaLoft Inc.; Dr. Craig O'Connell (PhD in Marine Science, 2014);
Dr. Joan Vitello-Cicciu (Nursing, 1978), retired Associate Chief Nurse, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Robert Mellion, Esq. (Law, 2007), President and General Counsel, Fall River Chamber of Commerce. The Alumni Ambassador Award was presented to Leslie Becker Wilson, the Alumni Volunteer Award to Judith Lima, and the University Service Award to Greg Paciulan. I have never been prouder to recognize the cornucopia of talent UMass Dartmouth has produced!
We are deeply grateful to the multitude of staff led by Interim Vice Chancellor Jack Moynihan, Nancy Vanasse, Nancy Tooley,
Amanda Van Voorhis, Jim Mullins, Meredith Rodrigues, Leanne Barkley, Robin Brow, Sean Rooney, John Hoey, and Joe Sullivan, among others, who labored for many weeks and months for an enthusiastic and successful Alumni Homecoming. At the Alumni Homecoming, our field hockey team triumphed over Fitchburg State University 3-0 - the fifth victory in their past six matches - and our football team had a 29-13 against Plymouth State University. Go Corsairs!
Two hundred twenty-eight years ago on September 17, thirty-nine delegates to the Constitutional Convention, including Nathaniel Gorham and Rufus King from Massachusetts, signed the Constitution of the United States. Here at UMass Law, Constitution Day was celebrated with a panel discussion organized by Associate Dean Eric Mitnick, moderated by Professor Phil Cox, and featured three faculty members and three law students Bart Henderson, Paul Swann, and Allison Blanck. Professor Jeremiah Ho presented on the constitutional right to same-sex marriage; Professor Margaret Drew examined the intersection of free speech and a criminal conviction based on threatening rap lyrics posted on social media; and Professor Hillary Farber considered whether the Sixth Amendment is violated where a child abuse victim's out of court statements are admitted into evidence in a criminal conviction.
Hats off to Professor Michael Anderson, Professor Duong Nguyen, and their team of students who readily beat their counterparts at other UMass campuses in the financial performance of their student-managed fund! In 2008, students in four UMass campuses each received $25,000 to invest from the UMass Foundation and were challenged to overtake the performance of the Standard & Poor 500 Index by taking long positions in US equities, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and exchange traded funds (ETF). This year, the UMassD Charlton College of Business student team won, having gained 14.12% investment earnings and outdid the S&P benchmark by 6.70%. The other campuses garnered 2.04% (UMass Amherst), 7.10% (UMass Boston), and 10.88% (UMass Lowell). The victorious student investors are Tyler Clancy, Cain Bochter,
Shawn Goehle, Elizabeth Armitage, Russell Logan, Antoine Rauch, Marshall Dravenstadt, Justin Levy, Michael Claveau, Ixe Velazquez, Steven Fors, Quinn Stoeckle, Evan Foster, Alex Henriquez, and
Sean MacDonell.
