Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack

Remarks to Joint Committee on Higher Education

Boston, Massachusetts

October 11, 2005

 

Good morning Chairman O’Leary, Chairman Murphy and distinguished committee members.

 

I am here to talk about the value of partnership, partnership with the Commonwealth and partnership with the many organizations and institutions that depend on the university to power the economic and social development of Massachusetts.

 

When I arrived at UMass Dartmouth in 1999, we had no choice but to grow the size of our student body to serve the demands of the fastest growing region of Massachusetts...grow the size of our research enterprise to establish a regional foothold in the innovation economy...and grow the economic and cultural impact of our campus by producing highly skilled workers and thoughtful citizens.

 

We are on our way. Since 1999, our student population has grown from about 6,500 to 8,500; and our research enterprise has grown from about $6 million to more than $17 million per year.

 

We have been successful because our regional partners, from K-12 classrooms to board rooms, recognize that UMass Dartmouth is a powerful engine of economic and cultural growth. Let me offer a few examples:

 

Our Inter-Campus Graduate School of Marine Science --  a collaboration of the Dartmouth, Amherst, Lowell, and Boston campuses – responded to a decline of the fishing industry by changing the way fish populations were regulated by the federal government. The result was more open fishing grounds and an increase of hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue for the fishing industry.

 

Now, our marine science center is expanding its horizon through partnership. Working with  president’s office, industry, MIT, Woods Hole, UMass Boston, Mass. Maritime, Cape Cod Community College, Mass Insight and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative we are fueling the development of a marine science and technology corridor that runs from Rhode Island, up the Massachusetts coast, to Glouceter.

 

If fertilized and nurtured properly, this corridor can be the next great economic opportunity for Massachusetts.

 

We have made great progress, but I must say our success will depend on our collective willingness to act much more boldy than we have in the past.

 

When it was determined in the late 1980s that a marine science research center on the SouthCoast would be a good idea it took more than a decade to get the center built due to cumbersome state building processes.

 

My second example is the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center in Fall River, a partnership between UMass Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency.

 

In 2003, ATMC grew out of the ashes of the Kerr Mill, which was destroyed by fire 16 years earlier. The center, through UMass faculty, staff and students, assists start-ups and mature companies throughout the region by making manufacturing processes smarter, faster, and stronger.

 

The ATMC now houses 11 incubator companies employing 52 people with payrolls totalling $2.8 million and revenues totalling $6.7 million. These companies have attracted more than $8.5 million in grants.

 

Avant Immunotherapies, one of the state’s fast-rising bio-tech companies, located a satellite operation at the ATMC, and just last month the software development company, Meditech, announced that it was locating a 600-person operation next door to the ATMC.

 

Meditech executives tell us that virtually every one of their employees will need a 4-year college degree. We are working closely with the company and Bristol Community College to make sure Meditech and other companies can find those workers in our region.

 

I ask you to imagine what the southeastern Massachusetts economy would look like today if the Commonwealth provided the resources and the freedom to open the marine science center and the ATMC a decade earlier.

 

Today, such delay equals lost economic opportunity for our citizens.

 

Finally, let me mention a third partnership. It is called Connect, and it is a partnership created by the CEOs of UMass Dartmouth, Bridgewater State College, Massasoit Community College, Bristol Community College, and Cape Cod Community College to meet regional economic and cultural needs.

 

This partnership exists to assure that every dollar invested in public higher education in southeastern Massachusetts has the highest return on investment.

 

It works because it is built on trust and respect among the leaders rather than mandate.

 

Now, let me be clear what I am here to ask of the citizens of the Commonwealth through you. Along with my colleagues, I am asking you to send a strong signal to our current and future partners that Massachusetts is committed to building the best public higher education system in the nation.

 

Reforming the rules governing UMass building projects and a strong public investment in our facilities will accelerate our ability to transform our regional economy.

 

A strong public investment will allow us to modernize our 40 year-old science labs, library and academic buildings so that our students can acquire the skills and knowledge required to compete in the innovation economy.

 

A strong public investment will allow us to attract and retain faculty talent that is fundamental to having a world class university.

 

And most of all, a strong public investment will send a strong message to our current and future partners, that our students are worthy of their investment.

 

I look forward to working with my colleagues at this table, our partners throughout the Commonwealth, and the members of this committee to send that message loudly and clearly.

 Last Updated On: 3/22/06