UMass Dartmouth opened a new 22,000 square foot research building yesterday. The facility, which will focus on bio-engineering, molecular biology, and cell biology, and will be the home of the National Botulinum Research Center. It will be the first core campus facility devoted entirely to research.

“Today, we celebrate more than the opening of a building,’’ UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. “Today, we expand an Innovation Triangle that includes this core campus, the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) in New Bedford, and the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center (ATMC) in Fall River as its cornerstones. This is the latest stage in a rapid evolution of our university and our region.”

Joining Chancellor MacCormack for the ribbon-cutting and facility tour: UMass President Jack Wilson, UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Stephen Tocco, UMass Dartmouth Provost Anthony Garro, several legislators, members of the business community, and a diverse array of research faculty and students. The ribbon-cutting and speaking program were followed by building tours during which visitors were able to view displays of research being conducted across the university.

“This new research building at UMass Dartmouth is the latest state-of-the-art facility opening on a University of Massachusetts campus, one that will enable our faculty and students to make further advances in the important area of biotechnology.  During the past year, researchers at the University’s five campuses have conducted more than $400 million worth of sponsored research, providing a boost to local economies throughout the Commonwealth and leading to new discoveries and inventions that have resulted in more than $27 million in additional revenue for UMass through technology commercialization,” President Wilson said.

“Today’s opening ceremony for a new research building on the UMass Dartmouth campus is great news for faculty and students here, as well as for everyone concerned about efforts to develop methods of treating and possibly curing the effects of botulism, a deadly bioterrorism threat,’’ Chairman Tocco said. “The University of Massachusetts system is experiencing unprecedented activity in the construction of new facilities and the rehabilitation of many existing ones. The $2.3 billion capital plan approved last August by the University’s Board of Trustees ensures that our campuses will keep pace with the increasing need for more and better laboratories, classrooms, dormitories and other essential facilities.”

The new facility is critical to the University's strategy to play a central role in the development of the innovation economy in southeastern Massachusetts. The catalyst for the construction of the facility is a university research effort focusing on developing detection strategies, cures, and treatments for botulism. UMass Professor Bal Ram Singh, one of the nation's leading experts on botulism, has been working on similar projects at the university for the last 17 years in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, other major universities, and private industry. More

Board of Trustees approves doctoral programs in Nursing and Portuguese Studies

On March 14, the UMass Board of Trustees approved the creation of Ph.D. programs in Nursing and Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies at UMass Dartmouth, advancing the university's mission to address the challenges and aspirations of its region.

"Both of these programs are central to the UMass Dartmouth mission," Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. "We have a critical nursing shortage in our region and across the Commonwealth that needs to be addressed, and we have a rich Portuguese-American culture that is part of our community fabric and needs to be preserved and studied. Congratulations to the faculty and staff who worked so hard to establish these new programs." More