Message From Jean F. MacCormack
Fall 2007
Dear Friends,
Several weeks ago, about 100 of our friends and colleagues gathered at the Claire T. Carney Library to launch a new book on the history of our Dartmouth campus. Entitled UMass Dartmouth 1960-2006: Trials and Triumph, the 416-page, 580-photo book written and edited by our own History Professor Emeritus Fred Gifun, captures the rapid evolution of our campus.
The history ignites memories of the marches to Boston to make clear the aspirations of our university and our region. It reminds us that we are the product of many mergers during which each party had to surrender something in order to build a greater institution; and it shows us that the only constant is change. Over the next five, ten, forty years, our university will continue to evolve. It is our challenge to make sure that the coming changes result in something better for our students, our region, the Commonwealth, and the nation.
On the pages that follow, you will also read about:
- English Professor Robert Waxler's "Changing Lives Through Literature" program, which is reshaping lives from progressive Massachusetts, to middle America, to the death penalty counties of Texas (page 13);
- Professors such as Renate Crawford of the physics faculty and Maria Blanton of mathematics, and two distinguished alumnae, who are setting important examples in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics (page 8);
- Two of our students, Fouad Jeryes and Cathy Young- Perry, who share their fresh perspectives on critical international issues: the rise of China and the terrible impact of suicide bombing in Afghanistan (page 16);
- Our alumni and faculty who are helping to shape the expanding debate about casino gambling in Massachusetts (page 2).
These are just the latest examples of how our university continues to push forward, as it always has, sometimes against powerful opposition to our aspirations. We can always take inspiration in the timeless words of Michelangelo included in Dr. Gifun's book: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
Onward,
Jean F. MacCormack, Chancellor