A Letter from Chancellor Robert E. Johnson
As another academic year begins at UMass Dartmouth, I am reminded of all the amazing things our faculty, staff, administrators, and students have accomplished since I began my tenure as chancellor.
I came to the SouthCoast in the summer of 2017 eager to work with an institution that was committed to academic excellence and student success. Shortly after my arrival, I engaged in a listening tour with 30 unique groups of students, faculty, staff, and local community members, business leaders, and legislators. As I listened to everyone and witnessed incredible learning experiences happen across campus, I realized that UMass Dartmouth offered a private college educational experience and public university value.
In this Chancellor’s Report, you will understand why I came to this conclusion. Whether it is the innovative research by our faculty, our commitment to regional prosperity and wellbeing, or our student outcomes - there is real momentum happening at UMass Dartmouth. I am proud of all that we have accomplished together, but as they say, the best is yet to come. I look forward to a bright future for our university.
Best regards,
Robert E. Johnson
Chancellor
Research
UMass Dartmouth cultivates a vital and vibrant culture of research, scholarship, and innovation that reflects the expertise of our faculty, staff, and students; the strength of our academic programs; and the needs of our region, the Commonwealth, and the global community
26%
increase in new externally funded grant awards from FY18-FY19
$16M
in external awards in FY19
Student outcomes
pass rate of the 2018 nursing national licensure exam
first-time pass rate on the July 2018 Massachusetts bar exam by UMass Law students
community service hours by students in 2018
in the nation for student social mobility
Social Mobility Index
of the Class of 2018 are currently employed full-time
hours of pro bono legal services by UMass Law students since 2010
Investing in our campus
Successfully completed a comprehensive Campus Master Plan to address significant infrastructure needs of the campus to be able to provide students with a 21st century learning and living environment
Enrollment
Every year UMass Dartmouth welcomes eager new students to its 710-acre campus. For fall 2019, the university welcomed more than 2,300 new undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states and 27 countries. UMass Law welcomed 113 new law students in fall 2019 - a record number of incoming first-year students.
Marine Science and Technology
UMassD secured $1.2M in funding from the federal government, the state of Massachusetts, and corporate donors to serve as a catalyst for the creation of an interconnected marine science and technology corridor in the SouthCoast region. To achieve this goal, the university established the Marine and Environmental Research and Technology (MERIT) Center that includes 50 faculty conducting interdisciplinary research. Collaboration is critical to achieving regional economic success, so the university hosted a Marine Science and Technology Symposium in 2018 that brought together more than 100 academics, industry leaders, and legislators to identify regional strengths. A second annual Symposium will be held in November 2019.
Future Ready
UMassD graduates students into a world where 65% of future jobs do not currently exist and 45% of current jobs will be automated by 2033. The world of work these students are entering is full of growing uncertainty and changing realities that will shape industries as well as national and global economies. The most successful students graduate ready for this new future. Our forward thinking faculty created a comprehensive University Studies curriculum in 2012 that included the cluster: “The Educated and Engaged Citizen.” Consequently, UMassD graduates acquire knowledge and skillsets through their majors while developing a mindset that values lifelong learning and the ability to reinvent oneself in the face of constant change. No matter what lies ahead, UMassD students are ready and able to invent their own future.
Scott Tingle ‘87
Mechanical Engineering Alumnus Captain Scott Tingle became a NASA astronaut and ventured to the International Space Station in 2017. Soon after coming back to Earth, Cpt. Tingle visited UMass Dartmouth to inspire students.
UMass Dartmouth and Air National Guard sign cybersecurity education and workforce development agreement
Athletics
UMassD student athletes have been making highlights on and off the field
University signs multi-lateral, multi-national teaching, learning, and research agreement with seven Portuguese institutions of higher education
UMass Dartmouth announces new Honors College and expands scope of College of Nursing to add Health Sciences for the fall