News 2022: UMassD community celebrates during Blue & Gold Weekend

Students, families, alumni, faculty, and staff return to campus

On October 14 and 15, UMass Dartmouth held its annual Blue & Gold Weekend homecoming celebration that saw thousands of students, families, alumni, faculty, staff, and members of the SouthCoast community come to campus.

Friday afternoon, Chancellor Mark A. Fuller, PhD was officially inaugurated as the sixth Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth since the campus joined the University of Massachusetts System. The event featured Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, members of the Massachusetts legislature, UMass President Martin Meehan, UMass Board of Trustee members including Chair Stephen Karam, Consul of Portugal in New Bedford Rogério Lopes, Richard Lafrance of Lafrance Hospitality, Chancellor Fuller’s family and friends, and UMass Dartmouth students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

“This campus of concrete and steel looks like it rose out of the earth, and now serves as a beacon of hope for the entire region and as the heartbeat and lifeblood of the SouthCoast. We educate the Southcoast’s population, and our graduates and research programs help drive its economic development,” said Chancellor Fuller.

Saturday morning featured the Blue & Gold Festival, where alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff gathered on the quad for an afternoon of fun with food trucks, carnival games, a DJ, student performances, pumpkin painting, face painting, and more. The festival also featured Arnie and his mascot friends Pat Patriot, a bouncy house, a petting zoo with pony rides, and oversized lawn games and carnival contests for prizes.

Down at Cressy Field, the crowd showed up for UMassD student-athletes. The afternoon started with Men’s soccer and Women’s Tennis taking on Western Connecticut. Those two contests were followed by the Corsair Tailgate, where alums gathered for drinks, food, games, and activities.

After the Football defeated Westfield State, the 5th Quarter party started with live music and dessert food trucks before ending Blue & Gold Weekend with a bang as a fantastic fireworks display towered over campus.