UMASS- Lowell, the new flagship?

[KahunaK]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/27/ ... ay_Results

This is a great project for UMASS-Lowell, Massachusetts, and Lowell in particular. Maybe UMASS-Dartmouth can do something similar to help Fall River/New Bedford. As a strong champion for public higher ed., I believe there should be more of this statewide. Education is clearly what makes some states more competitive than others and attracts public/private investment.

If Reyes is not careful, Lowell just might make that leap. Meehan was Chancellor there and as President he clearly has ambitions for not just UMASS-Lowell but Lowell in general. From what I read (not just here) the two major issues that Amherst is talking about are joining the MAC and DEI. Neither of which really will pushes the university to the next level. Swamy did a great job with the buildings and enhancing the academic reputation of the school. Swamy also hit a home run with the purchase of Mt. Ida. Now Reyes needs to get focuses on what the next step is....he needs to think big.

Amherst/Hadley would probably never approve anything like the Lowell project but perhaps Springfield would. Who knows? Is that a good spot for UMASS? I think UMASS Amherst and UMASS Boston get stuck on minor issues and fail their respective campuses. They both could do better.

For UMASS Amherst to be among the star public flagship institutions, they need to ambitiously raise about $2B. While that may seem outlandish it is not. A few years ago a friend of mine passed away and I sent some money in his name to the University of Michigan School of Music Theatre and Dance. I keep getting solicitations from them but the interesting thing is that the fundraising goals of this one school EXCEED the fund raising of UMASS Amherst!!!! UMASS can do better.

For those who say it would never happen, wake up. In the 90's, the thought that UMASS Lowell sports teams could beat UMASS Amherst sports teams would have been considered absurd, yet it happens all the time now.....even our vaunted basketball program. Things change and those who are forward looking and bold can seize the moment. I hope Reyes is that guy.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I hope those two branches of the UMass family do great things for their campuses and local communities... both communities need it.


But I'll be the person to say it: Neither will ever be the flagship of the University of Massachusetts System.

[69MG]

^ No doubt about it!

[Sheck]

We'll always be the state's land grand university. But Mass is big enough where it really should have two top notch public U's like many other states have. UMass Lowell should at least be comparable to flagships in other states (UMaine, UNH, and URI to name a few).

[DEM]

If Reyes is not careful, Lowell just might make that leap.

I disagree with the spirit of the above statement, which seems to imply that any good things that Lowell does, must be at the loss of the UMass flagship. This is not a zero sum game. As Shrek says:

We'll always be the state's land grand university. But Mass is big enough where it really should have two top notch public U's like many other states have. UMass Lowell should at least be comparable to flagships in other states (UMaine, UNH, and URI to name a few).

As mentioned above, a number of states have multiple high level public institutions. Next door, New York State has four high level public research institutions (Buffalo, Stony Brook, Albany, Binghamton), two of which are designated as flagships (Buffalo and Stony Brook).

For UMASS Amherst to be among the star public flagship institutions

Not sure what is meant by "star public flagship institutions", but I would argue that UMass is at this point very highly regarded and potentially already there. Though I don't particularly like the idea of the US News rankings, I think it can at least be an indication, and in those rankings, UMass is highly rated, tied with institutions like Pitt and Syracuse, and ranked above a number of other state flagships (Colorado, Delaware, Arizona, Iowa, for example). This is the case even as Lowell continues to improve (which is a great thing also!).

With all of that said, UMass should of course continue to look for ways to improve in all facets, including its impact on the community.