University of Massachusetts
This page is about the university system across Massachusetts. The University of Massachusetts Amherst was known as the University of Massachusetts from 1947 until the creation of the UMass system. :See
Middlesex University (Massachusetts) for a private institution named the "University of Massachusetts" which operated from 1917 until 1937, when it merged with Middlesex College to form Middlesex University.
The
University of Massachusetts (officially nicknamed
UMass) is the five-campus public university system of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The system includes
UMass Amherst,
UMass Boston,
UMass Dartmouth (affiliated with
Cape Cod Community College),
UMass Lowell, and the
UMass Medical School. It also has an online school called UMassOnline.
UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst is the flagship campus and the largest of all five campuses. It was also the first campus established. Like many colleges and universities,
Massachusetts Agricultural College (as it was called) the Amherst campus was founded as a
land-grant college in 1863, receiving initial start-up funding as part of the
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. It is part of the
Five College consortium in the
Pioneer Valley region. It became
Massachusetts State College in 1937, and
University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1947.
UMass Boston
On the Columbia Point peninsula of Boston's
Dorchester neighborhood, UMass Boston is the youngest of the campuses, beginning in 1964.
UMass Dartmouth
Located in southeastern Massachusetts, UMass Dartmouth started in 1895 as the
New Bedford Textile School and the
Bradford Durfee Textile School.
UMass Lowell
Located in the
Merrimack Region, UMass Lowell started in 1894 as the
Lowell Normal School and in 1895 as the
Lowell Textile School.
UMass Medical
Located in
Worcester, Massachusetts, UMass Medical was founded in 1962 and is affiliated with the UMass Memorial Health Care system.
From 1996 to 2003, the President of the University was
William Bulger, president of the Massachusetts State Senate for seventeen years, and prominent and influential Democratic politician with roots in
South Boston. Bulger became involved in court testimony about his notorious brother,
Whitey Bulger. He was forced to resign after a sustained campaign for his ouster by Massachusetts governor
Mitt Romney.
The President of the University from the Fall of 2004 has been
Jack Wilson, former CEO of UMassOnline and interim President of the University after the departure of William Bulger.
[Campus News (2004). UMass Lowell Magazine, Fall 2004, 13.] Retrieved February 152005, http://www.umass.edu/senate/minutes623-wilson.pdf Address by Jack M. Wilson, Interim President, University of Massachusetts at the 63rd Regular Meeting of the Faculty Senate on October 16, 2003.] Retrieved February 152005]. For his work at UMassOnline, Mr. Wilson was inducted into the
United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame in October 2004.
[Wilson inducted into distance learning hall of fame (18 Oct 2004). In the Loop: News for Staff & Faculty. Retrieved February 152005.]Listed in alphabetical order*
Joseph Abboud (fashion designer)
*
Norm Abram (carpenter - did not graduate)
*
Frank Black (musician)
*
David Branch (commissioner of the
Canadian Hockey League)
*
Pat Cadigan (science fiction author)
*
Marcus Camby (basketball player)
*
Natalie Cole (singer)
*
Catherine Coleman (astronaut)
*
Bill Cosby (comedian and actor)
*
Jeff Corwin *
Trung Dung*
Julius Erving (basketball player)
*
Richard Gere (actor)
*
Russell Alan Hulse (
Physics Nobelist)
*
Fardeen Khan (
Bollywood actor,
B.A. from UMass )
*
Madeleine Kunin (
governor of Vermont)
*
Hugh Loebner (demographer, social activist)
*
Taj Mahal (musician)
*
William Manchester (historian, biographer)
*
Marty Meehan (politician)
*
Thomas Menino (mayor of
Boston)
*
Rick Pitino (basketball coach)
*
Bill Pullman (actor)
*
Buffy Sainte-Marie (musician, artist, educator, and social activist)
*
Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (
Physics Nobelist)
*
Jack Smith (former CEO of
General Motors)
*
Jack Welch (former CEO of
General Electric)
Official sites:
*
University of Massachusetts**
University of Massachusetts Amherst**
University of Massachusetts Boston**
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth**
University of Massachusetts Lowell**
University of Massachusetts Medical School*
UMassOnline*
UMassLinks.com - Find everything you need around UMass*
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education*
Massachusetts Community Colleges"
UMass" is also the name of a song by the
Pixies off their album
Trompe le Monde. It was named after the university.
