June 20, 2007                                                                        

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Jeff Napolitano (413) 320-6099
                           Eve Weinbaum (413) 461-2117
                           Max Page (413) 219-7633

 
UMASS FACULTY, STUDENTS, STAFF

PRESENT “PLAN FOR UMASS”

At a press conference on Thursday, June 21, 2007, University of Massachusetts faculty, students, and staff organizations will present their “Plan for UMass.”  The press conference will be held during the Executive Session of the Board of Trustees, at 10:30AM, outside the Massachusetts Room at the Mullins Center. 

Since a major reorganization of the UMass system was announced, many constituencies have organized to express their concerns about both the decisions that were made, and the secretive process that led to those decisions.  Today those groups have joined together in support of a new “Plan for UMass” (attached).  “Faculty, students, and staff are laying out a positive vision for the university,” said Max Page, a professor in the Art Department and President of the Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP).  “We are not opposed to change; in fact we welcome innovation and collaboration.” 

The organizations behind the plan have two main goals in mind.  They want to make sure that the process to determine the future of the UMass system is democratic, transparent, and open to all constituencies.  And they are asking for significant new investment in UMass, including the public higher education bill in the legislature, and policies that would guarantee access to more citizens of the Commonwealth.  Rachel Rubin, professor at UMass Boston and President of the Faculty Staff Union emphasized, “We want to support new investment in the UMass system, while preserving the unique mission of each individual campus.”

The plan has been endorsed by a wide array of organizations, including the MSP, Student Government Association, Graduate Employees Organization, Graduate Student Senate, UMass Amherst Chapter of the Professional Staff Union, Executive Advisory Council of the Faculty Senate, and the UMass Amherst Council of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM).  “All of these groups with different agendas have come together on this,” said Jeff Napolitano, President of the Graduate Student Senate. “The people who work, study, and teach at the university are the people who know best how to move forward.”

“We are pleased that two items on our agenda have won the support of Governor Patrick,” said Sara Muzzey of the Amherst Council of PHENOM.  The governor supports the idea of free tuition at community colleges.  And yesterday he announced that his Readiness Project will include a review of the UMass system, and will make proposals to strengthen the university’s mission to support excellence in research and teaching, and to better serve the Commonwealth.  “We applaud this next step and look forward to participating in the process,” said Muzzey. 

The press conference on Thursday morning will include representatives from UMass Boston and UMass Dartmouth, as well as faculty, students, and staff at UMass Amherst.

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For the past month, the University of Massachusetts has been distracted and divided by the sudden announcement of a plan to reorganize the UMass system.  The current turmoil is distracting all key players from what matters most: building an excellent, diverse, accessible and affordable university.  Divisive decisions and ongoing instability hurt the university’s ability to make the case for greater investment. 

We must return the focus to investing in public higher education that serves the Commonwealth; our ability to conduct outstanding teaching, research, and service; and the ability of faculty, students and staff to participate in the decisions that shape the university.  UMass students, faculty and staff have a long and outstanding record of innovation and collaboration in teaching, research, and service to the Commonwealth.  We are willing partners in any open and honest discussion of changes that would improve the system. 

Rather than reacting to each confusing new development, or choosing sides among personalities, the students, staff, and faculty of this university propose to work together to achieve the following two goals. 

1.  Process Matters.  Future decisions at every level of UMass must be made more openly and with more decision-making power with the major constituencies on our campuses.  This will result in better decisions and help the campuses feel more committed to any changes that are made.  We call for these structures to ensure participatory decision-making:

n       The creation of an independent commission to study the structure of the UMass system and to look at possibilities for reorganization, including ways to make the President's office and Board of Trustees more accountable to the public

n       Full participation of UMass faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders on the Board of Trustees, as well as any commission or task force studying future changes at UMass

n       The creation of a committee to develop new procedures for faculty and student governance to ensure that all major decisions require participation by faculty, staff, and students

2.  Resources Matter.  Excellence in teaching, research, and service is achieved when talented individuals are provided the resources required to achieve their goals.  We call for the following immediate investments in public higher education:

n       Full funding of the higher education bills that have passed the House and Senate (originally crafted by the Senate Task Force on Higher Education)

n       Within the University of Massachusetts, full and appropriate funding for the people who work, study and teach here

n       A comprehensive capital bond bill to repair and rebuild our campuses

n       Full funding for the Governor’s proposal for free community college, and increased funding for need-based financial aid for students in Massachusetts’ public colleges and universities