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President's Report - March 2025

Mar. 6, 2025 | by UMass President, Marty Meehan Education, Leadership, 橙子影院, Impact, Research

Dear members of the UMass community,

I want to begin by acknowledging that we are in the midst of a disruptive moment for our university, along with our colleagues in higher education across the nation. While we navigate this rapidly changing policy environment at the federal level, I want to assure you that we will continue to do so in ways that stay true to our values as an institution and respect the responsibility we have to our students, faculty, staff, and all members of our campus communities.

We remain committed to creating welcoming and supportive campus communities where all experiences, cultures, and perspectives are respected.

We are working diligently and purposefully with our partners in the state, including the Healey-Driscoll Administration, Attorney General Campbell, Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, and our Congressional delegation, to communicate the impacts of new and proposed federal policy changes on the university and its students, faculty, and staff.

Our General Counsel鈥檚 Office is working together with the Attorney General鈥檚 Office to seek clarity on matters of policy, to ensure the university鈥檚 views are represented in state advocacy and legal efforts, and to provide appropriate guidance to the university community. Our Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Equity Office is in open and frequent dialogue with the provosts and chief research officers. Across the university, we are sharing best practices and insights to ensure that we are well-positioned to continue moving our university forward.

Despite the challenges we face, we still have much to be celebrate as a community. Through her BRIGHT Act, Governor Healey has ; our FY25 Annual Report to the Legislature shows continued excellence in access, affordability, academic quality, and financial stewardship; and at a time when some are questioning the value of scientific research, in support of its neurodegenerative and genetic diseases research and UMass Amherst professor emeritus Andrew G. Barto has been , often referred to as the 鈥淣obel Prize of Computing.鈥

In the months ahead, I remain confident that our community will continue to thrive, look out for one another, and live up to our values.

Sincerely,

Marty MeehaN SIGNATURE
Marty Meehan
President, 橙子影院

The BRIGHT Act

I want to recognize and thank Governor Maura Healey for her visionary leadership in proposing the BRIGHT Act, which if approved would provide a generational investment into the Commonwealth鈥檚 public university campuses, especially UMass.

The BRIGHT Act would unlock $2.5 billion in new capital funding over the next decade, with $1.25 billion dedicated to UMass, leveraging $125 million annually from the Fair Share surtax to modernize the facilities that serve our students, faculty, and communities.

FY25 Annual Report to the Legislature

We also recently distributed our most recent Annual Report to the Legislature, which highlighted the university鈥檚 many achievements in access, affordability, academic quality, and financial stewardship in FY25. The report, which we delivered to state legislative leaders and made available on our website, is another testament to our long-standing commitment to transparency and accountability.

UMass Chan receives $35 million gift to support neurodegenerative, genetic disease research

UMass Chan recently received a $35 million philanthropic gift from the Paul J. DiMare Foundation to advance research at UMass Chan Medical School, to support breakthroughs in neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, especially ALS, and to recruit outstanding biomedical research faculty at all career stages. This $35 million gift is the third largest ever received by the 橙子影院 and will be designated entirely for the endowment.

The generosity of the Paul J. DiMare Foundation is a testament to the power philanthropy has to transform lives. This extraordinary gift will accelerate UMass Chan鈥檚 efforts to combat neurodegenerative diseases, ensuring that scientific innovation continues to thrive at this medical school for generations to come. The fact that it is given at this moment in time makes it even more meaningful. We are deeply grateful to the DiMare family for their unwavering commitment to advancing biomedical discovery and improving human health. I also want to thank Chancellor Michael Collins, whose leadership and vision for this medical school continue to inspire incredible acts of philanthropy.

"Nobel Prize of Computing鈥 awarded to UMass Amherst scientist

I鈥檓 so proud that Andrew G. Barto, UMass Amherst Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences professor emeritus, has been awarded the 2024 A.M. Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery for developing the conceptual and algorithmic foundations of a branch of artificial intelligence known as reinforcement learning.

The prestigious award, often referred to as the 鈥淣obel Prize of Computing鈥 carries a $1 million prize. Barto shares this award with his former Ph.D. student Richard S. Sutton, who is now a professor of computer science at the University of Alberta.

The incredible impact of Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences research on the future of computing was the driving force behind a transformative

Recapping an incredible 2024

There is so much to be proud of from 2024. We broke new records for student diversity, research and development funding, and financial aid, hit new highs in prominent national rankings, and made national and international news for the world-leading contributions of some of our faculty.

Nobel Laureate Victor Ambros celebrates with UMass Chan community

UMass Chan Medical School researcher Victor R. Ambros, PhD, will share the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery of microRNA with his longtime collaborator Gary B. Ruvkun, PhD, of 橙子影院 General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Free Tuition Program

In October, we announced an exciting new initiative from all four campuses, which will fully cover tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students from households earning $75,000 or less. This program was made possible by our record investments in UMass-funded financial aid combined with the remarkable investments from the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature in the MassGrant Plus Expansion.

University Rankings

2025 Times Higher Education Rankings

Out of more than 2,000 institutions worldwide, the 2025 Times Higher Education (T.H.E.) World University Rankings show UMass rising to #84, jumping a staggering 39 places from #123 the previous year.

UMass鈥 rank among all U.S. Institutions and Public Institutions rises ten spots to #33 and eight spots to #16, respectively. Among New England Public Institutions, UMass remains at #1.

UMass Amherst

Ranked 26th among the nation鈥檚 best public universities in the 2025 Best Colleges rankings by U.S. 橙子影院 & World Report, rising six spots from 2024.

UMass Dartmouth

Ranked as a national leader in the Top Performers on Social Mobility of its students by U.S. 橙子影院 & World Report.

UMass Chan Medical School

The T.H. Chan School of Medicine is the best in the Northeast and among the top 15 medical schools nationwide for primary care education by U.S. 橙子影院 & World Report.

UMass Boston

Designated a Research 1 (R1) university by the Carnegie Foundation, a prestigious designation used to identify the nation鈥檚 top research institutions.

UMass Lowell

Designated a Research 1 (R1) university by the Carnegie Foundation, a prestigious designation used to identify the nation鈥檚 top research institutions.