Caret: Economic development key part of UMass mission

COURTESY UMASS
DEEP-ROOTED: UMass President Robert L. Caret says that the Dartmouth arm is embraced by the region because of its strong ties to local communities.
COURTESY UMASS DEEP-ROOTED: UMass President Robert L. Caret says that the Dartmouth arm is embraced by the region because of its strong ties to local communities.

It’s been one year since Robert L. Caret took over the presidency of the University of Massachusetts, the largest public-university system in New England and a major economic force in the state and South Coast. A scientist by training, Caret was credited in previous leadership roles at Towson University in Maryland and San Jose State University in California with raising the graduation rates of minority students while managing large capital-expansion projects.
At UMass, Caret has made raising graduation and student achievement throughout the system a priority, but faces the same pressure from government spending cuts public institutions across the country are facing. He is also managing the construction of several large facilities, including a biomanufacturing center in Fall River that is intended to be at the center of the new SouthCoast Life Science and Technology Park.

PBN: How do you push UMass into the elite level of colleges and universities in a time of budget cuts and shrinking resources?
CARET: We do so much on our own already, that we continue to do that. We don’t sit still and wait for the state. There are things that we as individual campuses have control of such as research and ramping that up, fundraising and ramping that up, our consulting, our royalty and technology-licensing transfer income. … We are also trying to get the state to understand that those of us at these kinds of campuses do believe in public education in being accessible and affordable for the general population.
We are trying to get Massachusetts to … take on a more proportional role in the education costs of what we do.

PBN: How much of the university’s role is serving as an economic engine for the state and region and how much is pure academics?
CARET: I have always believed that public universities in particular have three missions. The first is the traditional education mission – we take kids and get them educated and give them degrees. But we also have a huge economic-development mission, which we achieve both directly and indirectly – for example we are large employers and purchasers and large land developers. But there is also what I call social well-being as a piece, which is making society a better place, working with the K-12 schools, working with the elderly, working with people who have drug problems, working with people who are sick, working with people who are disabled and using the expertise of our campuses to make all of those things better.

PBN: UMass has been investing in new research facilities. With your background in chemistry, has boosting UMass’ stature as a technology hub become a priority?
CARET: Because we are a research campus and that is our differentiated mission, you will see us embrace the research piece very heavily.
We have ratcheted our research budget up to $550 million and the goal is to get it up to $750 million, assuming federal funding continues. … But we are looking to at least stay where we are, expand if we can, and diversify the funding sources.

PBN: Do you see UMass Dartmouth having a specific niche within the university system and what are your goals for that campus?
CARET: All of the campuses are similar. They are like five brothers and sisters, similar in some ways, different in others. Where Dartmouth is unique is, more so then the other campuses, it kind of stands there by itself. It is the UMass that represents the South Coast. Hence that region embraces it very aggressively, particularly Fall River and New Bedford. … I see Dartmouth continuing to expand what it has already done very well in the research triangle of Dartmouth, Fall River and New Bedford: the school of marine sciences, the advanced technology and manufacturing center and the biomanufacturing center are all pieces. … The state had already put in the infrastructure, the highway ramps and we just got the go-ahead on the funding to start construction of the new life sciences center. … I think it will be an exciting piece of what UMass Dartmouth has been doing.

PBN: What is the right balance for a public university to provide job training versus a more general education?
CARET: At some point virtually everybody goes to work, so the concept of school-to-career is not a bad concept, whether you are going to get an MBA or Ph.D. or an associate degree. I don’t think we provide the same role as the community colleges. I think we compliment them in terms of workforce training, but where you need a bachelor’s degree or where you need a master’s degree or a doctorate we are going to play a very big role, not only because of our mission but because of our size. Much of what we do is aimed at an outcome of an educated citizenry: citizens who go out and work, raise a family, pay taxes and play a role in their communities.

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PBN: Where are you taking UMass that your predecessors would not have taken it?
CARET: I think every new leader comes in with slightly different emphasis. We will continue to push very hard on the research enterprises, but one of the areas where we haven’t pushed as hard where I am going to put a lot more energy is the student-success umbrella. That is not just getting students into UMass, but getting them out of UMass and getting them graduated. We are going to play very heavily into that arena, including what I call the student-experience initiative, which is having them graduate with a great feeling for UMass so they want to support us financially, politically and emotionally. •

INTERVIEW
Robert L. Caret
POSITION: President of the University of Massachusetts
BACKGROUND: Originally from Biddeford, Maine, Caret studied chemistry before teaching and then entering higher education administration. He was hired as president of San Jose State in California in 1995 and president of Towson University in 2003. Last January, he was named president of UMass.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Suffolk University in Boston in 1969; Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1974
FIRST JOB: Shoveling snow for Biddeford residents and business owners
Residence: Boston
AGE: 64

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