UMass–Dartmouth head calls for new thinking

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Jean F. MacCormack, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth, urged the campus community in a speech last month to become more engaged in the issues facing the region, the state and the world.
MacCormack’s Feb. 15 speech, which came as the campus is updating its 2000-2010 strategic plan, reflected on the university’s growth in student population and research since 2000 and urged the campus to think anew about the role of the university in an era of accelerating globalization, increasing diversity and rapidly advancing technology.
“Ethnic and religious conflict, climate change, technological progress and other world-flattening issues are forcing us to rethink what we do within the confines of Ring Road,” she said. Arguing that the university must inspire lifelong learning, encourage civic engagement and ignite the innovation economy, she urged faculty, students and staff to “become more accessible, more innovative, more collaborative and more willing to examine ourselves on all fundamental issues that define quality.”