Chancellor Martin T. Meehan Inaugural Address

Thank you very much Chairman Manning, trustees, members of the university community, distinguished guests, Congresswoman Tsongas, Senator Panagiotakos, and Vice Mayor Rita Mercier. President Wilson, thank you so much for being a tireless champion of all the UMass campuses, and for being a source of leadership and encouragement.

Thank you, Speaker Pelosi for your kind words.  We are honored - I am honored - to have you here today. In my first term in Congress, Nancy and I traveled to El Salvador when President Clinton asked us to be official observers of the historic democratic elections in that country. She’s been a dear friend ever since.  You know, I cast tens of thousands of votes in my fifteen years in Congress.  My proudest was to elect Nancy Pelosi the first woman Speaker in our country’s history.

Thanks as well to my former colleagues - the dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation – Congressman Ed Markey and Congressman Stephen Lynch.  I also want thank the outstanding members of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts who are here today. 

This University is very fortunate that it has such good friends - leaders who know that education is not just an expenditure, but an investment in our state’s future. You know, I’ve been following governors in this state since I was President-of-the-Student Government at Lowell High School...  I can say unequivocally... that Deval Patrick is more committed to public higher education than any governor, from either political party, in my lifetime. Thank you Governor!

A special word of thanks to the University’s outstanding cabinet, faculty, staff and students...
They perform at the highest levels year-round and their contributions during this inaugural week have made it a resounding success.  Thank you Ann Marie Hurley for your leadership as President of the Faculty Senate and for your kind words. Thank you Alex and Steve for representing your fellow students so well.

I also want to thank our alumni, friends and donors. With only 38 percent of our budget provided by the state, our supporters provide critical funds that help keep this university going strong, and make it a world-class institution. I am deeply grateful for your generosity, especially your participation in our inaugural week activities.

Thank you David Sargent, my dear friend and mentor, for your generous remarks. Thank you to former chancellor, Bill Hogan, who in his 25 years as chancellor was the animating force behind the dream of a university in Lowell.  That dream owes much to the vision and legislative leadership of former state Senator and alumnus Paul Sheehy, who wrote the legislation creating the University in Lowell.  Thank you Paul!

And, especially, thanks to my family, my late father who is here today in spirit.... my mother, my brothers and sisters, my sons,  Bobby and Daniel, and my wife, Ellen Murphy Meehan, who is my best friend and my enduring source of wisdom, strength, and inspiration. Ellen, would you please stand.

It is with deep humility and a sense of great responsibility that I accept the honor of becoming the second chancellor of this great institution, the University of Massachusetts Lowell.  I am the second chancellor of UMass Lowell.... but I am the fourteenth leader of the institution and its predecessor schools, founded in the 1890s.

Our roots run deep into this land. This region was the cradle of the American Revolution and remains a fountain-head of American innovation... Lowell gave our nation an Industrial Revolution. More recently, our region spearheaded the Information Revolution. 

This region, this watershed, is synonymous with invention, entrepreneurship, industry, philosophy, literature, environmentalism, healthcare and education.  Think about our scientists and engineers like James B. Francis and An Wang. Consider our writers such as Anne Bradstreet, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  And this University continues to build on that proud legacy.

We want the world to know we are one of just four National Science Foundation... centers of excellence in nanomanufacturing. We have the nation’s only master of music program in Sound Recording Technology, and our graduates are winning Grammy Awards. We have scientists who are engaged in groundbreaking research in limb - regeneration. Our MBA program is recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the best in the country. The Graduate School of Education is a leader in STEM pipeline initiatives. Our nursing graduates are caring for people in every hospital, medical center and clinic in the region. Our scholars have made Lowell the world’s hot spot for research on Jack Kerouac. At a recent Plastics Engineering conference in Germany, 150 industry leaders in attendance were our alumni. And... with opening day at Fenway Park about ninety-eight hours away.... we want the world to know that our engineers test all the baseballs used in Major League Baseball.
These are only some of the good things happening on this campus every day, and there are many more.  And this is a very good thing.  

Our region depends on the university being world class, not only in a few areas, but across the spectrum of disciplines. This University is different from many private colleges in the Commonwealth. The majority of our graduates stay here to work and raise families, to create businesses and jobs, to contribute to civic and cultural life. The role that this university plays in the development of the intellect and character of our students cannot be overstated.

We offer more than just world-class scholarship.  We offer hope for the advancement and enlightenment of each student who walks through our doors.  And we offer hope for the continued progress and prosperity for our community... 

Today on this campus 12,000 resident, commuter and online students of all backgrounds pursue Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. These students are the stewards, leaders, healers and builders of tomorrow.

I want to talk about one of our students, an exceptional young woman who captures the spirit of UMass Lowell. Rachel Carnes is a senior from Haverhill. In high school, she says, she didn't have a clear plan for her future.  But then she was accepted at UMass Lowell.... and she saw it as a chance to take a new direction. She’s a business major on the Dean's List. Everything was going well, until one terrible morning in January. 

Rachel was sitting on a bench in front of the library... when a pick-up truck roared out of control, jumped the curb and struck her. She sustained life-threatening injuries. Since then she has fought her way back through intensive medical care and rehabilitation. Last week... miraculously... Rachel returned to school. 

Her determination mirrors the strengths of so many at this institution who overcome adversity to get an education. Rachel, you, like most of our students, have been working and borrowing to pay the cost of your education.

Well, thanks to the generosity of donors to these inaugural activities, I am happy to announce you will be the first recipient of the Chancellor Martin T. Meehan Educational Excellence Scholarship to cover your outstanding costs and loans. Rachel, will you stand!

As we look to the future, we must start by acknowledging that the University exists in the most competitive educational environment in its history and we must rise to that challenge.

We live in a global society... and UMass Lowell must be part of that. We live in a knowledge economy... and we must contribute and compete. We live in dynamic communities, and we must be able to respond to the challenges and opportunities outside our doors and across the seas.

Our inaugural theme is: “Building a New Vision Together: Excellence Through Innovation.”

But what does that mean?

Our new vision involves taking a strong research university to the next level.... - toward wider opportunities for our students, increased engagement with our community, and heightened excellence in teaching, research and scholarship.

In the spirit of educator Ernest Boyer, I want us to infuse the word “scholarship” with a broader meaning-one that embraces the concepts of discovery, teaching, engagement and integration.

Part of the great legacy I have been bequeathed is an outstanding faculty and renowned academic programs.

We must build upon that foundation to give our students the richest possible intellectual experience. 

I am confident that our new, nationally and internationally known, Provost, Dr. Ahmed Abdelal, will help us achieve great progress toward this goal.  

We are proud of our world renowned, innovative community partnerships which bring faculty, staff and students … together with the public to solve problems and develop resources. 

Our world is interdisciplinary. We should encourage scholars who leap beyond boundaries to find new patterns of connectivity and insight.  

As chancellor, I do not see north or south or east when I look at this campus. I see one University.

We are together today.... We are going forward together.

The new bridge to be built across the Merrimack River will symbolize our desire for enhanced two-way connections with our neighbors near and far.
We will build more bridges to other sectors, private and public, for-profit and nonprofit,  business and cultural.

Over the next several years, this campus will be physically transformed. New buildings will rise on each side of the river.

Some say the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Well, we are going to design and build our future right here.

Our goal is to increase enrollment, growing our student body by two and a half percent a year and becoming more diverse. Diversity drives creativity. We say to people of all races, ethnicities, classes, religions, genders and sexual orientations-here you will find a welcome learning and working environment. We are committed to increasing the percentage of women at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and across disciplines, especially in the fields of math and science.

We are also committed to building a more vibrant campus life. Our goal is to see half our undergraduates living on campus and enjoying the arena and ballpark - that were built with university and state investment - as well as festivals, the National Park and many other Lowell attractions.

Part of our Mission Statement commits us to supporting “the development of sustainable technologies and communities….”

We cannot be healthy if our world is not healthy.

Our vision for UMass Lowell is to be a model sustainable community … From practicing energy efficiency and recycling to assuring that our new and retrofitted buildings meet the highest “Green” standards.

And you know … we have the pieces in place to achieve our vision.

To help realize our new vision I will be an active listener, a collaborative leader who is accessible and responsive, who values accountability, transparency, and an optimistic, entrepreneurial spirit.

I say to each member of this community-to my new colleagues- I will need your help to guide this University forward.

I worked in Washington for fifteen years. I had the opportunity to travel the world and meet with leaders of many, many foreign countries.  But for all my life, Lowell and this region have been my home. This university has always been close to my heart …. and the aspirations of the people of this region are my aspirations.

The scientist E. O. Wilson says, “Knowledge accompanied by pleasurable emotion stays with us.”

That’s exactly how I recall my years on this campus.

This University gave me the intellectual capacity, the analytical skills, and the inspiration to contribute to our society.  This University is about creating and preserving knowledge-opening and inspiring eager minds-broadening outlooks to encourage tolerance and fairness-applying knowledge to improve people’s lives.  Now I am responsible for a new generation of students who need what I once needed.

This institution was here to provide me a gateway when it was time to further my education. 
The gateway through which I passed must remain accessible and affordable and be a path to excellence.  I commit to provide that and more … to go further … because students at this public university deserve the very best.

When I walk this campus, I see myself in the students I meet.  They come from modest backgrounds and stand on the brink of unlocking their potential. They will leave UMass Lowell ready to be decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. They will leave, with heads held high, knowing they can compete against and collaborate with the best in the world, because of what they learned here … because of what they gained here.

Keeping faith with those who came before us, we seek to make a better life for those who are here now and for generations yet to come.

This is our unifying passion.

We shall achieve excellence through innovation…

And we will do all of this... together.