11/13/2015
Lowell Sun
By Grant Welker
BOSTON -- Marty Meehan invoked his childhood in South Lowell, growing up as one of seven siblings, and what his hometown university meant to him as a student as he was sworn in Thursday as the 27th president of the University of Massachusetts.
As a new Lowell High School graduate, what was then the University of Lowell launched him toward a career in law and later in Congress. His alma mater later benefited from his vision and leadership during his eight-year term as chancellor. Now, Meehan is the first product of the UMass system to be its president.
"I see myself as carrying the torch that my parents lit," Meehan said in a speech that was much more personal than it was a nuts-and-bolts vision for the university.
"It is a torch I hold proudly."
"I hold it knowing how hard they worked to create a better future for their children," he said, "And remembering the great joy my parents experienced when those better futures arrived. It is a torch I will always hold high."
Meehan spoke moments after an official swearing in by Gov. Charlie Baker with his wife, Ellen, and sons Robert and Daniel at his side.
The location of the ceremony -- in a mock U.S. Senate chamber at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute -- was fitting for Meehan, who before leading UMass Lowell spent 14 years in Congress. At the time he was appointed chancellor, some criticized the move as a politically connected hire.
But in the next eight years, Meehan led UMass Lowell to a new level, with a dramatic rise in enrollment and selectivity, a major building boom and a quick climb up national college rankings. Earlier this week, the university said its economic impact on the region is $854 million, an increase of 74 percent from only five years earlier.
Meehan now faces the challenge of finding the same success on a much larger scale. The five-campus UMass system includes about 73,000 students.
Already, Meehan has hit hurdles. The Senate did not fund $10.9 million that he expected to cover pay increases for faculty and staff. The Legislature also failed this year to meet its obligation under a so-called 50-50 plan, in which the university keeps student costs flat if the state funds half the system's budget.
Those concerns were put aside for at least Thursday night as Meehan was celebrated as UMass president in front of a crowd that included a large contingent from Lowell, former colleagues in Congress and others.
Baker used a sports analogy to praise Meehan, comparing him to a five-tool player, a high compliment for a well-rounded baseball player. Those five skills for Meehan, Baker said, are clarity, follow-through, collaboration, leadership and energy.
Each contribute to Meehan's success, the governor said, who also spoke of Meehan's particular fondness toward UMass.
"He doesn't think about it as another feather in his cap," Baker said of the presidency. "He really wants to do the job."
Meehan has never forgotten what it's like to be a student, said UMass Lowell student trustee Amanda Robinson, who has taken Meehan's course on Congress. "Marty Meehan believes fundamentally that every student who steps foot on a UMass campus is there for a real reason," she said.
Meehan did outline a few visions for UMass, speaking afterward of finding new revenue sources and increasing the school's endowment to $1 billion.
He also said he wants to enhance online learning, provide "a path" to a $30,000 to $35,000 UMass degree, and work toward a three-year degree offering.
"These may not be paths every student will choose to take," Meehan said. "Many students and families will still opt for a traditional, campus-based educational experience. But these new paths will be right for some students and so they should be made available to all students."