Alumnus donates $1 million to endow science & math chair
President William Bulger announced the gift of $1 million toward the endowment of a science and math chair from alumnus Alton Brann. This is UMass Boston's first endowed chair and second $1 million gift this year.
Student population on the rise
The 1998 numbers are in and the news is good. New freshmen
admissions system-wide is up 7 percent. Among new students, SAT
scores and high school GPAs are also higher, according to Bulger.
Conversely, the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs plans to
investigate a survey which determined a 2 to 4 percent decrease in
the number of students of color admitted university wide. The number
cannot be considered statistically significant, but the results will
be researched as a possible trend.
New Tuition and fee rates to be decided in February
Bulger is reviewing possible changes in student tuition and fees,
and plans to make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees in
February.
While the university system is on "solid financial ground," Bulger is
considering possible changes following the Board of Higher Education
recommendation to decrease year 2000 tuition by 5 percent, and a
possible increase in fees as a result.
University system reaching for development goal
According to Trustee Robert Mahoney, the university system is
one-third of the way toward its $77 million goal. Last year the
university raised $60 million.
"Last year at this time we were also one-third of the way there even
though we were half way through the year," Mahoney said.
The Foundation will focus on donor recognition and making sure donors
are conscious of the importance of their gifts.
ARD under Administration/Finance oversight
Trustees voted to place the Administrative ReDesign (ARD) project
under the auspices of the Committee on Administration and Finance,
altering its status from an ad hoc committee.
According to Trustee William Giblin, "It's really time for us to
internalize and take it on our own." The move will institutionalize
ARD under the standing committee.
The ARD project is now over three years old and, according to Giblin,
is gathering momentum.