President Caret’s Statewide Bus Tour Rolls into UMass Boston

UMass President Robert L. Caret visited the University of Massachusetts Boston Thursday afternoon as he wrapped up a four-day bus tour of the five campuses and neighboring communities.

President Caret was here to hear from business, educational, and civic leaders about what UMass Boston does to improve its surrounding communities – and how the university can work even harder to serve the city, commonwealth, and the nation.

The 400-mile listening tour made stops in North Adams, Pittsfield, Springfield, Holyoke, Amherst, Worcester, Lowell, New Bedford, and Fall River, before ending at Harbor Point.

“I want to hear what we do well and what we can do more of,” Caret said during his visit. “I want the five campuses together to be doing great things in Massachusetts.”

With Chancellor J. Keith Motley by his side, President Caret took a tour of the Boston Harbor on the university’s M/V Columbia Point, where he learned about the campus’ ocean research efforts and explored ideas for enhancing use of the harbor.

He mingled with entrepreneurs at the Venture Development Center (VDC) who explained that UMass Boston has provided them with opportunities and support to succeed that they couldn’t find elsewhere.

“There are lots of incubator centers out there,” Entrepreneurship Center Director Dan Phillips explained. “You can plug into an entire university here.”

President Caret ended his visit meeting with community leaders at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 in the evening, where he discovered the campus’ strong ties with its neighbors in Dorchester, South Boston, Quincy, and beyond.

“We were honored to have President Caret here on campus,” Chancellor Motley said. “The visit was a success, and President Caret left campus impressed with our innovative thinking, our dedication to our students and to our communities, and our vision for the future.”

The theme for the bus tour was "On the Road Together," which President Caret said on one level "refers to the relationship between the Commonwealth and the University of Massachusetts. I believe that we are traveling in tandem and that Massachusetts will be able to achieve the future it wants only if it has a strong and vital University of Massachusetts."