Institutes and Centers Associated with College and Departments
The following list of organized research entities associated with colleges and departments has been updated as of December 31, 2005. The list will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.
Adult Literacy Resource Institute
The Adult Literacy Resource Institute (ALRI), affiliated with the Graduate College of Education, was founded in 1983 and is funded primarily by the Massachusetts Department of Education and the City of Boston EDIC/Office of Jobs and Community Services. ALRI now serves as the Greater Boston Regional Support Center for the state’s System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES). The ALRI mission is to provide professional and program development services and resources to the staff at adult basic education, adult literacy, ESOL, and GED preparation programs in the Boston region. After being located for many years off-campus, ALRI moved to the UMass Boston campus in August of 2004 and can now be found in the Wheatley Building, 4th floor, room 167.
Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research
The Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts, was established in 1999 to support archaeological research in landscape and environmental archeology, historical archeology, and environmental history. The Fiske Center also undertakes public archeological projects that assist governmental and private organizations with cultural resources, and helps support the historical archeology program in anthropology by creating research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.
Center for Coastal Environmental Sensing Networks
The Center for Coastal Environmental Sensing Networks (CESN) will bring together university researchers, Massachusetts business and industry leaders, and state and federal decision-makers, to provide an integrated framework for developing environmental sensor networks, especially in coastal areas. This research center will allow partners to (a) develop and test new environmental sensors and transfer them to commercial markets, (b) develop “smart” sensor networks for observing complex interactions of coastal systems including “hotspots and hot moments,” (c) develop discrete and agent-based models to rapidly analyze and visualize complex and non-continuous data streams, and (d) support environmental decision-making processes. Applications will range from ecological to military to recreational.
Center for Democracy and Development
The Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), affiliated with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, is dedicated to advancing democracy and economic development in post-communist and post-colonial areas abroad. CDD focuses on strengthening local government and civil society in formerly centralized states, addressing problems associated with the re-emergence of ethnicity and nationalism in those societies, and promoting local economic development. CDD has extensive experience with rule of law, judicial reform, economic development, and educational exchange and training programs.
Center for Green Chemistry
The Center for Green Chemistry, affiliated with the College of Science and Mathematics, is a multi-departmental research center that focuses on the study of chemical reactions from a viewpoint of ecological sustainability and societal responsibility. Green chemistry is a way of analyzing chemical research, development, and manufacture with an eye toward minimizing potentially hazardous waste and maximizing efficiency, placing more emphasis on tending to environmental impacts at the earliest stage of innovation and invention.
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters
The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCD), affiliated with the College of Public and Community Service, works in close collaboration with practitioners, academics, researchers, policy makers, and grassroots organizations in the United States of America and in all the continents of the world in their search for the most appropriate and sustainable ways to rebuild their communities after disasters (both natural and man-made). The CRSCD will soon engage in academic, service, and consultancy activities.
Center for Social Policy
The Center for Social Policy (CSP), affiliated with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, provides expertise on policies and practices that reduce social and economic inequities in Massachusetts and the nation. CSP carries out its mission through disseminating solid, relevant information on policies and programs affecting low-income households and through strengthening human service delivery systems these households rely upon.
Center for State and Local Policy
The Center for State and Local Policy (CSLP), affiliated with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, focuses on issues of immediate concern to Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the New England region. This local and regional focus is a central element of the center’s mission, and its most singular contribution. Through research and analysis, the CSLP addresses fiscal and economic development issues, state tax reform, state and local governing capacity, and the problems of metropolitan and New England regionalism.
Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy
The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy (CWPPP), affiliated with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, seeks to promote women’s leadership in politics and policymaking by providing quality education, conducting research that makes a difference in women’s lives, and serving as a resource for the empowerment of women from diverse communities. CWPPP hosts the “first-in-the nation,” award-winning graduate certificate program for women in politics and public policy and produces cutting-edge research on women’s political representation and policy issues of concern to women. CWPPP activities and events reflect a strong commitment to diverse perspectives on the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, class, politics, and public policy.
Center of Science and Mathematics in Context
The Center of Science and Mathematics in Context (COSMIC), a joint venture of the Graduate College of Education and the College of Science and Mathematics, seeks to advance high quality teaching and learning in science and math for all students at K-12, university undergraduate, and graduate levels. The goals of COSMIC are to conduct research on the teaching of science and math and its impact on student achievement, provide support for K-12 and university teachers through teacher training and professional development, develop and evaluate curriculum and assessment materials, encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, and create partnerships with school districts, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations.
Center on Media and Society
The Center on Media and Society (CMS), created in April 2004 as part of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, serves an important role in the University’s public mission, contributing to the diverse communities from which its students come, to the greater New England area, and to the practice of journalism around the world. CMS fosters “best practice” journalism and politics, has visiting fellows, runs conferences, and has an ongoing project on ethnic media, which includes a database, meetings, research, and internships.
Gerontology Institute
The Gerontology Institute, part of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, carries out basic and applied social and economic research on aging and engages in public education on aging policy issues, with an emphasis in four areas: income security, health (including long-term care), productive aging, and basic social and demographic research on aging.
Labor Resource Center
The Labor Resource Center (LRC), affiliated with the College of Public and Community Service, provides links between the university and the Massachusetts labor movement. Programs include: labor studies program, educating future labor leaders through courses, certificates, and a baccalaureate degree centered on today’s workplace concerns from contingent work to globalization; labor extension, providing participatory training and education for union members and workers, and research initiatives focused on the future of work in Massachusetts.
New England Resource Center for Higher Education
Founded in 1988, the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NECHE), affiliated with the Graduate College of Education, works with colleges and universities to connect practice to policy through inquiry and research. Informed by a grassroots approach to developing collaborative leadership and oriented to building diverse and inclusive communities, NERCHE’s research projects, programs, and activities underlie its commitment to higher education’s responsibility in the public realm.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is a lifelong learning program for adult learners. All of its members are 50 and older and are retired or partially retired. They participate in over 50 non-credit educational courses, lectures, and social events each year. No academic or other credentials are required and there are no tests, no papers, and no degrees. Established in 1999, the program is part of the Gerontology Institute in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.
Pension Action Center
The Pension Action Center, part of the Gerontology Institute in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, was formed in 1999 to bring together the New England Pension Assistance Project (NEPAP), the National Pension Lawyers Network (NPLN), and research on retirement income. NEPAP provides counseling to individuals on pension matters and has recovered over $28 million for its clients in its 12 years of serving residents of the six New England states. The NPLN provides referrals to over 600 pension attorneys throughout the U.S. Research at the center has focused on effectiveness of policies to help participants maximize their benefits and retirement income security.
Policy Center for Marine Biosciences & Technology
The Policy Center for Marine Biosciences & Technology (PCMBT), affiliated with the Department of Environmental Earth and Ocean Sciences in the College of Science and Mathematics, was created in 1993 as a neutral, independent body of distinguished university and institute researchers, government officials, and policy experts at the local, national, and international levels that manages research and policy projects and programs in the area of marine biosciences and technology. PCMBT convenes a wide range of expertise to examine problem areas such as the development of aquaculture and marine biotechnology.
Research Center for Urban Cultural History
Affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts, the focus of the Research Center for Urban Cultural History is on interdisciplinary and collaborative research and teaching in urban cultural history. This field focuses on: the specificity of the urban setting and its environs; spatial definition; demographic and economic shifts; temporal change; cultural exchange and cultural transformation; and discursive and signifying networks created by the production of meaning between groups and populations.
Small Business Development Center & Minority Business Center
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) & Minority Business Center, affiliated with the College of Management, is part of a statewide network that supports entrepreneurs who are starting, expanding or acquiring a business. This network is based on a partnership between the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), the state Office of Business & Technology, and the University of Massachusetts. Core services include free business counseling, workshops, and assistance with capital access.