Vision and Goals for Enhancing Our Research Enterprise
The document "Vision and Goals for Enhancing the Research Enterprise at the University of Massachusetts Boston" presents the final report of the Research and Graduate Studies (RGS) Committee of Chancellor Michael F. Collins’ Strategic Planning Task Force. The committee was established to create a vision and to recommend goals for a comprehensive plan to enhance the research enterprise at UMass Boston. This report is based upon committee activity over the period from its creation on October 2, 2006 until May 11, 2007. The RGS's vision (available below) and recommended goals are also available in summary form, as presented to the Chancellor's Strategic Planning Task Force on May 11, 2007.
The final report includes the following four elements:
- Presentation of the RGS committee charge and the issues to be addressed during the strategic planning processes.
- Exposition of a vision statement, which served as the foundation for the committee’s work, describing the university’s desired future position with reference to research and graduate studies.
- Description of RGS committee efforts relating to benchmarking, a strategic management process to be used to monitor and gauge university performance in achieving the recommended goals related to increasing significantly the research enterprise and, by extension, graduate studies.
- Recommendation of 11 goals, which present the desired outcomes in the areas of research and graduate studies, toward which efforts of the university should be directed.
UMass Boston Research Vision Statement
Developed during the 2006 fall and 2007 winter sessions by the Research and Graduate Studies Committee, the following Research Vision Statement was officially adopted in June 2007 by the Chancellor's Strategic Planning Task Force.
"UMass Boston will be nationally recognized as a prominent, public research university, and, as a result, one of Greater Boston’s finest research institutions. Our research reputation and our commitment to the issues of urban communities will attract superior faculty members whose research is at the forefront of their fields. The identification of research clusters and the investment of significant resources in research infrastructure will permit teams of faculty members and students to be engaged in world-class interdisciplinary, multi-departmental, and multi-institutional projects of national and international significance. Research scientists, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students of the highest ability from diverse backgrounds will seek out opportunities at UMass Boston to study, advance their professional careers, and contribute to the discovery and application of knowledge. Legislators, government officials, and community leaders will seek out UMass Boston faculty members for their opinions, their wisdom, and their creative solutions to critical problems. The rigorous and innovative basic and applied research of our colleges, institutes, and centers will be admired for its contributions to public policy and the advancement of our understanding of multicultural, urban, social, environmental, educational, and technological issues. Business and industry leaders will view UMass Boston as a definitive source for new knowledge and discoveries, as well as a key source of highly trained personnel essential for growing the technology-driven global economy of the 21st century."