<p>Overhaul at U of Mass to be announced tomorrow aims to promote UMass's standing among other top public university systems across the US. Some education advocates worry, however, that the U-Mass system will become too Amherst-centered: </p>
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The realignment could encounter resistance from some of the campuses, which have grown accustomed to their autonomy...Amherst would remain the lead campus in the system both in size and prestige. But under the reorganization, Amherst's immense resources could be shared more easily with the other campuses....
<p>Among the non medical campuses it's always been "Amherst Centered". UMass Amherst is the 800 lb gorilla in the system. I think with the system President spending too much time at Amherst it will be hard to find a good Chancellor willing to work under President Wilson with those conditions. I think Chancellor Lombardi did an excellent job. He will be sorely missed.</p>
<p>it is absolutely essential that the citizens of the commonwealth have access to a top-notch, high quality education which is public and therefore accessible to its citizens, regardless of income. if only the wealthy can obtain a top caliber education, then we are all the worse off for it. </p>
<p>we absolutely need to protect umass amherst as the jewel of the public university system. to share the resources of umass amherst with the rest of the system is to dismantle excellence, and the reputation of the system as a whole will diminish if the flagship campus is not strong.</p>
<p>for example, the UC system gets a lot of national interest because of the superior reputation of its best schools. so, too, will the other umass schools benefit from the increasing strength of its flagship campus. when umass amherst shines, the light will fall on all the other schools in the system.</p>
<p>chancellor lombardi understood this and fought to make umass amherst a place of excellence. hopefully, his legacy will remain after his departure. if it does not, then we will surrender a top notch educational opportunity which has been of great value to the citizens of massachusetts.</p>
<p>Admisscouns, in my opinion, your comparison to the California system is not a sound comparison because of the much smaller size of UMass. Moreover, I think it is short-sighted to give 'the bulk of the basket of eggs' to Amherst because I do not believe that the Dartmouth campus, for example, is far behind the Amherst campus in intellectual assets, the UMassd Marine Biology program [an important resource for Massachusetts] is one example. Fisheries and Marine Science is critical to the state's economy and the UMassd program, while perhaps not as comprehensive as its sister departments at UMaine and UNH (no Ph.D in Marine Biology/Zoology/Oceanography at UMassd, yet) has great potential if it is vigorously supported by the university system officials.</p>
<p>LakeWashington--
There is no comparison between UMA and the other UMass schools. You are definitely in the minority if you believe that the Dartmouth campus is not far behind the UMA campus in intellectual assets. None of the programs at UM Dartmouth (or any other UM campuses) have national rankings. You will not find any of the other UM campuses in the directories of "best" schools, such as the Fiske guide, the Yale Insider's guide, or others. The state needs a top notch public university, so all students, regardless of economic background, have access to excellence. UMA deserves to be protected and supported.</p>
<p>I would agree with Admisscouns that overall UMass Amherst has the best majors, most rigor. But each campus does have it's jewels/strengths. At UMass Dartmouth the Marine Biology Program is one such jewel.</p>
<p>update article - "UMass fund raising arm resists reorganization plan" - board recommends Chancellor John Lombardi be offered a 3-year deal to stay on the job.</p>
<p>"UMass president Wilson surprised by recent uproar"</p>
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One former trustee said that the changes made sense, but that the leadership erred by not including enough people in the planning.</p>
<p>"I think they tried to bite off too much," said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being seen as a critic of successors. "A big institution is like a battleship, not a PT boat. It turns slowly."
<p>"UMass-Boston faculty pass no-confidence vote against system president"</p>
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The resolution passed at UMass-Boston today criticized Wilson for proposing to reorganize the university's leadership without "visible consultation or deliberation." According to the measure, the proposals "have undermined trust in the University of Massachusetts System's leadership, thereby severely damaging the effectiveness of the current administration at all levels and burdening future administrations with the task of rebuilding essential relationships.