AFTER TAKING the helm as chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Boston earlier this year, J. Keith Motley is talking to as many people as he can about the campus's future. And he is now the champion of a 25-year master plan to turn the school into a powerhouse.
Motley says the campus already has a lot to be proud of. But he's right to take up a herald's trumpet. Noting that the school hasn't taken a long, hard look at itself since the 1970s, Motley argues that it's time for UMass-Boston to fulfill its potential.
The campus made a bold step in 2004, when it opened its campus center. Grand and user-friendly, the building is an investment in students. It implicitly asks them to make a similar investment in themselves.
Now Motley has to revive this momentum. Much of the crumbling campus lacks the campus center's physical eloquence. Buildings are worn. Some hallways are too narrow for wheelchairs. The main garage was so decrepit that it was closed last year. And the substructure that holds up many campus buildings is damaged.
The master plan calls for a renaissance: new academic buildings, garages, and green space. More faculty would be hired. Over time, there would be dormitories for 1,000 students, who would make up a modest 7 percent of a student body that's expected to grow from 13,400 to 15,000 by 2010.
This would be welcome growth. The campus needs buildings that can adapt to the shifting demands of the sciences and other disciplines. And dorms with 1,000 beds would be a reasonable size to create a choice for students who want to live on campus without compromising the campus's urban mission or discouraging students who commute.
Construction of student housing has become a touchy issue, as other universities try to expand elsewhere in the city. UMass-Boston intends to build fewer dorm beds than projected in past plans, and it has time now to make the current proposal jibe with neighborhood concerns. A more mature UMass-Boston would be a better resource for all. The first phase of construction - including academic buildings, garages, and dorms - would cost $700 million to $750 million.
A crucial ingredient is funding - and that's up in the air. The state's public colleges are still recovering from past years of funding cuts. And while UMass-Boston is seeking $125 million for an academic building, this proposal has yet to be approved by the Legislature. The state should make this investment. UMass-Boston would match the money, creating a pool of $250 million to erect what might be science buildings that could modernize instruction.
The master plan will undoubtedly change with the times. But its lasting value is its vision of offering students a vibrant, 21st-century education.
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