University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Established | 1895 |
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| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | Jean MacCormack |
| President | Jack Wilson |
| Faculty | 520 |
| Undergraduates | 6,535 |
| Postgraduates | 726 |
| Location | Dartmouth, MA, USA |
| Address | 285 Old Westport Road |
| Telephone | (508) 999-8000 |
| Campus | 710 acres Suburban |
| Athletics | Official Site |
| Mascot | Corsair |
| Website | www.umassd.edu |
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is a multi-college university, part of the state wide university system of the University of Massachusetts, located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, not to be confused with Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, also known as UMass Dartmouth, has a Student Body of 8,299 students, which includes 6,535 undergraduates, 726 graduate students, and 1,407 continuing education students. As of fall 2006, there are approximately 4,400 students living on campus. It offers more than 61 undergraduate programs of study and 19 graduate programs, and has more than 300 full-time faculty.
UMass Dartmouth specializes in training engineers, health care workers and teachers. The school also proposed to host the University of Massachusetts School of Law, as the trustees of the state's university system voted during 2004 to purchase the nearby Southern New England School of Law, an unaccredited private institution. As of Fall 2006 this did not take place, but may in the future.
Since 1992, UMass Dartmouth has sponsored the Cape Cod Community College as an affiliation.
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[edit] History
The Dartmouth campus traces its roots to 1895. In that year, the Massachusetts legislature chartered the New Bedford Textile School in New Bedford and the Bradford Durfee Textile School in Fall River.
The New Bedford Textile School was re-named the New Bedford Institute of Textiles and Technology and the Bradford Durfee Textile School was re-named the Bradford Durfee College of Technology.
These were combined in 1962 to create the Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute, expanding to become Southeastern Massachusetts University by 1969. SMU was merged into the UMass system and adopted its present name in 1991.
The third school chartered in 1895, the Lowell Textile School, followed a similar path to become the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
[edit] Little Red Book controversy
In December of 2005, the New Bedford newspaper The Standard Times reported that a UMass Dartmouth student was visited by the Department of Homeland Security after requesting a copy of Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (better known as The Little Red Book) from the university's library's interlibrary loan system. According to history professors Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, the student requested the book to help him complete a paper for Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism. The student supposedly was later visited by two DHS agents at his New Bedford home after his request for the book.
The incident became famous in the internet media, spawning controversy over whether or not the incident actually happened. Aaron Nicodemus, the reporter who wrote the article, claimed that the incident "is real and factual to the extent [he] reported." However, the American Library Association believed that "...parts of the newspaper story don't add up," continuing the controversy. Additionally, UMass Dartmouth issued a statement saying that it did not participate in violating the student's right to privacy.
The controversy came to a close later that week, as the student who was involved admitted that the incident was a hoax. The confession came after Professor Williams asked the student about the inconsistencies in the article. A few days later, Clyde Barrow, the head of the policy studies department, said that the university should punish the student and the two professors involved in the incident, suggesting the student should be punished for a semester. It was later reported in the university's newspaper, The Torch, that the student would not face punishment, though Judicial Affairs is still looking into the situation.
[edit] Academics Departments
[edit] Undergraduate Program
- College of Arts and Sciences
Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Economics, Education, English, Foreign Literature & Languages, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Mathematics, Medical Laboratory Science, Multidisciplinary Studies, Philosophy, Policy Studies, Political Science, Portuguese, Psychology, Sociology & Anthropology, and Women's Studies
- Charlton College of Business
Accounting, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing
- College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental, Computer & Information Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Materials & Textiles
- College of Nursing
Nursing
- College of Visual & Performing Arts
Art Education, Art History, Artisanry (Ceramics, Jewelry/Metals, and Textile Design/Fiber Arts), Design(Electronic Imagng, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography), FIne Arts(Painting2D and Sculpture/3D), Music, and Theatre Arts
[edit] Graduate Program
- College of Arts and Sciences
Master of Arts in Professional Writing, Master of Arts in Psychology, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Science in Biology, Master of Science in Chemistry, and Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
- Charlton College of Business
Master of Business Administration, post-master's certificates
- College of Engineering
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Master of Science in Biotechnology, Master of Science in Computer Science, Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Master of Science in Computer Engineering, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Science in Physics, Master of Science in Textile Chemistry and Technology, Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy in Biotechnology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering
- College of Nursing
Master of Science in Nursing
- College of Visual & Performing Arts
Master of Art Education, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts in Artisanry, and Master of Fine Arts in Visual Design
- School of Marine Science & Technology
Master of Science in Marine Science & Technology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Science & Technology
[edit] Architecture
The buildings of the campus were designed by architect Paul Rudolph to distinguish the campus from the outside world yet still provide a social environment. Rudolph made both the exterior and interior of each building of concrete, an essential element of the style known as Brutalism, and he provided the buildings with large windows, giving inhabitants the feeling of being outdoors. The stairs were made relatively narrow, ostensibly in order to slow people down and allow them to appreciate the campus. Atriums also were put in the Group 1 building to give people a place to socialize between sections of the halls. The main door of each building faces towards the campanile, keeping students within the Academic Life area, where buildings for classes are located. Large mounds of earth also stand between the parking lots, making the lots invisible from within the Academic Life area.
Many rumors have spread about Rudolph and his design. One of the most common is that Rudolf was a Satanist, that sets of campus benches adopt a plan that resembles the number 666 (the number of the beast), and that the buildings also adopt the shape of a six. The stairs also are said to be in three groups of six, each stair being six inches high. Some claims also say that there are 666 stairs in the campanile. Rudolph, however, was not a Satanist, and many of the supposed hexagonal forms actually are octagons.
The columns of the buildings are also believed by some people to support this rumor. Most of the academic buildings are supported by a series of columns. Each column has 18 "ribs" or semi-circular sections that jut out on each side. The presence of 18 ribs is said to relate to the 666 satanist claim; as 18 is 6 + 6 + 6.
Another rumor about the architect claims that Rudolph killed himself by jumping from the top of the campanile shortly once the U-Mass Dartmouth campus opened. This too is false; Rudolph died of cancer from asbestos exposure in 1997. Some believe that the flat roofs of the buildings were meant to be used to park flying cars in the future, with the stairs leading to the roofs seen as evidence. In truth, the roofs resemble those of Sarasota High School in Florida, a project that sees considerably less snow than Massachusetts. Flat roofs are a hallmark of Modernist architecture, and the stairs simply provide access to the roofs for conventional maintenance.
Some students also believe that the architecture is designed after the mental institution in the film version of A Clockwork Orange. The similarities are noticeable but coincidental: any two Brutalist buildings will appear similar.
Finally, because a state educational television network originally was planned for the campus, requiring a transmitter or perhaps even underground channels for coaxial cable (which apparently were indicated on the original plans), some believe that the campus contains a walkable network of tunnels.
At the top of the campanile, an antenna provides 802.11g wireless access to the major academic buildings. It should be noted that if one looks between the two panels in the campanile, they can see that the campanile can only be climbed when accessed underground. This may seem to lead to an underground tunnel system, but there is an entrance to the campanile a short distance to the east of it.
[edit] Famous alumni
- Brian Helgeland - Academy Award winning screenwriter
- Mary Sears - oceanographer (honorary doctorate)
- David B. Sullivan - member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Gregory Yob - computer game designer
- Andrew K. Michaels - noted American tank ace
[edit] References
- ↑ Casasanto, Laura (February 2, 2005). "UMD student's claims of Homeland Security visits found to be false". The Torch. p. 1 & 2. PDF link
- ↑ Graham, Kit & Keenan, Patrick (April 7, 2005). "Campus architecture myths debunked". The Torch. p. 1 & 4.
- ↑ Jardin, Xeni. "Big controversy over Little Red Book / "DHS visits student" story". Boing Boing. December 19, 2005.
- ↑ Nicodemus, Aaron. "Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior". The Standard Times. December 17, 2005.
- ↑ Saltzman, Jonathan. "Student's tall tale revealed". The Boston Globe. December 24, 2005.
- ↑ Saltzman, Jonathan. "UMass teacher blasts colleagues on hoax story". The Boston Globe. December 29, 2005.
[edit] External links
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- UMass Dartmouth's history of the New Bedford Institute of Technology
- UMASSD Problem of the Week
- The Torch (student newspaper)
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