Greek life at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
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The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in
Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...
and the sole public
land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it is the flagship and the largest campus in the
University of Massachusetts system The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...
, as well as the first established. It is also a member of the
Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holy ...
, along with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley:
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
,
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
,
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...
, and Hampshire College. As of Fall 2022, UMass Amherst has an annual enrollment of more than 32,000 students, along with approximately 1,900 faculty members. It is the largest university in Massachusetts by campus size and second largest university by enrollment in Massachusetts, after Boston University. The university offers academic degrees in 109 undergraduate, 77 master's and 48 doctoral programs. Programs are coordinated in nine schools and colleges. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, the university spent $211 million on research and development in 2018. The university's 21 varsity athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I and are collectively known as the Minutemen and Minutewomen. The university is a member of the
Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
, while playing ice hockey in Hockey East and football as an FBS Independent. The university's past and present students and faculty include four Nobel Prize laureates, a National Humanities Medal winner, numerous
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, Goldwater,
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, Truman, and
Gates Scholars The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation established the Gates Cambridge Scholarships in 2000 with a $210 million donation to support outstanding graduate students' study at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship is one of the most competitiv ...
,
Olympic Gold Medalists This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...
, a
United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
, as well as several
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
recipients and
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
,
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, and Academy Award winners.


History


Foundation and early years

The university was founded in 1863 under the provisions of the Federal Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act to provide instruction to Massachusetts citizens in "agricultural, mechanical, and military arts." Accordingly, the university was initially named the Massachusetts Agricultural College, popularly referred to as "Mass Aggie" or "M.A.C." In 1867, the college had yet to admit any students, been through two Presidents, and had still not completed any college buildings. In that year,
William S. Clark William Smith Clark (July 31, 1826 – March 9, 1886) was an American professor of chemistry, botany and zoology, a colonel during the American Civil War, and a leader in agricultural education. Raised and schooled in Easthampton, Massachuse ...
was appointed President of the college and Professor of Botany. He quickly appointed a faculty, completed the construction plan, and, in the fall of 1867, admitted the first class of approximately 50 students. Clark became the first president to serve longterm after the schools opening and is often regarded the primary founding father of the college. Of the school's founding figures, there are a traditional "founding four"- Clark, Levi Stockbridge,
Charles Goessmann Charles Anthony Goessmann (13 June 1827 – 1 September 1910), known in his native German as Karl Anton Gößmann, was a Massachusetts agricultural and food chemist. Biography Education Goessmann was born in Naumburg, Germany. He was educated at ...
, and
Henry Goodell Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...
, described as "the botanist, the farmer, the chemist, ndthe man of letters." The original buildings consisted of Old South College (a dormitory located on the site of the present South College), North College (a second dormitory once located just south of today's Machmer Hall), the Chemistry Laboratory, also known as College Hall (once located on the present site of Machmer Hall), the Boarding House (a small dining hall located just north of the present Campus Parking Garage), the Botanic Museum (located on the north side of the intersection of Stockbridge Road and Chancellor's Hill Drive) and the Durfee Plant House (located on the site of the new Durfee Conservatory). Although enrollment was slow during the 1870s, the fledgling college built momentum under the leadership of President Henry Hill Goodell. In the 1880s, Goodell implemented an expansion plan, adding the College Drill Hall in 1883 (the first gymnasium), the Old Chapel Library in 1885 (one of the oldest extant buildings on campus and an important symbol of the University), and the East and West Experiment Stations in 1886 and 1890. The Campus Pond, now the central focus of the University Campus, was created in 1893 by damming a small brook. The early 20th century saw great expansion in terms of enrollment and the scope of the curriculum. The first female student was admitted in 1875 on a part-time basis and the first full-time female student was admitted in 1892. In 1903, Draper Hall was constructed for the dual purpose of a dining hall and female housing. The first female students graduated with the class of 1905. The first dedicated female dormitory, the Abigail Adams House (on the site of today's Lederle Tower) was built in 1920. By the start of the 20th century, the college was thriving and quickly expanded its curriculum to include the liberal arts. The Education curriculum was established in 1907. In recognition of the higher enrollment and broader curriculum, the college was renamed Massachusetts State College in 1931. Following World War II, the G.I. Bill, facilitating financial aid for veterans, led to an explosion of applicants. The college population soared and Presidents
Hugh Potter Baker Hugh Potter Baker (January 20, 1878 – May 24, 1950) was a graduate of the Michigan State College of Agriculture; Yale's School of Forestry (M.F., 1904); and the University of Munich (Ph.D., Economics, 1910). He was the second and fourth Dean o ...
and
Ralph Van Meter Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
labored to push through major construction projects in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly with regard to dormitories (now Northeast and Central Residential Areas). Accordingly, the name of the college was changed in 1947 to the University of Massachusetts.


Modern era

By the 1970s, the University continued to grow and gave rise to a shuttle bus service on campus as well as many other architectural additions; this included the
Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center is a high-rise building on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Building The concrete building and attached parking garage were designed by Marcel Breuer, in the Modernist and ...
complete with a hotel, office space, fine dining restaurant, campus store, and passageway to the parking garage, the
W. E. B. Du Bois Library The W. E. B. Du Bois Library is one of the three libraries of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, the others being the Science and Engineering Library, and the Wadsworth Library at the Mount Ida Campus. The W. E. B. ...
, and the Fine Arts Center. Over the course of the next two decades, the
John W. Lederle Graduate Research Center The John W. Lederle Graduate Research Center, also known as Lederle Tower or LGRT, is a building in Amherst, Massachusetts. It is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It contains research laboratories, conference rooms, and offices fo ...
and the Conte National Polymer Research Center were built and UMass Amherst emerged as a major research facility. The Robsham Memorial Center for Visitors welcomed thousands of guests to campus after its dedication in 1989. For athletic and other large events, the
Mullins Center The William D. Mullins Memorial Center, also known as the Mullins Center, is a 9,493-seat multi-purpose arena (10,500 for 360 concerts), located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mullins Center is th ...
was opened in 1993, hosting capacity crowds as the Minutemen basketball team ranked at number one for many weeks in the mid-1990s, and reached the Final Four in 1996.


21st century

UMass Amherst entered the 21st century with 19,061 students enrolled. In 2003, for the first time, the Massachusetts State Legislature legally designated UMass Amherst as a Research University and the "flagship campus of the UMass system." The university was named a top producer of Fulbright Award winners in the 2008–2009 academic year. Additionally, in 2010, it was named one of the "Top Colleges and Universities Contributing to Teach For America's 2010 Teaching Corps."


Organization and administration

The colleges of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the dates of their founding are: The schools of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the dates of their founding are: Since the University of Massachusetts Amherst was founded as the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1863, 25 individuals have been at the helm of the institution. Originally, the chief executive of UMass Amherst was a president. When UMass Boston was founded in 1963, it was initially reckoned as an off-site department of the Amherst campus, and was headed by a chancellor who reported to the president. A 1970 reorganization transferred day-to-day responsibility for UMass Amherst to a chancellor as well, with both chancellors reporting on an equal basis to the president. The title "President of the University of Massachusetts" now refers to the chief executive of the entire five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The current Chancellor of the Amherst campus is Dr. Kumble R. Subbaswamy."Kumble Subbaswamy named new chancellor for UMass-Amherst"
, Diane Ledermen ''The Springfield Republican'', March 26, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2012.
The Chancellor resides in Hillside, the campus residence for chancellors. There are approximately 1,300 full-time faculty at the university. The university is organized into nine schools and colleges and offers 111 bachelor's degrees, 75 master's degrees, and 47 doctoral degrees. Students interested in studying outside of a particular major can apply to enroll in the bachelor's degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) program. This is a unique program which allows students to design their own area of study. A BDIC concentration must be interdisciplinary, drawing from at least three fields or disciplines, and it may not duplicate an existing major. Courses can be selected from any department within the university as well as the campuses in the Five College Consortium. Course selection is guided by the students chosen faculty sponsor and a BDIC faculty supervisor. BDIC students are assigned to one of five academic clusters- Arts and Cultural studies; Business and Law; Communication; Education and Human Development; Natural Health, Computer Sciences and Engineering. Additionally, the university offers two programs designed for adult and continuing education students, known as
University Without Walls University Without Walls (UWW) at University of Massachusetts Amherst is a department within the university which provides degree completion coursework for the undergraduate and graduate degrees, enrolled by non-traditional students. The summer s ...
and Continuing and Professional Education.


Academics


Rankings and reputation

'' U.S. News & World Report''s 2021 edition of America's Best Colleges ranked UMass Amherst tied for 66th on their list of "Best National Universities", and tied for 26th among 141 public universities in the U.S. The undergraduate computer science program tied for 31st among 481 U.S. colleges. UMass Amherst is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The
Isenberg School of Management The Isenberg School of Management is the business school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship campus for the University of Massachusetts system, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. The Is ...
's undergraduate business program was ranked by '' BusinessWeek'' in 2014 as the 36th best program in the country. The linguistics program was ranked by QS World University Rankings in 2021 as the 2nd best globally. The National Research Council ranked computer science at UMass Amherst 18th in quality of PhD education and ranked polymer science 2nd in quality of PhD education and 7th in quality of scholarship among all US materials departments. The Institute for Scientific Information ranked the chemical engineering program 5th, computer Science department 9th and recognized the geosciences department for producing the most cited paper on global warming. Founded in 1971, the
University Without Walls University Without Walls (UWW) at University of Massachusetts Amherst is a department within the university which provides degree completion coursework for the undergraduate and graduate degrees, enrolled by non-traditional students. The summer s ...
was one of the first adult bachelor's degree completion programs in the country. The UMass Amherst campus is known for its sustainability. In 2010 the UMass Climate Action Plan (CAP) was approved, which documented the campus' plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2011 UMass Amherst became one of the four colleges to receive a gold star from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. In 2013 UMass Amherst made it onto the Princeton review's Green Honor Roll and in 2014 received its second National Climate Leadership Award. Furthermore, this is one of the only public universities to use the fresh fruits and vegetables in the dining commons from its very own permaculture gardens.


Commonwealth Honors College

Commonwealth Honors College is the honors college at UMass. The honors college provides students the opportunity to intensify their UMass academic curriculum. The requirements of the college are to complete an honors college writing course, a seminar called "Ideas That Changed the World," two honors gen ed courses, an honors seminar called "Topics," and for advanced scholarship honors, several upper-level honors courses, including an honors thesis or project. Membership in the honors college is not required in order to graduate the University with higher Latin honors designations, such as magna or
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
. Commonwealth Honors College provides honors students an additional community of students to interact with outside of their academic department and holds many social and academic events during the school year. In 2013, the University completed the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC) on campus to serve the College, including classrooms, faculty housing, an administration area, and residence areas that houses 1,500 students.


Five College Consortium

UMass Amherst is part of the
Five Colleges Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount ...
, which allows its students to attend classes, borrow books, work with professors, etc., at four other Pioneer Valley institutions:
Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
, Hampshire,
Mount Holyoke Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the ...
, and Smith Colleges. All five colleges are located within 10 miles of Amherst center, and are accessible by public bus. The five share an astronomy department and some other undergraduate and graduate departments. UMass Amherst holds the license for
WFCR WFCR (88.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP f ...
, the National Public Radio affiliate for Western Massachusetts. In 2014, the station moved its main operations to the Fuller Building on Main Street in Springfield, but retained some offices in Hampshire House on the UMass campus.


Community service

UMass Amherst emphasizes community service as part of its academic programs. The Community Engagement Program (CEP) offers courses that combine classroom learning and community service, and sponsors programs such as the first year IMPACT learning community and the Community Scholars Program. Co-curricular service programs include the Alternative Spring Break, Engineers without Borders, the Legal Studies Civil Rights Clinical Project, the
Medical Reserve Corps The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations aimed to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary ...
,
Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
, the Red Cross Club, the Rotaract Club
UCAN Volunteer
and the Veterans and Service Members Association (VSMA). The White House has named UMass Amherst to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for four consecutive years, in recognition of its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement. They have also been named a "Community-Engaged University" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. '' The Princeton Review'' included UMass Amherst in its ''Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement.''


Research

UMass research activities totaled more than $200 million in fiscal year 2014. In 2016 the faculty adopted an open-access policy to make its scholarship
publicly accessible Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
online. Researchers at the university made several high-profile achievements in recent years. In a bi-national collaboration, National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst came together and built Large Millimeter Telescope. It was inaugurated in Mexico in 2006 (on top of
Sierra Negra Sierra Negra (also, and perhaps more properly, Cerro La Negra) is an extinct volcano located in the Mexican state of Puebla, close to the border with Veracruz. At officially above sea level, it is the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Sierra Neg ...
). A team of scientists at UMass led by
Vincent Rotello Vincent Rotello is an American materials scientist and engineer currently the Charles A. Goessmann Professor of Chemistry and a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the current Editor-in-Chief of Amer ...
has developed a molecular nose that can detect and identify various proteins. The research appeared in the May 2007 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, and the team is currently focusing on sensors, which will detect malformed proteins made by cancer cells. Also, UMass Amherst scientists Richard Farris, Todd Emrick and Bryan Coughlin led a research team that developed a synthetic polymer that does not burn. This polymer is a building block of plastic, and the new flame-retardant plastic will not need to have flame-retarding chemicals added to their composition. These chemicals have recently been found in many different areas from homes and offices to fish, and there are environmental and health concerns regarding the additives. The newly developed polymers would not require addition of the potentially hazardous chemicals. Environmental research UMass Amherst researchers have positioned the campus as a national leader in
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
. Economics professor Robert Pollin has influenced the national discussion about how best to stimulate the US economy and promote sustainability. He and colleagues at the Political Economy Research Institute have developed a plan for national recovery that shows, for example, that investing in clean energy (wind power, solar, and biofuels) will create about three times as many good-paying jobs than conventional projects will, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil. Since September 2009, the campus has won more than $36 million in competitive stimulus grants. These include: * $7.1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation to approximately 20 separate researchers. * $16 million from the Department of Energy to establish an Energy Frontier Research Center on campus to develop highly efficient non-silicon polymer materials for harvesting solar energy. * $1.9 million to chemical engineer George Huber to further develop bio-fuels from inedible corn stalks, bark, wood waste, and similar biomass. Other significant research in environmentally safe technology among UMass Amherst faculty includes: * Microbiologist Susan Leschine has raised $25 million to commercialize technology that converts plant waste into ethanol using the Q microbe, discovered in the Quabbin Reservoir just east of the campus. * James Manwell, director of the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, leads testing on large wind-turbine blades at a new federal facility in Boston after helping construct two municipal wind turbines in Hull, Massachusetts. * Microbiologist Derek Lovley discovered Geobacter, a tiny biological structure that can clean up groundwater and produce electricity through conductive microbial nanowires. * The Northeast Climate Science Center, one of four national offices designated by the
Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
is located at the University of Massachusetts.,


Admissions and enrollment

In 2012, the university reported that applications to the school had more than doubled since the Fall of 2003 and increased more than 80% since 2005. In 2015, a record high of 40,010 applications were received, with 58% of applicants being accepted, and 1.6% being accepted to the Commonwealth Honors College. The incoming Class of 2022 had an average high school GPA of 3.90 out of a 4.0 weighted scale, up from an average GPA of 3.83 the year before. The average SAT score of the Class of 2022 was 1294/1600, and on average the students ranked in the top fifth of their high school class. Acceptance to the Commonwealth Honors College program of UMass Amherst is even more selective with an average SAT score of 1409/1600 and an average weighted high school GPA of 4.29. First Year Student Statistics ''This table does not account deferred, transfer applications or other unique situations.''


Campus

The University's campus is situated on 1,450 acres ( Nipmuc land), mainly in the town of
Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
, but also partly in the neighboring town of Hadley. The campus extends about from the Campus Center in all directions and may be thought of as a series of concentric rings, with innermost ring harboring academic buildings and research labs, surrounded by a ring of the seven residential areas and two University owned apartment complexes. These include North Apartments, Sylvan, Northeast, Central, Orchard Hill, Southwest, Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex, as well as the two University owned apartment complexes, North Village and Lincoln Apartments. These are in turn surrounded by a ring of athletic facilities, smaller administration buildings, and parking lots. The campus has its own Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation facility. The plant, which was dedicated in 2009 after ten years of planning, replaced a coal burning power plant dating back to 1918 and has reduced the campus' greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 75%. In 2011, the CHP was recognized as the cleanest plant of its size in New England and has been recognized for maintaining 80% efficiency over six consecutive quarters. In 2008, the CHP received the Combined Cycle Journal Pacesetter Award for the best Combined Heat and Power plant project in the US that year. The award refers to its innovative design, efficiency, reliability, system redundancy, and environmental benefits. In 2009, the CHP received the Sustainable Campus Leadership Award from the International District Energy Association. The award states it was given "In recognition of exemplary public leadership in advancing energy efficiency and global environmental stewardship through investment in an innovative district energy system." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented the University of Massachusetts with the 2011 Combined Heat and Power Energy Star Award in an effort to recognize the reduced emissions and increased efficiency of the plant. The
W.E.B. Du Bois Library The W. E. B. Du Bois Library is one of the three libraries of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, the others being the Science and Engineering Library, and the Wadsworth Library at the Mount Ida Campus. The W. E. B. ...
is one of two library buildings on campus and the tallest academic research library in the world, standing at 26 stories above ground and 286 feet (90.32 m) tall. Before its construction in the late 1960s, Goodell Hall was the University library, which was built after the library had outgrown its space in the 1885 "Old Chapel" building. Originally known as Goodell Library, the building was named for Henry H. Goodell, who had served as College Librarian, Professor of Modern Languages and English Literature, and eighth President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. The Library is well regarded for its innovative architectural design, which incorporates the bookshelves into the structural support of the building. It is home of the memoirs and papers of the distinguished African-American activist and Massachusetts native
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...
, as well as being the depository for other important collections, such as the papers of the late Congressman
Silvio O. Conte Silvio Ottavio Conte (November 9, 1921 – February 8, 1991) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for 16 terms, representing the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts ...
. The library's special collections include works on movements for social change, African American history and culture, labor and industry, literature and the arts, agriculture, and the history of the surrounding region. The Science and Engineering Library is the other library on campus, and is located in the Lederle Graduate Research Center Lowrise. UMass is also home to the DEFA Film Library, the only archive and study collection of East German films outside of Europe, and the Shirley Graham Du Bois Library in the New Africa House. The university has several buildings (constructed in the 1960s and 70s) of importance in the modernist style, including the
Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center is a high-rise building on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Building The concrete building and attached parking garage were designed by Marcel Breuer, in the Modernist and ...
and Hotel designed by Marcel Breuer, the Southwest Residential Area designed by Hugh Stubbins Jr. of
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
, The Fine Arts Center by Kevin Roche, the W.E.B. Du Bois Library by
Edward Durell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...
, and Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium by Gordon Bunshaft. Many of the older dorms and lecture halls are built in a Georgian Revival style such as French Hall,
Fernald Hall Fernald Hall is the primary lecture hall and laboratory used by the entomology program of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The building also houses the university's extensive collection of domestic and foreign insects. History In the ear ...
, Stockbridge Hall and
Flint Laboratory Flint Laboratory is an academic building and a former dairy laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It was the first building of the Ellis Drive "agricultural group", including Stockbridge Hall and an unbuilt hall for agricultural ...
. The campus facilities underwent extensive renovations during the late 1990s. New and newly renovated facilities include student apartment complexes, the Hampshire Dining Commons, a library Learning Commons, a School of Management, an Integrated Science Building, a Nursing Building, a Studio Arts Building, the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation facility, a track facility, and a Recreation Center. Newly completed construction projects on campus include the new Campus Police Station, the George N. Parks Minuteman Marching Band Building, the Life Sciences Laboratories, and the Integrated Learning Center.


Residential life

Residential Life at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of the largest on-campus housing systems in the United States. Over 14,000 students live in 52 residence halls, while families, staff, and graduate students live in 345 units in two apartment complexes (North Village and Lincoln). The fifty-two residence halls and four undergraduate apartment buildings are grouped into seven separate and very different residential areas: Central, Northeast, Orchard Hill, Southwest, Sylvan, North Apartments, and the recently constructed Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC). Each possesses its own distinctive characteristics, inspired in part by location, in part by architecture, and in part by the different cultural or academic living/learning programs housed within. Each residential area houses classrooms, recreational and social centers, kitchenettes, and cultural centers - in addition to the bedrooms, study areas, laundries, television rooms, and dining facilities you might expect. Each also has its own student governing body and is, in effect, a community unto itself. Located in the central corridor of campus, the Honors Community houses undergraduate members of Commonwealth Honors College. In this community, undergraduates, staff, and faculty share an interwoven mix of double, single, suite, and apartment-style living options spread across six halls. This area featured a 24-hour full-service cafe during its first year, but it soon became clear that 24-hour operation was not profitable. The cafe is closed between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. during the school year and closed during the summer. The community includes assembly and workshop rooms, as well as most Honors College programming and staff offices.


Major campus expansion

The University of Massachusetts Amherst campus embarked on a 10-year, $1 billion capital improvement program in 2004, setting the stage for re-visioning the campus's future. This includes construction of $156 million New Science Laboratory Building, $30 million Champions Basketball Center, an $85 million academic building, and $30 million in renovations to the football stadium. In early 2016, the construction of a new electrical substation located near Tillson farm was completed. The purpose of the substation is to supply electricity to the university more efficiently and reliably, with estimated savings of $1 million per year. The project was created in partnership with the utilities company
Eversource Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to ap ...
, and cost approximately $26 million. The new electrical substation works in conjunction with the university's pre-existing
combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...
(CHP) plant. In April 2017, the University of Massachusetts Amherst officially opened its new Design Building. Previously estimated at $50 million, the 87,000-square-foot facility is the most advanced CLT building in the U.S. and the largest modern wood building in the northeastern United States.


Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst

On April 6, 2018, Mount Ida College announced that the University of Massachusetts would be absorbing its campus. Mount Ida students were given a guaranteed transfer to UMass Dartmouth, and the campus became part of UMass Amherst. The campus was named Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst and functions as a satellite campus for UMass Amherst. The campus primarily serves as a hub for Greater Boston-area career preparation and experiential learning opportunities for UMass Amherst students. The programs that are offered at the newly acquired campus will align the strengths of UMass Amherst with the growing demand for talent in areas that drive the Massachusetts economy, including health care, business, computer science and other
STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
specialties.


Campus safety

UMass Amherst implements a multitude of services to ensure safety on and off campus for all students. On-campus residence halls are constantly monitored and secured. There are cadets stationed at the entrances that monitor the area while students are signed into the building. Anyone who does not live in that specific building has to be signed in by a friend with legitimate identification to ensure the safety of everyone in that residence hall. In addition, there are about 350 security cameras constantly monitoring every residence hall and the doors are always locked. The only way to enter is with a student ID registered to that specific building. There is a system of “HELP” phones on campus. The "HELP" phone network is composed of approximately 110 emergency phones scattered about campus, and are available for people to use for emergency calls if they feel they are in danger or in an uncomfortable situation. These phones are easily recognizable by their bright blue light and have an emergency button that anyone can press which will automatically connect them to the UMass Police Department. This will alert the police to the users exact position so that they can send appropriate assistance. UMass Amherst also provides alerts via students' school e-mail, as well as text messages if they so choose. These alerts create awareness of any suspicious or criminal behavior occurring on or around campus. It creates an environment where students are always conscious of their surroundings and know exactly what is going on. The UMass Amherst police department (abbreviated as UMPD) operates 24/7 and is accessible by dialing 911 (from a university owned landline) or (413) 545-3111 for emergencies, or (413) 577-8477 for non-emergencies and to leave confidential tips. Calling 911 from a cell phone will typically redirect users to the state-operated dispatch rather than UMPD. To ensure commuter safety the UMass Police Department employs a safety and escort service that offers a safe escort across campus every night. The UMPD has several specialized units that make up the department including bicycle, K-9, motorcycle, and mounted horseback units as well as foot and vehicle patrol. The Police Cadet program has been a part of the UMPD since 2000. It is viewed as a successful program by the department and the UMass community since the cadets are an important part of the police department. Their presence can be seen mostly in the residential areas, where the cadets work very closely with police officers and Residence Hall Security. Cadets take part in a two-week "boot-camp"-style training in preparation for the position. The training consists of police techniques, performing foot patrols, parking enforcement, prisoner watch, and other functions to free officers. The cadets operate as the eyes and the ears of the police department as they can see and hear what the officers cannot, preventing problems and their escalation. In the past, there had been several occurrences of large non-school sponsored gatherings labeled as riots, where UMass officials had been called in. After the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013, an estimated 3,000 students gathered in the outdoor space around South West Residence Hall. In response to the situation, UMass police officials were called in. Police accounts state that some students participated in disruptive behavior: knocking over trash bins and climbing trees. Rubber bullets and tear gas were dispersed into the crowds. According to WGGB, 14 people were arrested for failing to disperse and 1 for disorderly conduct. Whether or not the use of police force was necessary is still a controversial topic among students, the administration, and UMass and Amherst Police Department. A similar situation had occurred after the Patriots lost the Super Bowl in 2012. Officials donning riot gear used smoke grenades to disperse the crowds. Luckily there were no injuries. Riots like these are not unheard of within the UMass community and go as far back as 1986. The majority of the events are categorized as seemingly peaceful by many students, stating that they consist mainly of students standing around, chanting and singing. There is also still debate among UMass students as to whether or not the term “riot” applies to a lot of the occurrences since they seldom involve violence or aggressive behavior from the vast majority of students present. Nevertheless, each event is met with police interference due to a fear of the unsafe environments that large unattended crowds could create. In the past there has been friction between members of the student body and the UMass Police Department around their methods of crowd control; students have been displeased with what they see as unnecessary force. According to MassLive, other riots include one in 2007 after the Boston Red Sox lost in the 2008 playoffs, another when they lost in the World Series run in 2006, one after UMass' football team lost in the Division I-AA football championship in 2006, one after the Red Sox World Series victory in 2004, another after the Red Sox lost during the 2003 playoffs, one after the Patriots first Super Bowl victory over St. Louis in 2001 and another in 1986 after the Red Sox World Series loss. The majority of these riots have been non-violent on the side of the students, except for the 1986 riot in which an argument between hundreds of students intensified into racial altercations where a black student was attacked by 15-20 white students and beaten unconscious according to archives from The Republican. Videos and visual accounts of most of these events can be found online. In the wake of these events students have worked and are continuously working to start open dialogues with the administration and police department about campus safety, the right to gather, police force and better methods of crowd control. The Boston Globe reported on the death of a student only called Logan, who died from a heroin overdose after working as a confidential informant for the UMass police department. After UMass police arrested Logan for selling LSD, he was offered the opportunity to work as a confidential informant in exchange for his freedom. UMass police did not suspect he was using drugs like heroin. Soon after the Globe's story was published, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswammy suspended the use of the program and required UMass Police to report to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life instead of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance.


Iranian student admissions controversy

UMass Amherst issued an announcement in early 2015 stating: "the University has determined that it will no longer admit Iranian national students to specific programs in the College of Engineering (i.e., Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering) and in the College of Natural Sciences (i.e., Physics, Chemistry, Microbiology, and Polymer Science & Engineering) effective February 1, 2015." The University claims that this announcement was posted because a graduate student entered Iran for a project and was later denied a visa. This event along with urging from legal advisers contributed to the belief that such incidents inhibited their ability to give Iranian students a "full program of education and research for Iranian students" and thus justified changing their admissions policies. The ensuing criticism on and off campus, as well as wide media publicity, changed the minds of school officials. As a result, UMass made a statement on February 18 committing to once again allowing Iranian students to apply to the aforementioned graduate programs. On the same day, an official in the U.S. Department of State stated in an interview that: "U.S. laws and regulations do not prevent Iranian people from traveling to the United States or studying in engineering program of any U.S. academic institutions." UMass Amherst replaced the ban with a policy aimed at designing specific curricula for admitted Iranian nationals based on their needs. While less controversial, this policy has still generated backlash, with one student saying "this university that's supposed to be so open-minded forcing him to sign a document saying he won’t go home and build a bomb or something is just really disappointing to see."


Student life


Arts on campus

The UMass Amherst campus offers a variety of artistic venues, both performance and visual art. The most prominent is Fine Arts Center (FAC) built in 1975. The FAC brings nationally known theater, music and dance performances to campus throughout the year into its performance spaces (Concert Hall, Bezanson Recital Hall, and Bowker Auditorium). These include several popular performance series: Jazz in July Summer Music Program, The Asian Arts & Culture Program, Center Series, and Magic Triangle Series presenting music, dance and theater performances, cultural arts events, films, talks, workshops, masterclasses and special family events. University Museum of Contemporary Art in the FAC has a permanent contemporary art collection of about 2,600 works and hosts numerous visual arts exhibitions each year as well as workshops, masterclasses and artist residencies. The 9,000-seat
Mullins Center The William D. Mullins Memorial Center, also known as the Mullins Center, is a 9,493-seat multi-purpose arena (10,500 for 360 concerts), located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mullins Center is th ...
, the multi-purpose arena of UMass Amherst hosts a wide variety of performances including speakers, rock concerts, and Broadway shows. In addition, the Music, Dance, and Theater Departments, the Renaissance Center, and multiple student groups dedicated to the arts provide an eclectic menu of performances throughout the year. The Interdepartmental Program for Film Studies has been organizing the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival on campus since 1991.


Groups and activities

UMass Amherst has a history of protest and activism among the undergraduate and graduate population and is home to over 200 registered student organizations (RSOs).


SGA

The Student Government Association (SGA) is the undergraduate student governmental body, and provides funding for the many registered student organizations (RSOs) and agencies, including the Student Legal Services Office (SLSO) and the Center for Student Business (CSB). The SGA also makes formal recommendations on matters of campus policy and advocates for undergraduate students to the Administration, non-student organizations, and local and state government. As of the 2023 school year, the SGA had a budget of over $7.5 million per year, which is collected from students in the form of the $266 per year Student Activities Fee. It is used to fund RSOs, Agencies and the SGA itself.


UMass Permaculture

UMass Permaculture is one of the first university permaculture initiatives in the nation that transforms marginalized landscapes on the campus into diverse, educational, low-maintenance and edible gardens according to UMass officials.Permaculture garden at UMass gives new meaning to the phrase fresh vegetables
''The Daily Hampshire Gazette''
One of the most important aspects of UMass Permaculture is that it comes from the students and is ecologically and socially responsible. Rather than tilling the soil, a more sustainable landscaping method known as
sheet mulching In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that attempts to mimic the natural soil-building process in forests. When deployed properly and in combination with other permaculture principles, it can generate health ...
is employed. During November 2010, "about a quarter of a million pounds of organic matter was moved by hand",UMass Embraces Permaculture
''Food Service Director''
using all student and community volunteer labor and no fossil fuels on-site. The process took about two weeks to complete. Now, the Franklin Permaculture Garden includes a diverse mixture of "vegetables, fruit trees, berry bushes, culinary herbs and a lot of flowers that will attract beneficial insects."


ROTC

The Minuteman Battalion is the institution's Army ROTC battalion. Active on the Amherst campus, the program's
Scabbard and Blade Scabbard and Blade (S&B) is a college military honor society founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1904. Although membership is open to Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all military services, the society is mod ...
community service club is very active and represents UMass well throughout the year with food drives, assistance to local veteran's groups and assistance with the Medical Readiness Corps at UMass in preparing for large-scale medical disasters. Most students are on a full tuition scholarship. UMass-Amherst is the host program for the Pioneer Valley and Five Colleges Army ROTC programs including: Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Western New England University, Springfield College, Westfield State College and American International College (AIC).


Minuteman Marching Band

UMass Amherst has the largest marching band in New England. The Minuteman Marching Band consists of over 390 members and regularly plays at football games. The band was led by John Jenkins from 1963 to 1977. In 1977 George N. Parks took over until his death in September 2010. Timothy Todd Anderson became the director in 2011. The Minuteman Band also won the prestigious Sudler Trophy in 1998 for excellence. The band is well known across the nation for its style and excellence, particularly for its battery and pit ensemble. The band also performs in various other places and events like the Collegiate Marching Band Festival in
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...
, Bands of America in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Symphony Hall, Boston, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Tournament of Roses Parade in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
, and on occasion Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


Fraternities and sororities

UMass is home to numerous fraternities and sororities, organized under four councils: IFC, NPC, NPHC, and the MGC. Currently, several sororities & fraternities have officially recognized housing in the area including national fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa, whose first chapter was founded at UMass in 1873. Several Greek Life organizations had houses on North Pleasant Street until Alpha Tau Gamma, Inc., which owned a total of nine properties at one point, did not renew the leases at the request of the University. The North Pleasant Street houses were colloquially known as 'Frat Row'. Most of Alpha Tau Gamma's Properties houses were out of
code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
and were razed in November 2006. Alpha Tau Gamma sold the land to the University for $2,500,000 in 2007. ATG, which is the Fraternity of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, then donated $500,001 to endow a new Director of Stockbridge. National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations: *
Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...
*
Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
*
Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...
*
Iota Phi Theta Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963, at Morgan State University (then Morgan State College) in Baltimore, Maryland, and is currently the 5th largest Black Greek Le ...
* Zeta Phi Beta Multicultural Greek Council organizations: *
alpha Kappa Delta Phi alpha Kappa Delta Phi (), also known as aKDPhi, Kappa Delta Phi, KDPhi, is an international Asian-interest sorority founded at the University of California, Berkeley. alpha Kappa Delta Phi has 63 chapters located at numerous universities acros ...
*
Beta Chi Theta Beta Chi Theta (, also Beta Chi) is a nationally recognized South Asian interest fraternity in the United States, established in 1999 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). On June 2, 1999, Beta Chi Theta was acknowledged by the un ...
*
Delta Kappa Delta Delta Kappa Delta (Also known as B.E.T.I.S., , and DKD) is a United States-based college sorority. Delta Kappa Delta is a cultural interest sorority oriented towards South Asian culture. It was founded at Texas A&M University in 1999. It is a f ...
*
Delta Xi Phi Delta Xi Phi () is a national multicultural sorority that was founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by fifteen women on April 20, 1994. The sorority welcomes women from all ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgr ...
* Kappa Phi Gamma *
Kappa Phi Lambda Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. ( also known as Kappas and KPL) is a nonprofit, Asian-interest sorority that was founded on March 9, 1995 at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Represented at 34 schools with over 4,000 members nation ...
* Lambda Upsilon Lambda *
Pi Delta Psi Pi Delta Psi () is an Asian American-interest cultural fraternity founded at Binghamton University on . As of 2020, the organization listed over 3,000-lifetime members spanning 30 undergraduate chapters and 1 alumni chapter. The main archive URL ...
*
Sigma Psi Zeta Sigma Psi Zeta () Sorority, Inc., also known as Sigmas or SYZ, is a progressive multicultural sorority. It was founded on March 23, 1994 at the University at Albany and incorporated in New York on March 15, 1996 by the 10 Founding Mothers. The s ...
Panhellenic sororities: * Alpha Epsilon Phi * Alpha Chi Omega *
Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapte ...
*
Iota Gamma Upsilon Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and ...
(local) *
Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...
, * Sigma Delta Tau * Sigma Kappa * Sigma Sigma Sigma IFC fraternities: * Alpha Chi Rho *
Alpha Tau Gamma Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which ...
(local affiliated with Stockbridge School) * Delta Chi * Delta Sigma Phi * Kappa Sigma * Lambda Phi Epsilon *
Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
* Phi Sigma Kappa * Pi Kappa Phi * Sigma Chi * Sigma Phi Epsilon * Tau Kappa Epsilon * Theta Chi * Zeta Beta Tau Honor societies, service, and veterans' organizations: *
Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
* Phi Sigma Pi * Kappa Kappa Psi and
Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority. The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active m ...
*
Omega Delta Sigma Omega Delta Sigma () National Veterans Fraternity, also known as ODS, is a leadership and service based co-ed fraternity. History Omega Delta Sigma was founded at the University of Florida in 1999 as a way for veterans to come together, share exp ...
* Order of Omega


Media


''The Massachusetts Daily Collegian''

''
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian ''The Massachusetts Daily Collegian'' is an American daily newspaper founded in 1890, and the independently funded, student-operated newspaper of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The ''Collegian'' is a non-profit funded entirely through ...
'', the official newspaper of UMass Amherst, is published Monday through Thursday during the calendar semester. The ''Collegian'' is a non-profit student run organization which receives no funding from the University or from student fees. The ''Collegian'' operates entirely on advertising revenues. Founded in 1890, the paper began as ''Aggie Life'', became the ''College Signal'' in 1901, the ''Weekly Collegian'' in 1914 and the ''Tri-Weekly Collegian'' in 1956. Published daily since 1967, the ''Collegian'' has been broadsheet since January 1994. The ''Daily Collegian'' is one of the largest daily college newspapers in New England and the country.


UVC-TV 19

The Union Video Center is the University of Massachusetts' student-run television station, located in the basement of the Student Union. UVC-TV 19 is part of the University's Housing Cable Services Network and airs on channel 19 to over 11,000 viewers on campus via a closed circuit system. UVC began as the Student Video Project in 1974, and was renamed the Union Video Center in 1978 after growing into a full-fledged television station. Today, UVC-TV 19 serves as an educational training facility on campus for full-time undergraduate students.


WMUA 91.1 FM

The student-operated radio station, WMUA, is a federally licensed, non-commercial broadcast facility serving the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut, and Southern Vermont. Although the station is managed by full-time undergraduate students of the University of Massachusetts, station members can consist of various members of the University (undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff), as well as people of the surrounding communities. WMUA began as an AM station in 1949.


Athletics

UMass is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The university is a member of the
Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
, while playing ice hockey in the Hockey East Association. The football team joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC), in order to play at Football Bowl Subdivision (the sport's highest level) with games played at Gillette Stadium in 2012. In March 2014, the MAC and UMass announced an agreement for the Minutemen football team to leave the conference after the 2015 season due to UMass declining an offer to become a full member of the conference. In the agreement between the MAC and the university, there was a contractual clause that had UMass playing in the MAC as a football-only member for two more seasons if UMass declined a full membership offer. UMass announced that it would look for a "more suitable conference" for the team. UMass Amherst plays most of its home games at the 17,000-seat
McGuirk Stadium Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts, on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It has been the Massachusetts Minutemen football team's home stadium since 1965, with the ex ...
on campus. UMass originally was known as the Aggies, later the Statesmen, then the Redmen. In a response to changing attitudes regarding the use of Native American–themed mascots, they changed their mascot in 1972 to the Minuteman, based on the historical " minuteman" relationship with Massachusetts; women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen. UMass football has enjoyed various levels of success over the years. As a founding member of the Yankee Conference, Massachusetts won 17 Yankee Conference Championships, appearing in one National Championship game during that timespan. They fell to Florida A&M in this inaugural Division I-AA Championship, 35–28. UMass' success continued as they began competition in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1997. They went on to win four more conference titles while playing in the A-10 and make two more appearances in the National Championship game, winning it all in 1998. In 2006 the Minutemen took home the last A-10 title (the A-10 handed off management of their football league to the Colonial Athletic Association after the season) and made their most recent Championship game appearance. Their most recent conference championship came in 2007, the inaugural season under the CAA name. Some journalists consider
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Rhode Island their biggest sports rivals. Temple University has also been a strong rival in the Atlantic 10, but the rivalry came to an end when Temple moved all of its sports programs to the Big East Conference in 2013. The UMass Amherst Department of Athletics currently sponsors Men's Intercollegiate Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Ice Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, and Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field. They also sponsor Women's Intercollegiate Basketball, Softball, Cross Country, Rowing, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Field Hockey, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, and Tennis. Club sports offered which are not also offered at the varsity level are Men's Wrestling, Men's Rowing, Men's Tennis, Women's Ice Hockey, Men's and Women's Rugby, Men's and Women's Bicycle Racing, and Men's and Women's Fencing. Men's and Women's Downhill Skiing have been re-certified as club sports following the April 2, 2009 announcement of their discontinuation as varsity sports.


Notable alumni, faculty, and staff


Alumni

File:Russell Alan Hulse.jpg,
Russell Hulse Russell Alan Hulse (born November 28, 1950) is an American physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with his thesis advisor Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., "''for the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up n ...
(PhD 1975), Nobel Prize in Physics File:Catherine Coleman 2009.jpg, Catherine Coleman (PhD 1991), NASA
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
File:Andrew P Iosue.jpg, Gen Andrew Iosue, United States Air Force General File:Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels (4).jpg, LTG Jody Daniels (MSc 1993, PhD 1997, Hon DSc 2019), 34th Chief of Army Reserve File:Lt Gen Robert I. Miller.jpg, LTG Robert Miller (MBA 2006), 24th Surgeon General of the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force File:Jason Fettig.jpg, Col
Jason Fettig Jason K. Fettig (born 1974/1975) is a United States Marine Corps colonel who is the music adviser to the President of the United States and the 28th director of the United States Marine Band. Originally from Manchester, New Hampshire, Fettig ...
, 28th Director of United States Marine Band File:David A. Lowy.jpg,
David Lowy David Hillel Lowy (born 31 December 1954) is an Australian businessman, aviator and musician. He is the eldest son of Westfield Corporation co-founder Frank Lowy and Principal of Lowy Family Group (LFG), the Family Office and private investmen ...
(BA 1983), Justice of the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...
File:DFIDs Permanent Secretary, Nemat Minouche Shafik (4624168174).jpg, Nemat Shafik (BA 1983), 16th Director of the London School of Economics File:Zhou Qifeng at Peking University opening ceremony 20110903.jpg, Zhou Qifeng, 13th President of
Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
File:Hau Lung-pin in 2014 481420151221 (cropped).jpg, Hau Lung-pin (PhD 1983), Former Mayor of Taipei File:JackWelchApril2012.jpg, Jack Welch (BSc 1957, Hon DSc 1982), Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric File:7 by Steven Sinofsky.jpg,
Steven Sinofsky Steven Jay Sinofsky (born 1965) is a former president of the Windows Division at Microsoft from July 2009 until his resignation on November 13, 2012. He was responsible for the development and marketing of Windows, Internet Explorer, and online s ...
, Former President of Windows at Microsoft File:Anshu Jain World Economic Forum 2013.jpg, Anshuman Jain (MBA 1985), Former co-CEO and co-Chairman of Deutsche Bank File:T-Mobile John Legere at CES14.jpg,
John Legere John Legere (born June 4, 1958) is an American businessman, former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of T-Mobile US. He previously worked for AT&T, Dell, Global Crossing. He resigned as CEO following the approval of the merger of T-Mob ...
, Former CEO of T-Mobile US File:IMGP8184 Ben Cherington.jpg, Ben Cherington, Former general manager of the Boston Red Sox File:Kang Kyung-wha - 2017 (1IC1525) (cropped).jpg,
Kang Kyung-wha Kang Kyung-wha (; born April 7, 1955) is a South Korean diplomat and politician who served as the first Foreign Minister of South Korea under President Moon Jae-in from 2017 to 2021 as well as the first woman nominated for and appointed to the ...
, Former UN Under-Secretary-General File:Betty Shabazz.jpg,
Betty Shabazz Betty Shabazz (born Betty Dean Sanders; May 28, 1934/1936 – June 23, 1997), also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X. Shabazz grew up in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, where he ...
, Civil rights advocate File:Natasha-trethewey2.JPG,
Natasha Trethewey Natasha Trethewey (born April 26, 1966) is an American poet who was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and again in 2013. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection ''Native Guard'', and she is a former List of U ...
,
U.S. Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
and
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winner File:Serena Williams at 2013 US Open.jpg, Serena Williams, four-time
Olympic Gold Medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...
and 23-time Grand Slam winning tennis player File:Erving Lipofsky.jpg, Julius Erving,
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
basketball player File:Briana Scurry (13856371004) (cropped).jpg, Briana Scurry, Soccer goalkeeper; recipient of two
Olympic Gold Medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...
and 1999
FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
champion File:Richard Gere, December 2017.jpg, Richard Gere, Film actor and producer File:Bill Cosby (6343659237) (cropped).jpg, Bill Cosby, Stand-up comedian and actor File:Buffy Ste. Marie - Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concert - Ottawa - 2015 (cropped).JPG, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Singer-songwriter and activist, first indigenous person to receive an Academy Award File:Taj Mahal (musician).jpg, Taj Mahal, Grammy Award–winning blues musician File:Natalie Cole 2007.jpg, Natalie Cole, Grammy Award–winning singer File:Black-Francis The Pixies.jpg,
Black Francis Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
, Alternative rock musician, frontman of Pixies
There are 243,628 University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni worldwide. Notable UMass Amherst alumni include Greg Landry, Jeff Corwin, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taj Mahal, Bill Paxton,
William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was ''The Departed'', a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Wr ...
, Kenneth Feinberg, Bill Cosby, Natalie Cole, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Rick Pitino, Bill Pullman,
Betty Shabazz Betty Shabazz (born Betty Dean Sanders; May 28, 1934/1936 – June 23, 1997), also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X. Shabazz grew up in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, where he ...
, Briana Scurry, Jack Welch,
John F. Smith Jr. John Francis "Jack" Smith Jr. (born April 6, 1938) is an American businessman and executive who formerly served as COO in 1992, CEO from 1992 to 2000 and then chairman of the board of directors of General Motors from 1996 to 2000. He later ser ...
,
Jean Worthley Jean Reese Worthley (February 23, 1925 – April 9, 2017) was an American naturalist. She hosted Maryland Public Broadcasting's children's television series '' Hodgepodge Lodge'' and co-hosted '' On Nature's Trail''. She also wrote ''The Complet ...
,
Jeff Reardon Jeffrey James Reardon (born October 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1979–1994 with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta B ...
,
Brandon Tory Brandon Tory is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, software engineer and entrepreneur. Early life He was born In the Boston area and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst to study ...
, Mike Flanagan, Serena Williams, Lawrence Mestel and Richard Gere.


Faculty

File:2008JosephTaylor.jpg, Joseph Taylor Jr. File:Vernon L. Smith 2011.jpg,
Vernon L. Smith Vernon Lomax Smith (born January 1, 1927) is an American economist and professor of business economics and law at Chapman University. He was formerly a professor of economics at the University of Arizona, professor of economics and law at Georg ...
File:Lynn Margulis.jpg, Biologist Lynn Margulis File:OceanWiki.jpg, Ocean Vuong File:James-tate-and-gordon-cairnie-by-elsa-dorfman.jpg, James Tate File:Max Roach.jpg, Max Roach File:Nancy Folbre.jpg, Nancy Folbre File:Richard Swann Lull by William Sergeant Kendall.jpeg, Richard Lull File:Michael E. Mann, 2019 (cropped).jpg, Michael Mann
Notable faculty have included
Sheila Bair Sheila Colleen Bair (born April 3, 1954) is an American civil servant who was the 19th Chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), during which time she assumed a prominent role in the government's response to the 2008 financi ...
, the former Chairman of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very l ...
, celebrated photorealist;
Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...
, author and critic;
Vincent Dethier Vincent Gaston Dethier (February 20, 1915 – September 8, 1993) was an American physiologist and entomologist. Considered a leading expert in his field, he was a pioneer in the study of insect-plant interactions and wrote more than 170 academic ...
, pioneer
physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...
; Ted Hughes, British poet laureate; Max Roach, considered one of the most important jazz drummers in history; Lynn Margulis, famed
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...
; Stephen Resnick and
Richard D. Wolff Richard David Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American Marxian economist known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor ...
, heterodox economists; James Tate,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
–winning poet; and
Robert Paul Wolff Robert Paul Wolff (born December 27, 1933) is an American political philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Wolff has written widely on topics in political philosophy such as Marxism, tolerance (against ...
, in both philosophy and African-American studies. Current faculty of note include poet
Peter Gizzi Peter Gizzi (born 1959 in Alma, Michigan) is an American poet, essayist, editor and teacher. He attended New York University, Brown University and the State University of New York at Buffalo. Life Gizzi was born in Alma, Michigan to an Italia ...
, T.S. Eliot Prize–winning poet Ocean Vuong, media critic Sut Jhally, and feminist economist Nancy Folbre.


See also

* University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Food Science * William P. Brooks (1851–1938), professor, eighth president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, and second vice president of Sapporo Agricultural College,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
* Campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst


Explanatory notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
University of Massachusetts Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Amherst, University of 1863 establishments in Massachusetts Business schools in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1863 Flagship universities in the United States Land-grant universities and colleges University of Massachusetts Amherst Schools of education in Massachusetts Schools of public health in the United States Universities and colleges in Hampshire County, Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Amherst schools
Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
University subdivisions in Massachusetts