Former Congressman Marty Meehan was inaugurated Thursday as the 27th president of the University of Massachusetts in a ceremony where speakers said his enthusiasm and political skills made him the right person at the right time to lead the state’s public university system.
Meehan pledged to focus on affordability and educational excellence as he was formally installed as the leader of the five-campus system in front of an audience of state and federal officials, higher education leaders, and friends and family from his native Lowell gathered at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute on the campus of UMass Boston.
"In accepting this office, I vow to our students, our faculty, our alumni, and everyone in the UMass family I will passionately fight for you," Meehan said.
Meehan, who is the first UMass undergraduate alumnus to become the system’s president, officially started the job on July 1st. He has said he’s working on a 10-year strategic plan to elevate the university’s reputation and national rankings.
UMass has long been in the shadows of the many prestigious private colleges in Massachusetts and has lacked the public and political support of its peers in states like California and Michigan. But, Meehan said UMass is currently educating a large section of the state’s workforce and is therefore vital to the Massachusetts economy.
" It is my firm believe the University of Massachusetts is the most important institution in Massachusetts in the critical areas of social mobility and economic growth," said Meehan.
The ceremony highlighted Meehan’s life story. He was one of seven children growing up in a small house in Lowell. His father worked two jobs to support the family and his parents stressed with their children the importance of education.
"As I take the presidency of the University of Massachusetts, I see myself as carrying the torch my parents lit," said Meehan. " It is a torch that I hold proudly."
Meehan graduated from UMass Lowell in 1978, earned a law degree at Suffolk University, became a prosecutor in the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, was a Congressman for 14 years and was Chancellor of UMass Lowell from 2007-2015. During that time the campus saw record increases in enrollment and opened 10 new buildings.
Gov. Charlie Baker during the investiture placed on Meehan a gold necklace inscribed with the names of the past UMass presidents. Baker used a baseball analogy to describe Meehan as “the ultimate five-tool player” praising his clarity, follow-through, collaboration, leadership, and energy.
"This guy doesn't see this as a step to something else," said Baker. " He's not doing this for the prestige and the glory. He wants to do the job. Really wants to do the job."
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg, a UMass Amherst alumnus, also spoke at the ceremony.
The UMass campuses may soon have to implement a round of budget cuts because the legislature failed to include almost $11 million in a recently passed supplemental budget that Meehan sought to cover faculty and staff pay raises. Rosenberg wants Meehan to roll back student fees, which increased this year by an average of $900.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said Meehan will put to good use the fundraising skills he honed as a politician.
" I expect many ( alumni) will soon grow accustomed to hearing the following words coming across their office speaker phones: ' Marty Meehan is on line one,'" said Markey.
Meehan’s inauguration raised a record $1.6 million for student scholarships.
