This story began at our founding in the 1960s, a time of profound civic and political change that nurtured an ardent social conscience at UMass Boston. Then and now, education for us remains an indispensable tool for a more democratic, inclusive, sustainable, and just world.
Today, we continue writing the story of what defines us.
Our deep connection to Boston, certainly.
Year after year, UMass Boston brings people and ideas together to elevate our city – through scholarship and engagement that inform public policy and shape strong, resilient communities.
Closely aligned with the priorities of the city and region, our waterside campus is home to ecosystems of faculty and students arrayed around influential areas of discovery like biotechnology and data science.
UMass Boston is an economic catalyst, unrivaled in providing Boston’s workforce with a versatile talent pipeline, across sectors and industries.
We believe that an engaged UMass Boston and a thriving Boston go hand in hand.
Our diversity, without question.
We are proud to be the most diverse university campus in New England and the third most diverse in the nation. And we are equally proud that UMass Boston students represent our demographic future.
This distinction is animated by our advocacy for equity and inclusion. We thrive as a community of people who learn from each other and from life experiences that are different from our own.
We welcome all – the first-generation immigrant who moonlights as a serial entrepreneur, the single mom who aspires to a career in public health, and the professors who double as community leaders.
At UMass Boston, we democratize education.
Our students’ success, above all.
Being a Beacon is the signature college experience of a lifetime. And UMass Boston is a place where doors swing open.
It is where our hard-working students rise to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow and prepare for lives of consequence. It is where they expand the knowable world and realize flights of imagination.
UMass Boston students find what they love. They are artists and neuroscientists, poets and engineers, advocates, and accountants. They want to build things, start things, and matter. And they seek to take on racial injustice, climate change, and health inequity.
We continue to rise in the ranks of the nation’s top public research universities, affirming our reputation as a leader in producing groundbreaking research and scholarship that moves the world forward.
And we’re just getting started.
Looking ahead, watch as new campus spaces emerge to bring our community closer together. Watch as a new strategic plan charts new pathways to student success. Watch as our investments in the life sciences, technology, and other fields create new ties to the local economy.
Today, the best-kept secret in higher education is out.
Now and moving forward, when we set our gaze on our blue and white Beacon, we are filled with pride. Because it reminds us that our UMass Boston is true to its values and for the times.
This is a pivotal moment for UMass Boston. As an immigrant and first-generation community college student, higher education changed everything for me – my worldview, my sense of purpose, my story.
I am, then, thrilled to share our story and our new look with the campus community. And I remain honored and privileged to serve as Chancellor of Boston’s only public research university.
Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
Chancellor
