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University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is a multi-campus university, part of the statewide university system of the University of Massachusetts. The main campus is located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in the center of the South Coast region, between the cities of New Bedford to the east and Fall River to the west.

The University, also known as UMass-Dartmouth or "UMD", has a student body of 8,756 students, which includes undergraduates, graduate students, and continuing education students. As of Spring 2008, there are approximately 4,173 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. With an endowment of over $30 million, the university has set the goal of becoming a Carnegie Research I institution by the start of the next decade.

UMass Dartmouth specializes in training engineers, health care workers, marine scientists, teachers, performing and visual artists, and graduates in the liberal arts.

UMD also has one of the nation's most extensive undergraduate and graduate programs in Portuguese language and literary studies, offering both a BA and an MA in Portuguese Studies, as well as a new Ph.D. program in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory. The university also has a Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, which sponsors numerous publication series, as well as international conferences in Portuguese and Portuguese-American studies. The university is home to the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives, located in a special section of the Claire T. Carney Library, and the UMass-Dartmouth Summer Program in Portuguese.

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 early 2008 this has not taken place, but may in the future. In June 2008 the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees approved the creation of a new School of Education, Public Policy and Civic Engagement.

Since 1992, UMass Dartmouth has sponsored the Cape Cod Community College as an affiliate.

History

The Dartmouth campus of the University of Massachusetts 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.

Academic Departments

Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences

Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Criminal Justice, 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 and Marketing, Decision and Information Sciences (includes Management Information Systems and Operations Management)

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 Imaging, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography), FIne Arts (Painting/2D and Sculpture/3D), Music, and Theatre Arts

Graduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences

Masters of Arts in Portuguese Studies, 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, Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry, and Doctor of Philosophy in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory

Charlton College of Business

Master of Business Administration, post-masters 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

Architecture

The buildings of the campus were designed by internationally renowned Modernist architect Paul Rudolph beginning in the early 1960's, to distinguish the campus from the outside world and provide what might be considered a Social Utopian environment. Rudolph made both the exterior and interior of each building of rough concrete (béton brut), an essential element of the style known as Brutalism, and he endowed buildings with large windows, with the intended effect of giving those inside the feeling of being connected to the outdoors. The stairs were made relatively short in height, ostensibly in order to slow people down and thus allow them to appreciate the campus more fully. Atriums were also placed in the Group 1 and Group 2 buildings to give people a place to socialize between sections of the halls. (The main academic buildings are known as Groups because the first design concept for the campus had them as groups of individual buildings; the name was retained though the design concept was not.) These areas are also filled with hanging and potted indoor plants. 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 (berms) also stand between the parking lots, making the lots partially invisible from within the original Academic Life area (though not from within some recent additions to it, such as the Charlton College of Business building). More recent buildings, most notably the Woodland Commons residence halls to the south of the main campus, have been built to complement, but not to attempt to copy, Rudolph's Late Modernist aesthetic.

At the top of the campanile, many different antennas provide different services for the campus. 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.

Outdoors, the university is fortunate to have hundreds of acres of undeveloped green space, including extensive wooded areas, grasslands, wetlands and ponds uncommon to many university campuses. Numerous footpaths make exploring these natural areas of the campus an enjoyable activity for students, faculty and visitors alike.

Claire T. Carney Library

Claire T. Carney Library
Voyager Online Library Catalog
General Library Information
History of Claire T. Carney Library
Archives & Special Collections - preserves historical records, publications and graduate theses of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (University Records) as well as personal and professional papers of faculty, staff, students and selected individuals and organizations from the surrounding communities of southeastern Massach usetts (Manuscript Collections).
Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives - the world's largest, most complete compilation of materials relating to this event. Established in 1984, the archives contains thousands of copies of government documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act public disclosure process as well as manuscripts, photographs, audiotape interviews, video tapes, news clippings and research notes compiled by journalists and other private citizens who have investigated discrepancies in the case.
Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese American Archives - records of fraternal, religious and social organizations; family photographs, scrapbooks and oral histories which illustrate the collective experience of immigration, settlement, and life in the United States; the records of prominent individuals of Portuguese descent; and records of local business and other institutions that either serve or were created by Portuguese-Americans.
Paul Rudolph and His Architecture - This web site is a comprehensive reference resource on this famous man and his architecture with an emphasis on SMTI / UMass Dartmouth. It provides a comprehensive bibliography of the works, writings and life of the architect, complete with supporting images, documents and media.

Student Life

Student Organizations

Among the many student groups on campus are

20 Cent Fiction
Accounting Association
Active Minds
Advocate. Celebrate. Educate.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Anime Club
Anonymous (non campus organization)
Asian Student Association
Campus Activities Board
Campus Design
Cape Verdean Student Association
Capoeira Club
Chinese Student and Scholar Association
Christian Fellowship

College Democrats

College Republicans

Concert Tech

Economics Club

Gaming Society

Habitat for Humanity

Hacktivism club (non campus organization)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Kekeli Drum and Dance

Masspirg

Muslim Students Association

National Art Education Association (student chapter)

Philosophy Association

Portuguese Language Club

Pride Alliance

Residence Halls Council

Rock Climbing Club

Rugby Club

Scrimshaw Yearbook

Ski and Snowboard Club

Social Change Society

Society of Manufacturing Engineers

Student Senate

Students in Free Enterprise

Surf Club

Temper

Theatre Company

The Torch (student newspaper)

United Latino Society

Housing

Freshman Halls

The freshman dorms are located on the eastern part of the campus. The are encircled in what is known as Dorm Rd. The Buildings are as follows:

Elmwood Hall (Phase 3A), Maple Ridge Hall (Phase 3B), Chestnut Hall, Roberts Hall

Sophomore Halls

Oak Glen Hall, Pine Dale Hall

Upper Classmen Halls

Willow Hall, Evergreen Hall, Hickory Hall, Birch Hall, Aspen Hall, Ivy Hall, Cedar Dell (West and South)

"Greek" Life

Fraternities

Sororities

Alpha Sigma Tau
Delta Pi Omega (local sorority)
Phi Sigma Sigma
Iota Delta Nu (local sorority)

Honors Societies

Organizations Not Registered With The University

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Brotherhood of the Bavarian Dagger ("Daggermen")
The Order of the B.A.M.F.J.
Daughters of Weishaupt
chi nu omega
pi beta epsilon
Alternative Interests Club

Technology

CITS - Computing and Information Technology Services
COIN - Corsair Online Information

Famous alumni

Valerie Amaral, Miss Massachusetts 2008 and winner of Miss America talent award
Antonio F. D. Cabral, (B.A. 1978), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1990 - present)
Robert Correia, (B.S. 1962, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1976 - present), currently Mayor of Fall River
Brian Helgeland, Academy Award winning screenwriter
David B. Sullivan, (B.A. 1979), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1996 - present)
Jimmy Tingle, comic
Gregory Yob, computer game designer

Little Red Book controversy

In December 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, 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.