The University of Massachusetts Boston celebrated the addition of the Integrated Science Complex (ISC) to its campus on Oct. 23. With high profiled attendees and speakers, the university was honored for reaching a new height where plenty of research and profound learning will take place.
Those in attendance included UMass Boston Chancellor, Dr. J. Keith Motley, Sanofi CEO Christopher Viehlbacher, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintnence Commissioner Carole Cornelison, along with other UMass Boston professors and students, and residents with personal interest in the ISC building.
The title of the building is representative of a coming together of the leading sciences in the field today. Equipped with top notch labs and research tools, the ISC is intended to be state of the art innovation in modern science.
Prodding at the rainy day, Chancellor Motley opened the event with an entertaining “It’s always a beautiful day at UMass Boston.” The university’s chancellor thanked everyone involved, while especially thanking Governor Patrick for “getting it when no one else did.” Motley adamantly claimed that when going to the office pursuing the development of the ISC, nobody took up the invitation ― but Patrick did. The governor understood the importance of the ISC building.
In addition to the accomplishment of the ISC building, project managers, the Walsh Brothers, managed to have 48% of the ISC work force in Boston residents. Commissioner Cornelison followed these positive employment statistics with the fact that 10% of the team was female and 40% a minority. This is a huge advancement for the city of Boston, where Dorchester’s unemployment level — relative to the nation’s 8% — reached a high of 7.3% during the height of the ISC development.
Governor Patrick spoke briefly on the opening but was no less excited than anybody else in the room. The governor inspired the audience in his positivity that we, in this Commonwealth, “are participating in a knowledge explosion.” The speech emphasized the massive growth in Massachusetts higher education — coming to a point paralleled only by the Athens and Alexandria of history.
Following Governor Patrick was Christopher A. Viehlbacher, CEO of Sanofi and Chairman of Genzyme. Investing more than $1 million into the ISC development, Christopher finds a real future in the ISC building. Sanofi believes that Boston has become the leader in the field of biotechnology. He further claimed that the investment was more than well worth it due to “Boston’s constant adapting to the times” and “being a place with the best educated work force.”
Both Patrick and Viehlbacher are in agreement that Boston is the center hub for education in the U.S, but Massachusetts residents cannot just sit and wait for this to happen — we have to act proudly and boldly.
Globally, students in the United States rank at around number 20 in national rankings when it comes to math and science.This is something Chancellor Motley, Patrick and CEO Viehlbacher strongly believe can be fixed with developments such as the ISC building.
Vielhbacher’s closing remarks were, “Buildings don’t do the research — people do. But what this building will do is harbor and give students the tools necessary for the environment of success and discovery.”
UMass Boston celebrates the completion of the Integrated Science Complex
Governor Patrick speaking at the informal opening of the ISC
