With all the new changes happening here at the University of Massachusetts Boston, one of the largest changes is leadership within the system. When the top three candidates decided to step down from a chance to become the new chancellor at the university, there is someone who stepped up: Katherine Newman.
I was able to have a brief interview with her, to get to know her better, as well as get some answers about our school.
During the interview, I was getting to know Chancellor Newman, on a personal level. When asked about what a day in the life at UMass Boston looks like for her, Chancellor Newman states, “There’s nothing typical about my day! It’s sort of one complicated problem, every half an hour.” She states there is not always an easy answer for each issue that arises, there is a lot of involvement and discussion with other people, and finding the right information to think over each problem that comes up. Coming to conclusions, she expresses, is a large part of being a leader at this institution. As far as a daily routine, she gets up and walks in the morning, listening to ‘The Daily’ podcast from the New York Times, or her favorite podcast ‘More Perfect.’ She then hops on the T to school, hoping to greet people along her way, introducing herself as well as trying to familiarize herself with students. Her day is jam-packed with meetings, sometimes with important people, such as government officials or corporate leaders–having breakfast or dinner meetings, she says, is very common for her.
Newman states, “Most of my career has been spent as a scholar, writing about the working poor, and about social mobility, especially those who begin life with disadvantages, and so I’ve done a massive amount of research—fourteen-books worth—on these topics, and for me, leadership in an institution like this is an opportunity to make a difference for the kinds of people I’ve been writing about my whole career.” It feels to her as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives she’s studied and written about her whole life.
“Higher education has never been more important,” according to Newman, “it is the access point to careers that can provide a solid living, makes it possible for people to find work they find meaningful, contribute to a country that desperately needs the talent that our students have, and will be in even more need of as time goes by.” She has a positive outlook on the students of UMass Boston, making sure to note that everyone here counts and will make a difference. Comparing the university and its connection to a roaring city as “umbilical,” she would like to ensure our students and alumni have the best access to the labor market available to them.
Although the Chancellor is excited about the university, she does express her concern as well. “The campus has financial challenges to work on—some of that involves burdens that no one who is here now was responsible for, and no one in the legislature now is responsible for either.” She states she would do almost anything to assist with the debt, although it is significant. Her response to those with a negative outlook on the university? “They don’t know it very well.” If those with a negative attitude towards our campus knew it how she says, the way you would or you peers do, they would feel encouraged about what the university really is all about.
As far as the rest of the issues on campus go, Newman continued to have a positive outlook. Through the prior candidates dropping out of the position for chancellor, to the delays in construction, she wishes everyone a positive experience at UMass Boston, and recognized those who were working around the clock to make sure everything came together. The patience of the students, faculty, and staff was much appreciated through the issues.