Big Fish Stories

During convocation, Provost Paul Fonteyn took the opportunity to call himself the “best fisherman in the administration.”

But Chancellor Keith Motley was having none of it.

“You know, he gets up here, he talks about fishing like he caught the only fish,” Motley said, recounting a fishing trip he took with Fonteyn several weeks ago before the start of school.

They were out there for several hours, he said, and caught many a fish. Motley joked that that they and their guide had different ideas of how to go about the fishing–whether they were to sportingly throw them back, or have them for dinner.

“He was throwing my fish back,” Motley said of the guide, as the crowd roared with laughter. “I had to remind him, I wanted to eat!”

NEASC Self-Study Draft Now Online

A draft of the self-study by the university has been put online for the university community to review and comment on, according to a memo sent out by the provost’s office.

Eleven task forces, made up of top university officials and professors, worked to complete it over the summer. Each was set up to focus on one aspect of the university, such as student services, faculty, and financial resources. Associate Provost Peter Langer and Faculty Council Chair Celia Moore have been riding herd as co-chairs of the project.

“The themes informing the task forces’ work remain the 3 Rs of retention, research, and reputation. Your much needed input and assistance will provide the information we need for making final revisions of the document,” wrote the co-chairs. “There will be a professional edit of the document once we have settled upon its substance.”

The self-study is part of a review UMass Boston undergoes every ten years by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The campus will be visited by a NEASC evaluation team, headed by Cleveland State University President Michael Schwartz, in April 2005.

The draft of the self-study can be found at http://www.umb.edu/neasc.

McAlpine Appointed Fellowships Director

The former director of the University Honors program has agreed to come out of retirement to take the position of fellowships advisor, according to a recent memo from the provost’s office.

Monica McAlpine, who retired in August, directed the Honors Program for 10 years of her 36-year career. In the memo, Provost Fonteyn praised McAlpine for increasing the number of Honors Program students from 35 to 170 and increasing their SAT scores. “She also capably increased research opportunities for students by arranging internships, recruited them to present papers at annual Massachusetts and national honors conferences, provided students, among other accomplishments,” wrote Fonteyn.

The memo also noted that Chancellor Motley has given McAlpine the status of “professor emerita.”

Quote of Note

“What is this major, ‘Undecided’?”-Reportedly spoken by one of several Bosnian university officials who visited the campus last week on a trip to observe several American universities and discuss “university linkage programs,” as well as how the university cooperates with the state. Across the Atlantic, students usually go into college knowing their major.