UMass Dartmouth
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (Photo via Creative Commons/Flickr by Kyle Mooney and Jess Debski)

WHEN THE STATE legislature withdrew its longstanding support for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth lease of the Star Store building in New Bedford in August, necessitating the university’s departure from the facility, it was a shock to many. This historic building has hosted several fine arts programs of the university’s College of Visual & Performing Arts, a well-regarded workers’ education program, and an art gallery. It is widely acknowledged to have been a catalyst for downtown revitalization in the Whaling City.

The public reaction locally has been understandably passionate, and this has inspired much local media attention. To date that attention has generated considerable heat but precious little light. The circumstances that led to that difficult decision are clearly explained elsewhere.

This unfortunate development has led some to question the commitment of UMass Dartmouth to its economic development mission and claimed that our status as a research university means that our longstanding commitment to regional community engagement and economic development is at an end.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

As the only research university in Massachusetts south of Boston, UMass Dartmouth plays a unique role in Southeastern Massachusetts. We contribute to the regional economy in multiple ways — especially as a major employer, a driver of innovation and knowledge creation, and an essential source of educational access and opportunity.

The economic contributions of the public research university are well documented and substantial. Recently, the UMass Amherst Donahue Institute estimated the UMass system generates $8.3 billion in economic activity and supports nearly 40,000 off-campus jobs statewide.

The report also found that UMass Dartmouth contributes an estimated $618 million in economic activity and estimates that the local spending of our faculty, staff, students, and contractors supports nearly 3,000 jobs off campus across the Commonwealth, largely in the South Coast, home to the Gateway Cities of Fall River and New Bedford. 

Make no mistake, our economic contributions involve far more than dollars and jobs alone. UMass Dartmouth is a national research university with a public access mission. Nearly 6 in 10 of our students are the first in their families to attend college and nearly 4 out of 10 are students of color. And most are drawn from communities in Bristol County, which has lagged the state in educational attainment and income growth for generations.  

In 2022, US News & World Report ranked us second in the Commonwealth for social mobility – recognizing our success in enrolling and graduating large proportions of students who come from low-income backgrounds and are eligible for Pell grants. This is just one illustration of the transformative role that our public research university plays in changing the lives of our students and their families.

Notably, much of the innovative research and scholarship of our faculty and students is focused on problems of significant public importance to the South Coast and the Commonwealth, including fisheries and ocean science, engineering and applied science, coastal resilience and sustainability, and Portuguese language, culture, and history.  

The important work of our scholars, scientists, and students is supporting established and emerging industries alike, helping to preserve the jobs we have even as we help create the jobs of the future, and empowering efforts to address the impacts of climate change and related challenges facing our coastal communities and our planet.

The South Coast region is well-positioned for growth in part thanks to the imminent arrival of commuter rail access into Greater Boston and the rise of remote work. The South Coast – and Southeastern New England more broadly – are increasingly attractive to many families seeking a lower cost of living and a higher quality of life than is currently available to many within the I-495 belt. 

As the region has evolved, so has the university. Over the past two decades UMass Dartmouth has led the way in an area where regional collaboration doesn’t exactly come naturally. That didn’t stop us from thinking regionally when we established the SouthCoast Development Partnership to help rebrand the region in a way that has been widely adopted by business and community stakeholders. 

The One SouthCoast Chamber, now one of the Commonwealth’s largest and most influential business groups, is the product of a merger between the two chambers of commerce that once represented Greater Fall River and Greater New Bedford. This was unthinkable just a few short years ago and is just one example of what is possible when we think bigger and collaborate regionally. 

More recently, the economic development focus of UMass Dartmouth has broadened in recognition of compelling empirical evidence that clearly indicates that the South Coast is an integral part of a larger cross-border economic region that includes much of the state of Rhode Island. Our evolving understanding of regional economic geography in no way denies the unique identities and needs of the communities we serve. But it does require the university to adapt. 

We must redouble our efforts to ensure that our innovative research goes beyond the classroom and the lab and helps spur new regional business development. We must build deeper corporate and community partnerships and scale our support for established and emerging industries. And we must work with our community partners to create more and more equitable educational and economic opportunities where they are most needed.  

As former New Bedford mayor John Bullard recognized in his recent memoir, “Southeastern Massachusetts will go as far as UMass Dartmouth will take us.” 

While there is much work to do, important progress is already being made.  The Biden-Harris administration recently designated Southeastern New England as the “Ocean Tech Hub”. Led by Commerce RI, this effort is designed to fully realize the substantial economic opportunity presented by the cutting-edge ocean and marine science happening on both sides of the border, including at UMass Dartmouth and the University of Rhode Island.  

This designation positions our region to successfully compete for tens of millions of dollars in federal investment and to have the opportunity to fully participate in and benefit from the innovation economy, something that to date has largely eluded both the South Coast and our neighbors in Rhode Island. This major accomplishment would not have been possible without state and institutional leaders on both sides of the border with the vision to see past their own territorial boundaries.

This does not mean that the special commitment and connection between UMass Dartmouth and the communities of the South Coast region – including the Gateway Cities of Fall River and New Bedford – is at an end. Far from it. Our engagement and contributions as a major employer, strategic community partner, industry resource, and as a driver of innovation and economic opportunity make us the leading anchor institution on the South Coast. In terms of economic and social impact, it’s not even close.  

What must change is the belief that we can be all things to all people. Financial reality requires university-based economic development activities to be grounded in authentic partnerships, shared responsibility, aligned with our core mission, and sustainably resourced. 

We are committed to continuing to engage authentically with partners who share our commitment to making our state and region more competitive and equitable places to live, work, and do business, and who are ready to roll up their sleeves and join us in the difficult work that will be required to make it happen.

Michael Goodman is senior advisor to the chancellor for economic development & strategic initiatives and professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.