Despite the current administration’s attempts to assert more federal control over higher education, University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan is positioning his five-campus system as a central link for climate technology innovation.
“It’s our role as a state research university to do this work,” he says. “I want to position UMass to be the partner of choice for state government and private industry in the state and globally.”
President Donald Trump has already begun to limit the country’s efforts to fight climate change by removing the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty set by the United Nations to reduce carbon emissions. In higher education, the administration has cut $4 million in climate research from Princeton University, claiming the work promoted “exaggerated and implausible climate threats.”
However, Meehan believes the UMass system can help Massachusetts become a leader in combating climate change thanks to a new $1.4 billion in state initiative. Signed last November, the Mass Leads Act will spur decade-long collaboration between state agencies and the private sector to support research, innovation, manufacturing and workforce training in climate technology.
“It’s obvious that this won’t be a priority of the federal government, but that makes it even more important for states to step up and that’s what the governor of Massachusetts has been doing,” Meehan says. “It’s no question the federal government is trying to take us backward on climate despite the fact that climate change is the existential threat of our time.”
Meehan believes state support will only expand UMass’ long-held commitment to sustainability. UMass Amherst’s Water and Energy Technology Center uses a wet lab to test new methods in water treatment and purification. UMass Boston is considered a state leader in combatting coastline erosion with nature-based resiliency strategies.
“We’re building on very strong climate laws that make it easier to build solar and wind farms, transmission lines and other energy infrastructure that’s needed in Massachusetts,” Meehan says. “We want to be part of all that.”
Unifying support for higher education research
The Massachusetts university system has been capturing some national spotlight after the faculty senate at UMass Amherst passed two resolutions that urge leadership to pool resources with other state institutions to defend against scrutiny from the Trump administration.
UMass’ leaders and faculty must discover what role the system can best play during this unprecedented time in higher education, Meehan adds.
“We’re seeing university presidents coming together, but the key is getting the administration to listen and understand the importance of higher education,” he says. “We have to get back to a time where higher education is not a partisan issue. Research universities in red states are as important as they are in blue states.”
