2025 State of the University

BOSTON - Five months after Gov. Maura Healey signed the Mass Leads Act, UMass President Marty Meehan pledged to position the university for a leadership role in the critically important climate tech industry by making the university an economic and research partner in the state's effort in his annual State of the University Address.

President Meehan tasked chancellors at each campus with developing economic development strategies that will align with the Commonwealth's Climate Tech Economic Development plan and the Mass Leads Act , which aims to make Massachusetts a leader in climate tech by leveraging state investment to catalyze private sector activity.

"Through Mass Leads, the Healey-Driscoll Administration, President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, and the Legislature have set us on course for our climate tech future, and UMass, with the support of our Board of Trustees, led by Chair Steve Karam, will marshal our considerable resources to accelerate that progress," President Meehan said during his annual address, which was filmed at UMass Boston, with Boston Harbor in the background.

"In concert with our state partners, and with both sustainability and global competitiveness in mind, UMass is helping to position Massachusetts in one of the largest industries in the coming decade - climate technology," he said.

At a time when clean energy policies are being dismantled at the federal level, UMass is positioning itself to attract more private sector and philanthropic dollars from partners at the state, national, and international level. Last year in the United States, $272 billion public and private sector dollars were invested in the creation of clean energy, electric vehicles, building electrification, and carbon management - more than double the investment three years prior and more than triple five years ago.

Under President Meehan's strategy, UMass will tap into its world-class research expertise across the five-campus system to support industry partners in every region of the state, and spur economic development in climate technology and sustainability while also educating the industry's future workforce. The goal is to accelerate the Commonwealth's efforts to make the state a climate tech hub, much like when Massachusetts positioned itself as a life sciences and biotech leader a decade ago.

"We will educate the climate tech workforce, cultivate technology development and commercial activity, help climate tech companies scale in our core research facilities, and our campuses will anchor the climate tech corridors outlined in the state's strategy," President Meehan said. "Through that work we will establish Massachusetts as a national model for how to integrate decarbonization, climate resiliency, economic development, and social mobility."

A 2024 report by UMass Donahue Institute showed that Mass Leads climate tech investments are expected to generate $16.4 billion in economic activity and create 6,670 new jobs.

The focus on climate tech is aligned with the groundbreaking research already being conducted at UMass campuses. For example:

• At UMass Amherst, researchers at the Water and Energy Technology Center (WET) test new technology in water treatment and purification to combat future water challenges.
  
• UMass Boston continues to lead climate resiliency efforts through research centers like the Stone Living Lab, which conducts research on nature-based resiliency strategies, including the installment of North America's first-ever Living Seawalls in Boston Harbor.
  
• UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) offers world-class marine science graduate programs designed to tackle today's most pressing oceanographic challenges and works with industry to reduce ocean pollution, including through its Biodegradability Lab, which is highlighted in the speech.
  
• UMass Lowell's RIST Institute serves as the epicenter of climate, sustainability, and energy efforts at UMass Lowell, engages more than 85 faculty members across disciplines, and has delivered more than $120 million dollars in external research and innovation funds.
  
• And UMass Chan Medical School educates future doctors and healthcare leaders on how to confront the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable populations with a new climate change-focused curriculum.

"If we want our state to become a global leader in climate technology, we need global partners, and we've been hard at working cultivating them," President Meehan said. Last week, Meehan met with several prominent university and energy leaders in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

UMass Boston Chancellor Suárez-Orozco, through his role on the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, was the lead organizer of a global Climate Summit at the Vatican in May 2024. And last month, UMass Boston hosted the Resilient Mass Summit, which brought global climate leaders together.

Last October, UMass Lowell partnered with the Healey-Driscoll Administration and Boston University to launch the Clean Energy & Environment Legacy Transition, (CELT) . CELT aims to enhance environmental equity and promote sustainable energy solutions and is backed by $5.7 million in state funding to establish a resource center focused on clean energy. The initiative stems from a partnership between UMass and universities in Ireland.

In his State of the University message, President Meehan also praised the Healey-Driscoll Administration for proposing the BRIGHT Act, which, if enacted, would provide $2.5 billion in capital funding for public colleges and universities over 10 years. Funding would enable UMass to modernize its campus building and infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability.

"I want to thank Governor Maura Healey for her vision and commitment to public higher education in proposing the BRIGHT Act," President Meehan said.

With most campus buildings constructed more than 50 years ago, UMass is one of the largest energy consumers in Massachusetts. Through the Bright Act, the university will be able to modernize buildings for the next 50 years and simultaneously address the state's carbon reduction goals, "making Massachusetts more competitive and more sustainable," President Meehan said.

The annual State of the University address is distributed to nearly 400,000 UMass students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters.