With funding under fire from Trump administration, UMass president says climate research is key
As he celebrates his tenth year running the University of Massachusetts system, President Marty Meehan has survival on his mind and is looking at climate research.
"I think that we've seen the federal government kind of letting up on our climate goals that we have set out as a country. And I think you're seeing across the country that states are stepping up," says Meehan in an interview on WBZ's "Keller At Large."
Higher education struggling
With university research funding under fire from the White House and higher education in general struggling through a period of economic decline, Meehan is betting that UMass can survive and prosper by aligning its focus with the legislature's recent funding commitment to climate tech research and development.
In a recent "State of the University" speech, Meehan pointed to research already underway at campuses including UMass Dartmouth (on sustainable fishers), UMass Amherst (water treatment technologies) and UMass Boston (protecting coastlines from damage) as examples of how the university can leverage state and private-sector investment into good jobs for students and an academic future safe from budgetary erosion at the federal level.
Marty Meehan on climate research
"There is a significant business that has developed as a result of [climate change], UMass educates the workforce of Massachusetts. We need to train people to get them the skills they need to work in this sector," he says.
Meehan also discussed diversity on campus, the safety of foreign students, and dealing with anti-Semitic and anti-Palestinian behaviors.
You can watch the entire interview on-demand right here, and join us for interviews with top local newsmakers every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on the weekend edition of "Keller At Large."
