UMass Boston

With the inauguration of Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, UMass Boston celebrates the official installation of its ninth chancellor and the promising future of what he calls “UMass Boston 2.0.”

April 5, 2024, was a sun-dappled Friday on Columbia Point. Harbor winds caught the familiar edges of scarves and spring coats as the Beacon community buzzed about the campus, wrapping up the activity of another week.

But on that Friday, a mix of regalia—tams, hoods, tassels, and robes—fluttered alongside the usual seasonal attire as a processional of leaders and dignitaries made their way to Clark Athletic Center for the momentous business of the day: the much-anticipated inauguration of Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. “It’s a celebration,” said Suárez-Orozco of the day’s events, “a celebration of what we’ve achieved, of what we’ve constructed together. We’re moving into another era.”

⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ 

While inaugurations typically mark the beginning of a leader’s tenure, the ceremony officially inducting Suárez- Orozco as UMass Boston’s ninth chancellor has been four years and many achievements in the making. He assumed the role of university chancellor on August 1, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic roiled across the globe and social divisions in the U.S. added even more tension to seemingly unprecedented times. What he found upon his arrival was an institution brimming with potential, at an inflection point in the journey of realizing its mission.

“I think that given the crisis of purpose in higher education, this is the moment to articulate with clarity what exactly an urban public research university in the 21st century—especially in this iconic city of Boston—stands for,” said Suárez-Orozco. “We’re reaffirming our foundations in a new way, in a fixed way. We’re setting the course, as Beacons, toward a destination where education serves to pursue truth at a time when truth is so contested, pursue science when large segments of our population don’t believe in science, and pursue justice at a time when inequality is at unprecedented, historic levels.”

The course and the destination comprise equal parts of what Suárez-Orozco describes as “UMass Boston 2.0,” though unlike many software updates, the improvements led by Suárez-Orozco move beyond bug fixes and superficial edits.

Since joining as the university’s leader, Suárez-Orozco has been setting the stage for UMass Boston 2.0. He made key hiring and personnel selections—a new dean of students, new provost, and newly installed leadership across a swath of previously interim school and college appointments. In 2022, the university released a comprehensive ten-year strategic plan, For the Times, and the institution has seen record-level support for both research funding and philanthropic giving. Enrollment and retention have been bolstered, alongside career and internship opportunities for students and alumni. And amid improved metrics and data points, the newly opened quadrangle sits at the heart of campus as a physical representation of the university’s blossoming and growth.

Suárez-Orozco is quick to note that these transformative achievements were born from collaboration and partnership. He doesn’t use the word “I” very often, and his use of “we” is not a “royal we.” His unwavering belief in the power and necessary action of the collective is a value imbedded in his language and strategic vision for change.

“It’s the power of the ‘we’. . . it’s the power of the ‘us,’” Suárez-Orozco said of the accomplishments and opportunities occurring on campus and beyond. “[Humans] really are homo sapiens social, the social species. Our connections with the broader community are fundamental to better understanding what is needed. It’s also what distinguishes UMass Boston, I think, from some of the other universities here in the general neighborhood.”

⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ 

The chancellor’s catalytic leadership was heralded throughout the inauguration ceremony by colleagues and collaborators from across decades and sectors. His Holiness Pope Francis, who appointed Suárez-Orozco to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, sent a message from the Vatican celebrating the chancellor as a cultivator of the next generation of change agents and peacemakers.

University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan cited Suárez-Orozco’s galvanization of talent and resources in making UMass Boston “an indispensable educational resource for this region and far beyond.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu highlighted the chancellor’s influence in positioning the university as a true engine for community empowerment, joining the City of Boston in early education and workforce development initiatives. And Governor Maura Healey spoke earnestly of Suárez-Orozco’s demonstrated care and commitment to UMass Boston, its students, and the people of Massachusetts.

“The bottom line is this: More than maybe anywhere else, what happens on this campus matters. It matters for individuals, for communities, for our state, and our world,” said Gov. Healey. “No institution combines excellence and equity, achievement and access, and diversity quite like UMass Boston. We are so grateful, Chancellor Marcelo, to have you here in the Commonwealth as a leader helping to lead not just this university, but also as a leader in this state.”

The day was replete with accolades and ritual, including the ceremonial bestowing of the UMass Boston chancellor’s medallion. And while Suárez-Orozco is not one for pomp, he was described as a man keenly interested in circumstance. That is to say, the situations and realities facing humanity. In her recorded remarks, Danielle Allen, PhD, who worked with Suárez-Orozco at Harvard University, provided a sketch of Suárez-Orozco as a distinctive leader, who brilliantly unites head and heart.

“Marcelo always reminded us that people were pursuing two things: love and work—to have a chance for a foundation for flourishing for themselves and the people they love. For him, the well-being of human beings is always at the center of what he does,” said Allen. “He’s as smart as they come, and he’s a person who always understands the emotional impact of the choices that leaders make. He unites that incredible talent for empathy to smart, penetrating analysis. This is why he’s a person who leads with such a sense of purpose.”

⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄

Suárez-Orozco is eagerly eying the horizon and the opportunities that await UMass Boston in this new era.

“It’s the beauty and novel quality of our mission that keeps me motivated. We’re a jewel in Columbia Point, and I think we’ve been the best kept secret in the great, great ecology of higher education in Boston and in the Commonwealth,” said Suárez-Orozco. “Now is the time to work with more passion and tell our story.”

“If UMass Boston didn’t exist, we would have to invent it,” Suárez-Orozco continued, paraphrasing Voltaire. “You can’t have a happy future for the city of Boston or for the Commonwealth without a happy future for our students, because we are the face of the New Boston. And we’re addressing what our country desperately needs today: more equality, more justice, more truth, more science, more democracy. At a time when universities need clarity of purpose, that’s what we offer. I’m in 100 percent, and the best is yet to come.” 

⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ 

About Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco

Prior to coming to UMass Boston, Suárez-Orozco served as the inaugural UCLA Wasserman Dean, leading two academic departments, 16 nationally renowned research institutes, and two innovative demonstration schools at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. His research focuses on cultural psychology and psychological anthropology, with an emphasis on education, globalization, and migration.

His award-winning books and edited volumes have been published by Harvard University Press, Stanford University Press, University of California Press, Cambridge University Press, New York University Press, and others. In January 2018 His Holiness Pope Francis appointed Suárez-Orozco to the Executive Committee of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and on July 4, 2018, the Carnegie Corporation of New York named him a “Great Immigrant / Great American.”

An immigrant from Argentina, Dr. Suárez-Orozco is a product of the California master plan, having studied in community college and at the University of California Berkeley, where he received his AB, MA, and PhD (in anthropology) in 1986.