To the Editor:

On May 12, 2005 at Symphony Hall, Boston, Jack M. Wilson was installed as the 25th president of the University of Massachusetts, a great night to celebrate UMass for those alumni and friends of the University in attendance, but it also represents an opportunity for all alumni and friends to celebrate the contribution that UMass has made to our community, commonwealth and nation.

President Wilson likes to say that the economy of Massachusetts goes through UMass. With its campuses throughout the state, its $350,000,000 in sponsored research, and its 220,000 alumni living and working in Massachusetts (eighty percent of its graduates stay in Massachusetts when they finish school) UMass makes an unmatched contribution to the state‚s economic strength.

The University of Massachusetts, at each of the campuses - Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester - will provide the raw intellectual fuel that will keep the state moving forward in the decades to come. Jack Wilson is the right president to set the system on that path

His tenure as President has been marked by bold support of the University's mission, which continues to occupy a unique niche in Massachusetts. As Massachusetts continues to lead the world in academic excellence with its many private Universities, the state's public school strives for excellence and relevance. Many young men and women see the University of Massachusetts as an opportunity to gain an excellent education, a valuable college degree and as an affordable road to economic success.

Jack Wilson understands that this public higher education system is the University for Massachusetts. As a graduate, and a resident of Dorchester and the Commonwealth, I thank him for his leadership.

- Jack Harraghy

B.A., University of Massachusetts, 1973

Rozella Street