Volunteer Writer: Raymond Davis

Email: raymond.davis@umassd.edu

Dr. Mark Fuller will be sworn in as the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s sixth Chancellor on Friday, October 14, 2022, at 3:00 PM, a part of this year’s Blue and Gold Weekend.

Festivities will include an all-campus picnic, an alumni student leadership luncheon, and a concert featuring DJ Wonka and DJ Donut.

Fuller will be sworn in on the main campus quad, “replacing Dr. Robert Johnson, who left the University in August 2020,” said Shelly Metivier Scott, Director of New Student and Family Programs.

Why is the inauguration happening more than a year after Fuller was appointed Chancellor?

Ryan Merrill, Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations, said, “The Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Office staff are really busy. There is quite a bit to do, so it was difficult finding time to plan a successful event. We also wanted to give individuals more time to get boosted against the virus so we could celebrate all the University has accomplished together.”

Fuller, who has been Chancellor since August 2021, “is very committed to the vision of the University,” according to Merrill, who adds that “the Chancellor’s top priorities include student retention.”

“I believe student retention is going to be a challenge in Dr. Fuller’s tenure as Chancellor,” O’mayra Hernandez-Ortolaza, a senior health and society student.

“During his onboarding, UMass Dartmouth and other campuses nationwide had lost many students to the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the challenge of balancing the school, family, and work- life balance, while maintaining a full-time course load.”

Hernandez-Ortolazza adds, “There is a lack of trust between students and the university administration due to the short time they remain here…. How long does Dr. Fuller plan on being here?”

Merrill said, “Fuller is aware of the turnover that we’ve had, and I can see him here for a long time.”

Before his tenure at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Fuller served as Vice Chancellor of Advancement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, “engaging and inspiring more than 270,000 alumni and donors worldwide and cultivating some of the largest gifts in the campus’s history,” and Dean of the Isenberg School of Management, “where he spent nine transformative years,” according to his biography.

Fuller earned his M.S. in Management and Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona. He and his wife Tanya have two daughters, Emma and Grace. Fuller resides in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

All attendees must RSVP. Questions regarding the Chancellor’s Inauguration Ceremony should be emailed to chancellor@umassd.edu.