Dear Colleagues,

the Faculty Federation along with AFT-Maintainers, in collaboration with AFT Mass, will be hosting a presentation next Tuesday evening, November 14, where we can  learn about two pieces of legislation that would address the issues around adequate funding to support public higher education and reducing student debt — the Cherish Act and Debt-Free Public Higher Education Act.

Colin Jones, Deputy Policy Director at the Mass Budget and Policy Center, will highlight the findings of the Center’s recent report: Higher Education Investments: Supporting Our Economy and Future Generations. 

This presentation will be followed by a discussion about the state of UMass Dartmouth and the steps we can collectively take to realize a fully-funded, well-resourced public higher education system. I hope that you will be able to attend this event and participate in the evening’s discussion.

This event will be held in the campus Auditorium beginning at 5 pm on Tuesday, November 14. 

Investment in public higher education is critical for the Massachusetts economy.  High-quality and affordable public higher education is essential, serving as a key driver of our economic vitality, a catalyst for civic participation in our democracy, and a pathway to good jobs and the middle class. However, chronic disinvestment in public higher education over the past few decades has made high-quality public college increasingly unaffordable and unattainable for students in our Commonwealth, threatening the livelihood of residents and the economic competitiveness of our state.

Please RSVP to our “What Would New Investment Mean for UMass Dartmouth?” community event at 

https://actionnetwork.org/events/umdcommunitymeeting

In Solidarity.