The Next Level
Marcelo Su谩rez-Orozco remembers Boston from the decade he taught at Harvard and raised his family in Cambridge, in the late 鈥�90s and early aughts, as a city in the throes of physical upheaval鈥攖he Big Dig gouging a new transportation network through the heart of the city. As he returns to this city to become chancellor of the 天美传媒, he is transfixed by the changes he鈥檚 seen. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful city; it鈥檚 so pristine,鈥� he said in a recent interview, relishing the opportunity to return to Boston. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely transformed.鈥�
鈥� I believe that equitable access to quality education is a foundational step we must take to see systemic racism dismantled. 鈥�
In a time of crisis and suffering, Chancellor Marcelo Su谩rez-Orozco promises to redouble efforts to lead UMass Boston to new heights of excellence, service, and relevance.
In February, the UMass Board of Trustees unanimously elected Su谩rez-Orozco, the former dean of UCLA鈥檚 Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, as the ninth chancellor of UMass Boston. His appointment came at a time when news of the severity of the coronavirus was just gathering steam, and no one could have predicted what would transpire in the months ahead.
鈥淲hen I accepted this responsibility鈥攖he gift of a lifetime鈥擨 felt very good in that [Interim Chancellor] Katherine Newman had made a great deal of progress,鈥� said Su谩rez-Orozco. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a university ready, pregnant with potential to be taken to the next level鈥攖he next level of service, the next level of excellence, the next level of relevance. And then everything changed. But everything changed in the whole world.鈥�
Change and challenges are not unfamiliar to Su谩rez-Orozco, who grew up the son of public school teachers in a small town outside of Buenos Aires. In his teens his family grew increasingly concerned about the growing political unrest in Argentina, and at age 17 he migrated to the United States on his own with a few dollars in his pocket. As a young immigrant, Su谩rez-Orozco worked his way up, finding jobs cleaning office buildings, making deliveries, and pumping gas while taking night classes to learn English. Eventually he enrolled in the California Community Colleges system and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an AB in psychology, and an MA and PhD in anthropology.
That education, he said, opened the doors to basic research and eventually teaching at universities around the world, including nearly a decade at Harvard as a tenured professor and at New York University as a university professor鈥攖he most distinguished professorial rank at NYU. A decade ago he became the inaugural Wasserman Dean at UCLA鈥檚 Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, where he led 2 academic departments, 16 research institutes, and 2 demonstration schools. His internationally renowned research focuses on cultural psychology and psychological anthropology, with an emphasis on education, globalization, and migration.
As a scholar of migration for more than three decades, Su谩rez- Orozco said he鈥檚 watched the global racialization of inequality and poverty in major U.S. cities and elsewhere, and he sees education鈥攑articularly public higher education鈥攁s an indispensable tool for disrupting and overcoming the malaise of growing inequality.
鈥淚 benefited enormously from the openness that defines our attitudes in higher education towards immigrants,鈥� said Su谩rez-Orozco. 鈥淓ducation is a public good, essential for the flourishing of all human beings and the formation of engaged and independent citizens. It must prepare our workforce鈥攏ow more diverse than ever in the history of our country鈥攖o thrive in the labor market of the 21st century. In my case these were not simply worthy abstract principles. For me, education was a transformational life force.鈥�
Su谩rez-Orozco said he sees his appointment as chancellor at UMass Boston as an opportunity to bring together his personal experience, scholarly expertise, and vision for higher education in service of leading 鈥淏oston鈥檚 great public research university.鈥� According to Su谩rez-Orozco, public universities, and particularly UMass Boston, should be at the forefront, leading the response to bring greater opportunities, excellence, dignity, and equality to our communities. Even at UMass Boston鈥攌nown for its diversity, majority students of color, and high number of Pell Grant-eligible students鈥攚e can do more, he said.
鈥淭he racialization of inequality is a grave threat to the practice of democratic citizenship in the commonwealth and beyond. UMass Boston鈥檚 students of color鈥攍ike their peers across the nation鈥攆ace economic and social barriers to their education, exacerbated by COVID-19鈥檚 malignancy, placing too many of our students at an educational disadvantage,鈥� said Su谩rez-Orozco, who personally seeded the new George Floyd Honorary Scholarship Fund for scholarships for our deserving students. He noted in a statement in July announcing the establishment of the new endowment, 鈥淚 firmly believe that equitable access to quality education is a foundational step we must take to see systemic racism dismantled in our country.鈥�
The new fund, given in the spirit of celebrating the struggles for human rights, racial justice, and human dignity, was established to provide financial support to talented students who otherwise may find it difficult or impossible to pay for a 天美传媒 education. It is also as an investment in future leaders 鈥渨ho will fight for social, political, and economic justice, drawing from their lived experience and using the tools forged in our classrooms,鈥� Su谩rez-Orozco said. It was seeded with a $50,000 pledge from the chancellor and his wife, Carola, and has grown to exceed $100,000 in commitments.
In addition, on his first day on the job, Chancellor Su谩rez-Orozco in a communication to the campus community announced he would appoint a faculty member as special advisor to the chancellor for Black life at UMass Boston to advise him on matters of importance to Black faculty, students, and staff.
For Su谩rez-Orozco, these new initiatives are only a start to a broader campus conversation about how UMass Boston will move forward during a time of global crises.
鈥淭he question for me at this time of great uncertainty is what does it take to deliver an engaging intellectual experience to our students that will keep them attached to us and thriving?鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is where our first-rate, humane, and engaged faculty make all the difference. Everybody is facing the same undertow. Everybody is going to have to swim very hard to protect our institutions. But I shiver looking at the devastating economic losses and the terrible suffering in the wake of the pandemic鈥攁bove all, the damage it is visiting on our most vulnerable communities.鈥�
Coming together and finding common purpose, and remaining steadfast in our commitment to excellence, equity, and inclusion, he argues, is more important today than ever before. And true to his immigrant background, the chancellor is a forward-looking optimist. 鈥淲riting in another time of death, untold suffering, and upheaval, Albert Camus said, 鈥榃here there is no hope, we must invent it.鈥� Today more than ever at UMass Boston we are redoubling our endeavors to invent hope,鈥� he said.