UMass’ ratings affirmation signals strong management and strategic planning

Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global, the three major bond ratings agencies, recently reaffirmed UMass’s strong bond ratings, citing robust management practices, comprehensive long-term strategic plans, and solid demand in an increasingly competitive market to attract students.

UMass President Marty Meehan and UMass Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Karam offered the following statements in response to a motion by the UMass Amherst faculty.

BOSTON – Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings all recently reaffirmed the University of Massachusetts’ strong bond ratings, each citing effective management practices as a factor in affirming the ratings and the university’s “stable” outlook. 

In reports released in late April, the university was rated Aa2 by Moody’s, AA by Fitch Ratings, and AA- by S&P Global, indicating that UMass maintains a strong financial footing and is well-positioned to meet its credit obligations. 

In his annual State of the University message, University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan today called for a three-fold expansion of enrollment in the university’s early college programs over the next five years.

The UMass Amherst Springfield Center will soon be named for former UMass Trustee and Springfield Urban League President Henry M. Thomas III, a leading advocate for establishing the center in his hometown, and the first person of color to lead the UMass Board of Trustees.

Since its earliest days, the University of Massachusetts has been about the future – creating better futures for our students, the Commonwealth and the world. We are an institution of education and transformation. We stand with our students as they build their future and ours.

As we begin the new year, I look back at the past year with great satisfaction and look ahead to what I see as a future of endless possibilities.

The University of Massachusetts today announced that the top 10 percent of the Commonwealth’s future community college graduates will receive a minimum of $5,000 per year above federal and private financial aid if they enroll at one of the four nationally ranked UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell.

The Community College Advantage Scholarship (CCAS) is designed to incentivize highly talented community college students to finish their associate’s degree at one of the Commonwealth’s 15 community colleges, and then complete their bachelor’s degree at UMass.

UMass President Marty Meehan today announced that Justice David A. Lowy, the first UMass graduate to serve on the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, will become the next General Counsel of the 74,000-student, five-campus University of Massachusetts system. In addition to his appointment as General Counsel, Justice Lowy will serve as Strategic Advisor for Law School Education and Adjunct Professor of Law at UMass School of Law-Dartmouth, the university’s ABA-accredited Law School.