Where to begin? There’s been an exodus of black employees over the past 18 months. Whether they’ve left willingly or been pushed out, the explanation from leadership has been that “they just don’t fit in.” This includes the only black member of the chancellor’s cabinet. Several senior leaders are enriching themselves by investing in real estate that only they can know will appreciate, buying up properties that will eventually neighbor new mixed-use developments catering to defense contractors and biotech bros. It may not be illegal, but it’s hardly ethical. One senior leader in charge of top-level financial and personnel matters has obvious dementia that’s dismissed as “a quirky personality.” Another senior leader manages exclusively via tantrum. When budget season rolls around, whoever yells loudest gets the money, regardless of need or strategy or past performance. For the past two years in a row, with this year certain to be the third, dozens of staff have been laid during the holidays. No explanation, no show of appreciation, barely a severance. Ostensibly it’s for budget reasons, but both times it has coincidentally targeted the staffers who have pointed out the mismanagement of funds and embarrassing lack of leadership. There is no reason to want to work here unless you’ve already worked here for 15 years. New ideas are not welcome. Experience outside of Lowell is not welcome. Doing anything different from the way it’s always been done is not welcome, even as the higher ed sector undergoes rapid and dramatic change. Status quo is king, even as it fails and fails again. This is the only school in the UMass system that didn’t make its enrollment goals for the current academic year. The administrators who were surpassing performance goals were all let go as a Christmas present. The lifers who are unwilling and unable to change hold all the power. Join them at your own risk.
