UMass President's office, Alumni Club moving to new Boston building
By Dan O'Brien and Hirak Shah, Collegian Staff
January 26, 2005
Building plans for the University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni club in downtown Boston are going ahead as scheduled, according to UMass President Jack Wilson's office.
The new club -- complete with an upscale dining room, a fitness center, plush arm chairs and a view of Boston Harbor -- is part of the University's plan to join the ranks of private schools that use similar methods to increase loyalty and pride among graduates.
"I'm very excited about the response we've received from alumni and pleased there will be a UMass club where members can connect with classmates and connect with the University," said Wilson on the UMass Web site.
Universities that already include such upscale accommodations for alumni include Harvard University and Boston College, allowing members access to a vast network of people.
The alumni club is expected to open next summer. It will occupy over 20,000 square feet on the 33rd floor of the State Street Bank building on Franklin St. The old club was located at One Beacon St. and was a symbol of excess by former UMass President William Bulger.
At Bulger's old location, rent was $1.1 million per year. Wilson's new club will only cost $552,000 for the first year, saving the University $900,000.
The UMass administrative offices will also be moving to the State Street Building, but on the less glamorous 12th floor, into 7,640 square feet of office space. That move is supposed to occur on the second year of the lease, with an annual rent of about $1,012,000. The cost is expected to save $470,000 in rent and utilities than the cost at One Beacon. Wilson's spokesperson Robert Connolly told the Associated Press that rent would be locked in at roughly $500,000 per year for the next ten years.
According the UMass News Service the move, "from One Beacon St., where the President's Office has leased more than 30,000 square feet since 1997, is expected to save more than $5.1 million over the next 10 years. The current rent at One Beacon is $1.1 million, and an increase of $314,600 had been proposed for 2005-2006."
Unlike the administrative offices, the alumni club will be funded entirely by membership fees and dues, said Executive Director of Alumni Affairs Robert Goodhue. He added that no tuition money or state funds would be used to pay for the club.
A one-time initiation fee will be less than $1,000 and dues will be less than $100 for members.
UMass officials went forward with the idea of an alumni club after surveying 14,500 alumni last year. The survey indicated a strong show of support for the club idea; one-quarter of those surveyed said they would join the club if it opened. Goodhue also said a strong number of people have been turning out to the alumni breakfasts over the past four years.
There are about 220,000 UMass alumni living in Massachusetts, with 160,000 living within the I-495 corridor.
"The majority of the UMass alumni live in Eastern Massachusetts," Goodhue said. "The biggest problem for them is finding a way to relate to UMass. Right now they can look at the sports scores, but they don't have a tangible way to relate to the university."
Other public universities that have started alumni clubs in other parts of the country include University of Georgia in Athens, Florida State University and University of North Carolina. One of the more elegant clubs is at Florida State University, which is housed in its football stadium with two rooftop patios that can hold 1,000 fans.
The seven-year-old Boston College alumni club has widely been considered a success. It has currently attracted over 2,450 members with a waitlist of over 100 people. Membership fees are around $800 per person. After the costs to maintain the club are covered, the remaining fees are used towards a B.C. scholarship fund.
The Harvard University club has two locations: a main clubhouse, with guest rooms and an athletic center, on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, and a downtown club with an elegant skyscraper dining room on Federal St. Annual dues are $1,200, or less for students and senior citizens.
UMass officials acknowledge that they expect more donations to UMass and its alumni club once relationships between alumni club members grow.
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