University of Massachusetts

8 Stories

Billionaire Offers Surprise Gift to Grads at Commencement

Robert Hale gifts $1K to each UMass Boston student during ceremony, with a heartwarming catch

(Newser) - Students being honored at Thursday's graduation ceremony at UMass Boston not only received their diplomas—there was also an extra-special gift waiting for them, courtesy of commencement speaker Robert Hale, the billionaire CEO of Granite Telecommunications and part owner of the Boston Celtics. CNN reports that as the university'...

US Nobelist Knew About Gene-Edited Babies

Craig Mello was on board of He Jiankui's biotech company

(Newser) - Long before the claim of the world's first gene-edited babies became public , Chinese researcher He Jiankui shared the news with a US Nobel laureate who objected to the experiment yet remained an adviser to He's biotech company. The revelation that another prominent scientist knew of the work, which...

UMass Abandons Ban on Iranian Students

It will create 'individualized study plans' instead

(Newser) - The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is backtracking less than two weeks after announcing a controversial policy barring Iranian nationals from some science and engineering programs, including physics, chemistry, and chemical engineering. After consulting with the State Department, the school says it will now create "individualized study plans to...

UMass Bars Iranians From Some Science Programs

School says it's following federal sanctions

(Newser) - Iranian students are no longer welcome in some science and engineering programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Saying the decision adheres to US sanctions against Iran, the school has instituted a ban on Iranian entrants to the programs, the AP reports. A 2012 federal law prevents Iranians aiming...

St. Paddy's Party in Mass.: Riot Gear, Brawls, 73 Arrests

Note: The actual holiday is next Monday

(Newser) - This is why we can't have nice St. Paddy's Day parties: With more than a week to go before the holiday honoring all things green and boozy, er, the 5th-century Catholic bishop , cops in Massachusetts had to break up a party that sounds more war zone-themed than Irish....

Emotional Red Sox Fans Kiss Marathon Finish Line

Meanwhile, riots break out in New Hampshire, at UMass

(Newser) - Celebrations—and, occasionally, riots—broke out all over Red Sox Nation following last night's World Series win, the team's first at Fenway since 1918. But one gathering had particular poignancy: Many of the fans pouring out of Fenway made their way to the Boston Marathon finish line, bringing...

Why I Broke Up With Dzhokhar
 Why I Broke Up With Dzhokhar 
May 2, 2013 9:02 AM CDT

Why I Broke Up With Dzhokhar

Nothing sinister, he was just a 'hands-y teenaged boy': ex

(Newser) - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev certainly didn't seem like a devout Muslim to a woman who had what she calls a "fleeting fling" with him at UMass-Dartmouth. Though she describes herself as being "very forward" ("I walked right up to him and I was like, 'Oh my God,...

Colleges With Lowest Graduation Rates

Golden Gate University tops list at 10%

(Newser) - Graduation rates at US institutions of higher learning have dropped 33% since 2002, a Chronicle of Higher Education study finds, and the recession may be to blame. The Huffington Post lists the 12 colleges with the lowest graduation rates:
  • Golden Gate University, San Francisco: 10%
  • Alliant International University, San Diego:
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8 Stories