CommonWealth Magazine - Summer/Fall 2005

Letter from the Dean

Dear Alumni and Friends:

Travel much? Chances are that you have recently spent a night at a hotel or eaten at a restaurant whose senior management team includes a UMass Amherst alum. Hospitality and tourism are big business. UMass and the Isenberg School are big players. This issue features five Boston-based hoteliers. A sixth, Rick Kelleher, will be featured in a future issue of this magazine and wouldn’t you know it, Rick recently met the Isenberg School alumnus he was replacing on the board of the Canadian Pacific hotels, Dick Goldstein ’64, CEO of International Flavors and Fragrances. Neither knew of their UMass connection until the ceremony celebrating Dick’s retirement from the board after 20 years of service.

And you might even succeed in business by attending the College of Engineering. Jack and Suzy Welch visited the Isenberg School on the morning of opening day at Fenway Park. Jack held a session for 250 students in the Flavin Family Auditorium at the School and signed copies of their book, Winning. They left in time to see the first pitch.
Isenberg School alumni make a very real difference in Boston and around the world. That difference translates into a big advantage for our students. Those students have developed well-deserved confidence in their ability to compete at any level. The collective effect of visits from Rick Kelleher, Dick Goldstein, Jack Welch, Jack Smith, etc., etc., and the vitality of the School’s programs made possible by alumni support have done wonders.

Our students are first-rate. For them, your interest in their education and success has made all things possible.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Thomas O’Brien