University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (otherwise known as UMass Amherst or simply UMass) is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system. With approximately 1,300 faculty members and more than 29,000 students, UMass Amherst is the largest public university in New England and is ranked the 29th best public university in the nation.

The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in 111 undergraduate, 75 master's and 47 doctoral programs in nine schools and colleges.The main campus is situated north of downtown Amherst. In a 2009 article for MSN.com, Amherst was ranked first in Best College Towns in the United States.In 2012, U.S. News and World Report ranked Amherst among the Top 10 Great College Towns in America.It is also a member of the Five College Consortium.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is categorized as a Research University with Very High research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.In fiscal year 2014, UMass Amherst had research expenditures exceeding $200 million.

UMass Amherst sports teams are called the Minutemen and Minutewomen, the colors being maroon, black, and white; the school mascot is Sam the Minuteman. All teams participate in NCAA Division I. The university is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, while playing ice hockey in Hockey East and football in the FBS level Mid-American Conference (MAC).

The University's campus is situated on 1,450 acres, mainly in the town Amherst, but also partly in the neighboring town of Hadley. The campus extends about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Campus Center in all directions and may be thought of as a series of concentric rings, with innermost ring harboring academic buildings and research labs, surrounded by a ring of the seven residential areas and two University owned apartment complexes. These include North Apartments, Sylvan, Northeast, Central, Orchard Hill, Southwest, Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex, as well as the two University owned apartment complexes, North Village and Lincoln Apartments. These are in turn is surrounded by a ring of athletic facilities, smaller administration buildings, and parking lots.

The campus has its own Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation facility. The plant, which was dedicated in 2009 after ten years of planning, replaced a coal burning power plant dating back to 1918 and has reduced the campus' greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 75%. In 2011, the CHP was recognized as the cleanest plant of its size in New England and has been recognized for maintaining 80% efficiency over six consecutive quarters. In 2008, the CHP received the Combined Cycle Journal Pacesetter Award for the best Combined Heat and Power plant project in the US that year. The award refers to its innovative design, efficiency, reliability, system redundancy, and environmental benefits.In 2009, the CHP received the Sustainable Campus Leadership Award from the International District Energy Association. The award states it was given "In recognition of exemplary public leadership in advancing energy efficiency and global environmental stewardship through investment in an innovative district energy system." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented the University of Massachusetts with the 2011 Combined Heat and Power Energy Star Award[dead link] in an effort to recognize the reduced emissions and increased efficiency of the plant.