University of Massachusetts Amherst - Campus

Campus

Main article: Campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst See also: Chestnut Ridge Historical Area, East Ridge Historical Area, and Ellis Drive Historical Area

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 five residential areas and one University owned apartment complex. (North Apartments, Sylvan, Northeast, Central, Orchard Hill, Southwest), which in turn is surrounded by a ring of athletic facilities and parking lots. The campus is also divided into "North Campus" and "South Campus."

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 in an effort to recognize the reduced emissions and increased efficiency of the plant.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is the main library on campus and the tallest library in the United States, after consisting of 26 stories and 296 feet (90.32 m) tall. Before, the Goodell Hall was built to house the University library, which had outgrown its space in the 1885 Chapel building. Originally known as Goodell Library, the building was named for Henry H. Goodell, who had served as College Librarian, Professor of Modern Languages and English Literature, and eighth President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is well regarded for its innovative architectural design, which incorporates the bookshelves into the structural support of the building. It is home of the memoirs and papers of the distinguished African-American activist and Massachusetts native W. E. B. Du Bois, as well as being the depository for other important collections, such as the papers of the late Congressman Silvio O. Conte. The library's special collections include works on movements for social change, African American history and culture, labor and industry, literature and the arts, agriculture, and the history of the surrounding region.

The Science and Engineering Library is the other main library on campus. It is located on the second floor of the Lederle Graduate Research Center (occasionally referred to as the Lederle "low rise"). UMass is also home to the DEFA Film Library, the only archive and study collection of East German films outside of Europe, the Shirley Graham Du Bois Library in New Africa House, the Biological Sciences Library in Morrill Hall, the UMass Science Fiction Society (UMSFS) Library in the Campus Center, and the Music Reserve Lab in the Fine Arts Center.

The university has several buildings (constructed in the 1960s and 70s) of importance in the modernist style, including the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and Hotel designed by Marcel Breuer, the Southwest Residential Area designed by Hugh Stubbins Jr. of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, The Fine Arts Center by Kevin Roche, the W.E.B. Du Bois Library by Edward Durell Stone, and Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium by Gordon Bunshaft. Many of the older dorms and lecture halls are built in a Georgian Revival style such as French Hall, Fernald Hall,Stockbridge Hall and Flint Laboratory.

The campus facilities have undergone extensive renovations in recent years. New and newly renovated facilities include student apartment complexes, Berkshire Dining Commons, library Learning Commons, School of Management, Integrated Science Building, Nursing Building, Studio Arts Building, Heating Plant, track facility, and Recreation Center. Newly completed construction projects on campus include a new Campus Police Station and the Minuteman Marching Band Building.

Main article: List of University of Massachusetts Amherst residence halls

Residential Life at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of the largest on campus housing systems in the United States. Over 12,000 students live in 45 residence halls, while families, staff, and graduate students live in 345 units in two apartment complexes. UMass Amherst, residence halls are a lot more than a place to sleep. The forty-five residence halls and four apartment buildings are grouped into six separate and very different residential areas: Central, Northeast, Orchard Hill, Southwest, Sylvan and North. Each possesses its own distinctive characteristics, inspired in part by location, in part by architecture, and in part by the different cultural or academic living/learning programs housed within. Each residential area houses classrooms, recreational and social centers, kitchenettes, and cultural centers - in addition to the bedrooms, study areas, laundries, television rooms, and dining facilities you might expect. Each also has its own student governing body and is,in effect, a community unto itself.