It is unfortunate that the University of Massachusetts is again the focus of criticism and public embarrassment due to a proposal that stinks of political motives, a proposal that we as trustees cannot understand or justify.

The university faces numerous obstacles in potentially seeking to acquire an unaccredited institution, Southern New England School of Law. First, the state is in a financial crisis and higher education is experiencing significant declines in state aid to community colleges, state colleges and the five campuses that comprise the university system.