A show of tremendous support yesterday for the University of Massachusetts by State Representative Lewis Evangelidis (R- Worcester) put smiles on the faces of the UMass Faculty Senate members.

During Evangelidis’s introduction he said that he was, “very, very proud” to have attended UMass Amherst in the early 1980s.

Evangelidis explained his transformation from a liberal during his college years to a more conservative-minded Republican, his current political stance today. He explained that he thinks every person grows mentally and that a person should reassess their political stance as they grow older.

“I engaged in the same pressures of being a young, idealistic college student,” he said as he explained how he used to label himself as a liberal.

“When I attended this school it was cool to be liberal, I don’t know if that’s still the same today.”

Evangelidis credited UMass with giving him the ability to think critically.

“This university helped me learn how to think, be analytical, and not just accept what is given to you.”

The State Representative has held a range of jobs in politics and education. At one point he worked for former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno’s office in Florida during her tenure as State Attorney General for Dade County. Not long after that he began teaching public high school classes in Philadelphia.

Evangelidis said that it was his time teaching students that gave him the desire to hold public education as an important government asset. He cited his experience teaching in an urban public school as evidence. He went on to tell of his participation in a program that got him out of the classroom. He was given the chance to work with students on projects that helped members of the community.

However, he said that he was frustrated with the way the teachers of the state view his stance on education. He accused the Worcester Teacher’s Union of supporting his Democratic opponent, publicly and financially, simply because of his party affiliation.

Evangelidis said that he fully supported restoring state funding for the University, including pay raises for 13,000 faculty members that were supposed to have been funded almost two years ago, but were not funded until last week. He said that he opposes the possible one-time payment of the pay raises instead of continuous funding of them, as Governor Romney has suggested doing.

“A contract is a contract. It’s wrong not to fund them,” he said.

He also said that he opposes the governor’s veto of $10 million in funds for the University that was passed by the Legislature last week and was “baffled” as to why the funds were not fully restored.

“I think Romney thinks that the state doesn’t have the funds,” he said.

A representative of the Athletic Council, Carol Barr, also addressed the Faculty Senate with the council’s annual report. Barr pointed out the accomplishments of UMass Athletics in the past year, as well as their problem areas.

Some of the group’s accomplishments include the renovations of the Boyden Weight Room and Renfield Soccer Stadium. Barr also pointed out the council’s disappointment in the development of a new recreational center for students and faculty. She said that in 2002, student fees were increased and a portion of the increased revenue was supposed to help fund the recreational center. She continued by saying that in the spring of 2003, the plans for the center were postponed after the news of the budget shortfall and no plans have been put into place since that time.

Chancellor John V. Lombardi also had some important athletics news during the meeting. He said that the decision of whether or not the UMass football team would become a Division 1-A team is going to be made by the University’s Ad Hoc Committee within a week. The announcement of the upcoming decision confirms weeks of speculation that an important decision is being made about the football team.