Joan Barrett, wife of the late Dick Barrett, receives a UMass Lowell vase from Chancellor Marty Meehan.

Most scholarships are awarded before students arrive on campus, to help with the tuition and fees that are due before classes start. Scholarships awarded from the Richard Barrett Memorial Endowment, however, will be given throughout the year, to students who are in emergency financial situations and in danger of dropping out of school.

Family and friends agreed this was a fitting tribute to the late Dick Barrett, a 39-year employee of the University who retired as director of Financial Aid shortly before losing his battle with cancer last year. Barrett was well known for his deep commitment to helping students succeed at UML, even if it meant bending a few rules.

“Dick was somebody who took to heart every student who walked through the door who had a problem,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan at a May 15 reception to raise funds for the endowment. “Now, whenever a student goes through an emergency, the Dick Barrett Scholarship will be there just as Dick was there, for 39 years at this University, to make a difference to students who have something going on in their lives. At the end of the day, what a legacy. Dick will live on doing what he cared about most. Helping students."

Meehan also announced that proceeds from the reception helped the endowment pass the $25,000 mark, ensuring Barrett’s generous spirit will continue to help students for years to come.

Paul Sheehy, who as a state representative filed legislation to merge Lowell State and Lowell Technological Institute in the University of Lowell, related some fond memories of his longtime friend, who loved to talk politics.

“I miss greatly this time of the year, election time, when Dick would come into my office and we would solve all the problems in all the elections,” said Sheehy. During the reception, he and Dick’s wife, Joan, presented the chancellor with a copy of the first feasibility study on the merging of Lowell State and Lowell Technological Institute.

“He would be really very happy to know that this scholarship was coming about,” said Joan Barrett. “And I like that rather than go to one person, that it will be given in little chunks here and there given to someone who isn’t going to make it, to help them scoot along a little farther down the road.”

She thanked all the people who attended the reception, especially his coworkers in the Financial Aid Office. “If he wasn’t spending [time] at home, I’m happy he spent it with so many people he loved. If Dick were here, I know he would say, ‘It’s been a wonderful run.’”

During his tenure at the University, Barrett served in various capacities including business management, institutional research and financial aid. He retired as director of financial aid before losing his battle with pancreatic cancer last April. He was also president of the Service Employees International Union for many years.

To contribute to the Richard Barrett Memorial Endowment, contact Brian Andriolo, Director of Development, (978) 934-4809. For an array of photo from the reception, visit UML's photo gallery.