Story and Source Ideas for Journalists

05/05/2014

This is a notice of upcoming events, photo opportunities and story ideas at UMass Lowell, compiled by the Office of University Relations, 978-934-3224. For more stories about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu and click on “Media” at the top of the page. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.

Sources of the week are available to discuss:

  • Mother’s Day and how the holiday can affect estranged families; 
  • What Target can do to rebuild its brand after the resignation of its CEO in the wake of a data breach that shook customers’ confidence.

Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.

UMass Lowell Student to be Honored as One of Commonwealth’s Brightest
‘Storm Surge’ Shows How Climate Change Could Alter Boston
Graphic Design, Fine Arts Students Exhibit Work
Commencement Eve Celebrates Top Students, Honored Guests
‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye, Howard Koh Headline Commencement Ceremonies
Exhibit Showcases Artwork of Esteemed Former Professor
Higher Education Leaders to Share How to Teach Future Entrepreneurs

UMass Lowell Student to be Honored as One of Commonwealth’s Brightest      

When: Thursday, May 8, noon

What: Massachusetts Department of Higher Education officials will honor outstanding students from each of the state’s 29 public campuses – including Kimberly Chao, a UMass Lowell student from Chelmsford – during the annual “29 Who Shine” event. The honorees – chosen because of their academic achievements, record of student leadership and community service – stand poised to contribute to the civic life and economic well-being of the state. Chao is a business major with dual concentrations in accounting and finance. Among her activities at UMass Lowell, she serves as vice president of the Finance Society and president of the Accounting Society. In that role, she organized volunteers to help build houses on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell. Chao plans to begin a job with a Boston public accounting firm after graduation.

Where:  Massachusetts Statehouse, Grand Staircase, 24 Beacon St., Boston

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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‘Storm Surge’ Shows How Climate Change Could Alter Boston

When: Thursday, May 8, noon to 2 p.m.

What: ScienceToGo.org, a year-long campaign to engage the public in learning about climate change, will hold a kickoff event for its latest phase, “Storm Surge in Boston,” to show how the city’s landscape could dramatically shift as the result of global warming. ScienceToGo.org, which brings science education out of the classroom and into everyday life, is a joint project of educators and scientists from UMass Lowell, UMass Boston, Hofstra University and the Museum of Science whose work is supported by a National Science Foundation grant. The initiative teaches climate science through events, social media and public transportation signage in partnership with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. “Storm Surge in Boston” will show areas in the city to which sea level would rise if climate change continues unchecked. The event, like the ScienceToGo.org campaign, uses messages from “Ozzie the Ostrich” and his flock to convey scientific concepts. Ozzie and his fellow birds, in the form of 8-foot-tall ostrich figures, will be stationed at eight locations throughout the city – Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, USS Constitution Museum, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Children’s Wharf, South Station, and the Airport, Aquarium and JFK/UMass MBTA stations. The public can participate through the “Awesome Ostrich Adventure” scavenger hunt by using social media to share photos of the ostrich cutouts in all eight locations and may interact with Ozzie via @BostonOstrich on Twitter, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sciencetogo and with the “PaparOzzie” mobile app available at www.sciencetogo.org.

Where:    Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Atlantic Avenue and Richmond Street, Boston

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu or Anna Pinkert, 617-287-5459 or Anna.Pinkert@umb.edu

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Graphic Design, Fine Arts Students Exhibit Work    

When: Artists’ reception is Thursday, May 8, 5 to 7 p.m. Exhibit runs through Saturday, May 17. Showings are by appointment.

What: Nineteen graphic design and fine arts students who are members of the Class of 2014 will present a show of their work in a variety of media. The exhibit – which is free and open to the public at both the University and Dugan galleries on campus – offers the students, their classmates, families and UMass Lowell faculty a chance to reflect on the students’ growth as artists over the past four years of their study. To schedule a time to view the show, the public may contact Gallery Coordinator Deborah Santoro at 978-934-3491 or Deborah_Santoro@uml.edu.  

Where: University Gallery, first floor, McGauvran Student Center, South Campus, 71 Wilder St., Lowell. Dugan Gallery, Dugan Hall, South Campus, 883 Broadway St., Lowell.

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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EveCommencement Eve Celebrates Top Students, Honored Guests   

When: Friday, May 16, 5 to 8:30 p.m.

What: UMass Lowell students, faculty, alumni and honored guests will pay tribute to the achievements of the Class of 2014 and raise money for student scholarships during the seventh annual Commencement Eve Celebration. The event will also honor students who have excelled in academics, community service and service to the university. Participants are scheduled to include honorary degree recipients and Distinguished Alumni Award winners. Since its inception seven years ago, the Commencement Eve Celebration has raised nearly $3 million for student scholarships. Admission, which includes dinner and entertainment, is $125 per person. For tickets and more information about supporting student scholarships, contact Kathleen Sullivan at 978-934-3236 or Kathleen_Sullivan@uml.edu.

Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye, Howard Koh Headline Commencement Ceremonies   

When: Saturday, May 17. Morning ceremony, 9 a.m., afternoon ceremony, 2:30 p.m. Media check-in begins 90 minutes before each ceremony.

What: Bill Nye – the Emmy Award-wining scientist, engineer, inventor and comedian of the television show that bears his name – will deliver a Commencement address to the Class of 2014 at UMass Lowell’s morning ceremony and Howard Koh, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s assistant secretary for health, will address graduates at UMass Lowell’s afternoon ceremony. For the seventh year in a row, a record number of graduates – 3,478, nearly a 10-percent increase over last year – will receive degrees from UMass Lowell. The university will bestow honorary degrees to Brain MacCraith, president of Dublin City University in Ireland; Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland; and John Pulichino ’67 and Joy Tong, leaders in the travel gear industry who are supporters of student scholarships and other initiatives at UMass Lowell. Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to Gerald Colella ’78 and Joyce (Liakos) Colella ’77. 

Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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Exhibit Showcases Artwork of Esteemed Former Professor    

When: Exhibit runs through Sunday, June 1. Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.

What: The exhibit “Brenda Atwood Pinardi: A Retrospective” will celebrate the late artist’s work throughout her lifetime and her three decades as a UMass Lowell art professor and mentor. The show honors her range of work, from her subdued figures and shimmering mermaids to dark monoprints and eclectic collages. During her career, which spanned more than 50 years, she worked in paint and assembled media. Although often depicting a world of fantasy, her works included universal themes of comfort, romance, power and loss. For more information about the show, the public may contact Alexandra Kittle at alex@uforgegallery.com or 617-553-4480.

Where: UForge Gallery, 767 Centre St., Jamaica Plain 

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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Higher Education Leaders to Share How to Teach Future Entrepreneurs     

When: Tuesday, June 10 through Thursday, June 12

What: More than 200 leaders in higher education from across the U.S. and Canada will to convene at UMass Lowell to discuss how best to teach students how to think like innovators and become entrepreneurs to solve business, technology and social problems. The third annual Deshpande Symposium on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Higher Education will feature presentations by UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan and Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, along with 24 panel presentations from experts in all academic disciplines who will share practices and models for entrepreneurship courses and programs. For information on how to register and more about the conference, the public may visit.

Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu