Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
05/12/2014
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. This is the last issue of News from UMass Lowell for this academic year. It will resume in August for the 2014-2015 academic year. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.
Sources of the week:
- Members of the Class of 2014 can discuss their UMass Lowell experience, accomplishments and how their education has prepared them for their futures;
- Career-services experts can discuss job prospects for graduating students.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
- UMass Lowell to Break Ground on New Business School Building
- ‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye, Howard Koh Headline Commencement Ceremonies
- Graphic Design, Fine Arts Students Present Work
- Exhibit Showcases Artwork of Esteemed Former Professor
- Two-Day Education Summit Looks at Teaching Future Entrepreneurs
UMass Lowell to Break Ground on New Business School Building
When: Friday, May 16, 10:30 a.m.
What: UMass Lowell will break ground on the Pulichino Tong Business Building, which will be the new home of the university’s Manning School of Business. The event is the ceremonial start of construction of the 52,000-square-foot building, which will serve undergraduate and graduate students in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management, and operations and information systems. Among the approximately 100 attendees expected will be Massachusetts legislators, representatives of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and city of Lowell, as well as UMass Lowell students, faculty, staff and alumni, including John Pulichino ’67 and Joy Tong, for whom the building will be named. Successful entrepreneurs in the travel-goods industry, Pulichino and Tong have donated $4 million to UMass Lowell for student scholarships.
Where: Corner of University Avenue and Riverside Street, UMass Lowell North Campus
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye, Howard Koh Headline Commencement Ceremonies
When: Saturday, May 17. The morning ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. The afternoon ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. Media check-in begins 90 minutes before each ceremony.
What: Bill Nye – the Emmy Award-winning scientist, engineer, inventor and comedian best known for the television show that bears his name – will deliver a Commencement address to the Class of 2014 at UMass Lowell’s morning ceremony. Howard Koh, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 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 – approximately 3,500, nearly a 10 percent increase over last year – will receive degrees from UMass Lowell. The morning ceremony will feature the presentation of bachelor’s degrees from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Sciences; the Francis College of Engineering; and the Manning School of Business. During the afternoon ceremony, all degrees from the College of Health Sciences will be presented in addition to master’s and doctoral degrees from the Graduate School of Education and the university’s other schools and colleges. The university will bestow honorary degrees to Brain MacCraith, president of Dublin City University in 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
Graphic Design, Fine Arts Students Present Work
When: Exhibit runs through Saturday, May 17. Showings are by appointment.
What: Nineteen members of the Class of 2014 who are graphic design and fine arts majors 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 their growth as artists over the four years of their studies. 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, McGauvran Student Center, first floor, 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
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 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
Two-Day Education Summit Looks at Teaching 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 best practices and programs designed 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 sessions with experts in all academic disciplines who will share teaching techniques and models for entrepreneurship courses and programs. For information on how to register and more about the conference, the public may visit http://www.deshpandesymposium.org/.
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