Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
11/09/2015
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/pressroom. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication unless otherwise noted.
Sources of the week
UMass Lowell faculty experts are available to discuss:
- Topics that will likely be raised during Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate – including what Ben Carson needs to do to shift focus away from questions about his background – and an analysis of candidates’ performance afterward;
- How the experiences of military personnel and civilians during World War II and Vietnam shaped American culture and continue to resonate, as the country observes Veterans Day on Wednesday;
- Security concerns as suspicions grow that a terrorist bomb was responsible for downing a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
‘Growing Up Portuguese in Lowell’ Recounts Stories of Mill City Life
Students Lead Volunteer Effort to Build Houses for Families in Need
Flag Ceremony to Honor Veterans’ Service
Robots of the Future to be Unveiled at the NERVE Center
Curtain Rises on Performances by Music Students, Faculty
Women’s Role in Arab Spring Uprisings Featured at Event
Marathon Bombing Survivor Shares Lessons in Business, Life
Artist’s Creativity Flows from Respect for Water
Portuguese‘Growing Up Portuguese in Lowell’ Recounts Stories of Mill City Life
When: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5:30 p.m.
What: Five Portuguese-Americans will recount their family stories, shared influences and experiences during the free event “Growing Up Portuguese in Lowell.” After the program, attendees may view the free, related exhibit, “The Lure of the Spindle: The Portuguese in Early 20th Century Lowell,” which traces the lives and impact of immigrants who worked in the city’s textile mills more than 100 years ago. Both the event and the exhibit are presented by UMass Lowell’s Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Culture and Research and Lowell National Historical Park.
Where: Boott Cotton Mills Museum, 115 John 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
HousesStudents Lead Volunteer Effort to Build Houses for Families in Need
When: Friday, Nov. 13, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What: Students and faculty members from UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business will volunteer to help build two Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell houses for local families in need. This is the third year the effort is being led by students in the university’s Accounting Society who have championed this cause. Volunteers will work on interior and exterior construction, preparing the houses for two families who will move in by next spring.
Where: 71-73 Rock St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Lisa Garvey, Habitat for Humanity community relations coordinator, 978-692-0927, lgarvey@lowellhabitat.org or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
FlagFlag Ceremony to Honor Veterans’ Service
When: Friday, Nov. 13, 1 to 2 p.m.
What: A public flag ceremony will honor the service and sacrifices of UMass Lowell’s approximately 1,500 student veterans, 2015 UMass Lowell Alumni Military Hall of Fame inductees and veterans throughout the region. The event will include the unfurling of a Garrison-sized American flag measuring 36 feet by 20 feet and a speaking program. Recognized as this year’s Hall of Fame inductees will be Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, Navy Capt. Joseph Albanese (ret.), Army Lt. Col. Gabriel Barton and Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Ironfield. Women’s Army Corps Capt. Helen Brooks (ret.), a Lowell native, will be recognized as an honorary inductee and for her many years of support to UMass Lowell. The event is presented by UMass Lowell’s Office of Veterans Services. UMass Lowell is ranked as one of the best schools in the nation for veterans by the Military Times and Victory Media, which publishes G.I. Jobs and other magazines for veterans and military spouses. The university is also home to award-winning ROTC units and an active Student Veterans’ Organization.
Where: University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket 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
RobotsRobots of the Future to be Unveiled at the NERVE Center
When: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6 p.m.
What: Prototypes of robots that may be available to the public someday will be showcased during an open house at the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center at UMass Lowell. The center – one of the country’s most advanced testing facilities – evaluates robots’ durability and performance through a variety of obstacle courses and other challenges. Free to the public, the event will include demonstrations and exhibits of robots being developed at businesses, universities and organizations throughout the region, helping to fuel the estimated $1.9 billion robotics industry in Massachusetts as well as assisting researchers in other states. Members of the public who have built robots they would like to demonstrate during the event should contact Adam Norton at nerve@cs.uml.edu. Members of the public who wish to attend are asked to register at http://nerveopenhouse2015.eventbrite.com/.
Where: NERVE Center at UMass Lowell, 1001 Pawtucket 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
CurtainCurtain Rises on Performances by Music Students, Faculty
What: UMass Lowell students will present free concerts and performances for the campus and community in a variety of genres that will showcase their musicianship. Events, which are open to the public, will feature the following groups:
- Studio Orchestra – The ensemble will perform the music of jazz bandleaders Thad Jones and Gil Evans under the direction of UMass Lowell music faculty member Walter Platt, who arranged many of the selections. Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m.
- Wind Ensemble – Performers will play works by classical composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Gustav Holst and Carl Orff, conducted by Daniel Lutz, director of university bands. Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.
- Small Jazz Ensemble – Student musicians will perform selections by Parliament-Funkadelic and instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy, along with modern jazz classics by Freddie Hubbard and Ornette Coleman. Music will also include original works composed by the group’s members and ensemble director Walter Platt. Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.
- Opera Workshop – UMass Lowell voice students will stage an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” under the direction of faculty member Janice Giampa with pianist Elaine Smith Purcell. Saturday, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22, 3 p.m.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
ArabWomen’s Role in Arab Spring Uprisings Featured at Event
When: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
What: Documentary film director Gini Reticker will present a screening of “The Trials of Spring,” which chronicles the lives of nine women who played pivotal roles in the Arab Spring movement in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. A discussion and event reception featuring Egyptian women’s rights advocate Hend Nafea will follow. Reticker received an Academy Award nomination for her film short “Asylum” about political refugees from Ghana and was also behind the lens for “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” That film – which profiled the civil disobedience and peacemaking efforts of Liberian women who ended the country’s second civil war in 2003 – featured Leymah Gbowee, UMass Lowell’s 2011 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder 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
MarathonMarathon Bombing Survivor Shares Lessons in Business, Life
When: Thursday, Nov. 19, 4 p.m.
What: Boston Marathon bombing survivor Roseann Sdoia, a UMass Lowell graduate and Dracut native, will lead a program for the campus community about the obstacles she has overcome in business and life. Sdoia lost her right leg on April 15, 2013 when one of two explosions planted by terrorists near the race’s finish line killed three spectators and injured more than 260 others. She’ll talk about how that day irrevocably changed her life and the lessons she’s learned during her career in the real estate field, where she has risen to become a vice president of property management for National Development Corp. of Newton. Sdoia graduated from UMass Lowell in 1991 with a business degree. The program is part of the Women in Business Speaker Series, which is presented by the university’s Manning School of Business.
Where: University Crossing, Moloney Hall, 220 Pawtucket 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
WaterArtist’s Creativity Flows from Respect for Water
When: Exhibit runs through Wednesday, Nov. 25. For University Gallery hours, see www.uml.edu/Dept/Art/galleries_university.htm.
What: The scarcity of the world’s water and the importance of the resource is the topic of “In Solidarity,” an exhibit by visual artist Naoe Suzuki that reimagines rivers in works of art fashioned by laser-cut paper. Suzuki will discuss the creative process behind her work during a talk followed by a reception. Both events and the exhibit are open to the public and admission is free.
Where: University Gallery, Mahoney Hall, South Campus, 870 Broadway St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Deborah Santoro, gallery coordinator, 978-934-3491, Deborah_Santoro@uml.edu or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu