UMass Lowell is no stranger to the Mai family, with four Mai sisters on campus now and their father, a double River Hawk whose journey from Cambodia to freedom was nothing short of harrowing. Theirs is an immigrant story for our times.

For four years, History Prof. Robert Forrant and Assistant Prof. Ingrid Hess of Art & Design have quietly charted the history of immigration in Lowell. With the help of a team of UML students , they have built a unique website to help teachers and students understand the waves of immigrants calling the city their new home.

When Harry Rider graduates from UMass Lowell this spring, he will be the fourth generation in his family to do so, starting when his great-grandmother earned her teaching certificate at Lowell Normal School.

Lowell’s Southeast Asian community celebrated the launch of the university’s Southeast Asian Digital Archive, which documents the violence they fled as refugees and their experiences resettling in Lowell.