Story and Source Ideas for Journalists

09/30/2013

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 Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.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:

  • The possible federal government shutdown on Oct. 1;
  • The debate over Obamacare.

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

Faculty Experts Hold Panel on Crisis in Syria

When: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m.

What: UMass Lowell faculty who are experts in Middle East politics, foreign policy and counterterrorism will present “Syrian Crisis: Where Do We Go from Here?” Free and open to the public, the roundtable discussion will include Gregory Aftandilian, an associate in the Middle East Center for Peace, Development and Culture at UMass Lowell, who is a former Middle East analyst for the U.S. State Department; Political Science Prof. Deina Abdelkader; and Neil Shortland, senior research associate at UMass Lowell’s Center for Terrorism and Security Studies. The session will be moderated by Prof. Paula Rayman, director of UMass Lowell’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program and its Middle East Center for Peace, Development and Culture.

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

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DifferenceMakers Shows Students Path to Entrepreneurship

When: Wednesday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Oct. 3, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

What: UMass Lowell’s DifferenceMakers Program invites students and young alumni to develop, secure funding for and launch a business, service or product that helps solve a real-world problem affecting the region and its future. Two sessions this week – one each on North and South campus – will kick off October as Entrepreneurship Month and introduce students and alumni to the program. UMass Lowell students who have already launched products and services with the guidance of DifferenceMakers will share their stories with participants. This year, DifferenceMakers will help support three innovation contests, during which participants will pitch their ideas and compete for seed money for fledgling ventures. These competitions are the DCU and UMass Lowell Manning School of Business Contest, which will ask participants to develop banking and financial innovations; the Creative Venture Competition, for students in UMass Lowell’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and the 2014 DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge, which will all award cash prizes to the winners. For more information, visit www.uml.edu/Innovation-Entrepreneurship/DifferenceMaker/default.aspx.

Where: Wednesday, Oct. 2, Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, Perry Atrium, North Campus, 40 University Ave., Lowell; Thursday, Oct. 3, O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Mezzanine Reading Room, 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

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Talk Explores Motel Owners’ Quest for the American Dream

When: Thursday, Oct. 3, 4 p.m.

What: Author Pawan Dhingra will discuss his book, “Life Behind the Lobby: Indian-American Motel Owners and the American Dream.” Indian-Americans, many of whom hail from the same region in India, own about half of the motels in the United States. Dhingra will talk about these individuals’ achievements and goals in context of the American Dream. Free and open to the public, the event is presented by UMass Lowell’s English and Sociology departments, along with the American Studies Program.

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

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Lawyers Working Toward Marriage Equality Hold Forum

When: Tuesday, Oct. 8, 5:30 p.m.

What: Lawyers who are helping to shape the marriage-equality movement will discuss the achievements and setbacks of the past 20 years, share how this year’s historic Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage came to fruition and talk about what lies ahead. Panelists will include Vickie Henry, a senior staff lawyer at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) who leads its youth initiative; Mark Mason, a Springfield District Court associate judge; and Maura Healey, chief of the Civil Rights Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, who has tried cases on marriage equality. The session will be moderated by Frank Talty, assistant dean of UMass Lowell’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Free and open to the public, the event is presented by the UMass Lowell’s Pre-Law Society and the Pride Alliance.

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

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River Hawks Raise Banners, Drop Puck on Hockey's New Season

When: Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

What: River Hawk Nation will be out in full force when the UMass Lowell men’s hockey team begins its 2013-2014 campaign as the defending Hockey East champions with the home opener against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University. After capturing last season’s Hockey East regular-season and championship titles, the NCAA Division I Tournament Northeast Region championship, and landing a first-ever appearance at the Frozen Four, the River Hawks squad finds itself in an unfamiliar spot – as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, according to recent polls by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and College Hockey News. This season, the team hopes to continue last year’s success with Coach Norm Bazin, the Hockey East and Spencer Penrose Division I Men’s Coach of the Year, once again behind the bench. The game is just one event in UMass Lowell’s annual Fall Festival Weekend. Last season’s championship banners will be raised to the rafters before the opening faceoff. For tickets, visit www.goriverhawks.com or stop by the Tsongas Center box office.

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

Contacts for media: Christopher O’Donnell, 978-934-2306 or Christopher_ODonnell@uml.edu or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

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