Actor, Education Advocate, Entrepreneur LeVar Burton to Address Class of 2015

04/07/2015

Media Contacts:  Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

    Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass. – LeVar Burton, known to multiple generations as an actor and a trailblazer in education, will address a record number of graduates at UMass Lowell’s Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 16. 

Burton, whose career as an actor, director, producer, writer and educational entrepreneur spans five decades, is the recipient of 12 Emmy Awards, a Grammy and five NAACP Awards. While his acting career is distinguished – cast as Kunta Kinte in the groundbreaking TV miniseries “Roots,” he was on the cover of TIME magazine at age 19 and he went on to star in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” TV series and films – Burton has perhaps had the most impact as the host and executive producer of “Reading Rainbow,” which inspired generations of children to read. The series, which earned more than 200 honors including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmys, ended in 2009 after a 26-year run, the third-longest among PBS children’s programs behind only “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and “Sesame Street.” 

In 2012, Burton and business partner Mark Wolfe launched RRKidz, an all-digital educational publishing company, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that raised $6.5 million. Now a digital reading service offering more than 500 children’s books and video field trips, “Reading Rainbow” is the No. 1 educational app on iTunes. This year, RRKidz is introducing versions of “Reading Rainbow” for both the web and the classroom with a special emphasis on those in economically challenged schools. Last year, “Reading Rainbow” published Burton’s first children’s book, “The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm,” designed to help young people cope with difficulties of everyday life.

“Throughout his career, LeVar Burton’s work in front of and behind the camera has motivated young people to learn. His latest venture, which harnesses technology to educate, is another powerful example for UMass Lowell’s Class of 2015, demonstrating how innovative thinking can address challenges in their communities and beyond,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan, who will preside over the university’s Commencement ceremonies. “We are honored to welcome Mr. Burton to UMass Lowell and look forward to the inspirational message he will share with graduates.”

For the eighth year in a row, a record number of graduates – more than 3,800, nearly double the total in 2007 and an increase of close to 400 from last year – are expected to receive degrees during UMass Lowell’s Commencement ceremonies. The increase in graduates reflects UMass Lowell’s 48 percent gain in enrollment over eight years and growth in students’ academic success.

To accommodate the increase in graduates, UMass Lowell will continue its new tradition of holding two Commencement ceremonies. The first ceremony, set for 9 a.m., will honor recipients of undergraduate and graduate degrees from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Health Sciences; and the Graduate School of Education. At the second ceremony at 2:30 p.m., degrees from the Francis College of Engineering, College of Sciences and the Manning School of Business will be presented. Both ceremonies will be held at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell. 

Burton will speak to graduates and their families at both Commencement ceremonies.

“I admire UMass Lowell’s long tradition of producing socially conscious, entrepreneurial graduates and I am genuinely looking forward to this year’s Commencement,” said Burton.

During the morning ceremony, UMass Lowell will recognize the following with honorary doctorates of humane letters:

• Carole Cowan, former president of Middlesex Community College, who began her tenure as a faculty member in business in 1976 before going on to serve as a dean and as president from 1990 until 2015. Under her leadership, the college weathered deep budget cuts but still managed to establish permanent campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and led the development of the Commonwealth’s first privately financed capital pool to construct the college’s Health, Science and Technology Center. Cowan, with the support of the Middlesex Community College Foundation, oversaw the renovation of the historic Nesmith House in Lowell and the Middlesex Meetinghouse in Billerica. Continuing to build on that legacy, she led the campaign to acquire and renovate the federal building in Kearney Square for use by the college and secured funding for three more academic buildings before her retirement. Her leadership also saw the college expand its horizons through international partnerships and training programs. Local initiatives with businesses and public schools put Middlesex Community College in the forefront of economic and workforce development and education reform, including establishing one of Massachusetts’ first charter schools, sponsorship of an alternative middle school in Lowell and as the only community college in the state to operate two one-stop career centers. Her civic commitment includes serving on several boards and committees at the local and state levels. Cowan, a native of Lynn, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Salem State University and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 
• John Sampas, literary executor of beat generation icon Jack Kerouac’s estate, who has led several successful initiatives supporting the arts and celebrating the life and works of Kerouac, who was Sampas’ brother-in-law. Under Sampas’ management, publishing of Kerouac’s works has flourished, including two volumes of letters and several other previously unpublished texts by the author. Sampas has also played a key role in establishing monuments in Lowell that feature quotations from notable Kerouac books etched into large, polished granite slabs. Sampas is also a contributor to “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac,” the annual celebration of the writer’s legacy and has been a generous supporter of UMass Lowell’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, including establishing the Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for American Studies Endowment Fund and the John Sampas Endowed Scholarship Fund. He has also granted publication and image rights for special projects that benefit student scholarships and the academic activities of the university, including library resources. He also granted the rights allowing UMass Lowell, in partnership with Merrimack Repertory Theatre, to stage the world premiere of Kerouac’s only full-length play, “Beat Generation,” in 2012. Sampas, who lives in Lowell, attended Boston Conservatory and Marietta College, and studied at Washburn University while serving in the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command.

At the afternoon ceremony, an honorary doctorate of humane letters will be presented to:

• Barry Perry ’68, former chairman and CEO of Engelhard Inc., who led one of the world’s largest chemical and metals companies prior to his retirement and has served on the board of directors of Arrow Electronics Inc. – a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions – since 1999 and as lead director since 2011. In recognition of his generous support of UMass Lowell, which includes the Barry W. Perry Plastics Engineering Endowment for student scholarships, the university renamed its engineering building Perry Hall in his honor and established the Perry Atrium in the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center. A past recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award, Perry was an honorary member of the steering committee of UMass Lowell’s Department of Plastics Engineering 50th Anniversary Celebration, helping to raise more than $11 million for the department and serving as the keynote speaker at the event attended by more than 500 alumni from across the country. Perry earned a degree in plastics engineering from Lowell Technological Institute, one of UMass Lowell’s predecessor institutions, and lives in Newtown, Pa.

Also at the afternoon ceremony, the Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Lorenzo Cabrera ’94, founder and chairman of the board of Cabrera Services Inc., an award-winning company based in East Hartford, Conn., with offices around the nation. The company – which was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Region I Subcontractor of the Year in 2009 – specializes in radiological and environmental remediation, health physics, radioactive and mixed waste management, and depleted uranium munitions response. Cabrera, who earned a bachelor’s degree in radiological health physics at UMass Lowell, has received individual honors including the SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year for Connecticut and UMass Lowell’s Francis Cabot Lowell Young Alumni Award for Sciences. He established the Lorenzo J. Cabrera Endowed Scholarship Fund for students pursuing degrees in UMass Lowell’s College of Sciences and the Lorenzo J. Cabrera Hockey Endowment Fund, the first of its kind at the university. Cabrera, who resides in East Hampton, Conn., and Miami, has also given generously to the Edward Lawson Alexander Fund, which provides fellowships to students who demonstrate outstanding scholarly achievement and commitment in the radiological sciences program.

The speaker, honorary degree and distinguished alumni award recipients will be recognized at the annual Commencement Eve Celebration on Friday, May 15 at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell. The program, which also honors student academic and service award winners, has raised millions of dollars for student scholarships since it was first held in 2008. 

For more information on the honorees and Commencement activities, visit www.uml.edu/commencement.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu