UMass Lowell Micro-Grants Advance the Aims of University’s Strategic Plan
09/21/2016
Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell today announced the latest rounds of its 2020 Challenge Grant Program, an initiative that provides seed funding to projects that support the university’s mission by enriching life for the campus and Lowell communities.
UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney launched the program in 2015 during her inaugural year as the first woman to lead her alma mater in its history. The initiative consists of 20 micro-grants of $1,000 each that will be awarded this fall. Funds will go toward projects that exemplify the goals laid out in “UMass Lowell 2020: A Strategic Plan for the Next Decade.”
Moloney oversaw the creation of the strategic plan in 2010 while serving as the university’s executive vice chancellor. Since that time, it has served as the blueprint for UMass Lowell’s unprecedented growth as a top-tier public research university. Now, after Moloney’s first year at the university’s helm, UMass Lowell has achieved an all-time high in enrollment, record totals for fundraising and investment in research, increases in student success and opened its 12th new building since 2009. U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of best national universities recently placed UMass Lowell at No. 152, representing a 31-spot climb since it first made the list in 2010. Its ascent in the rankings is the second-fastest in the nation over the last six years. UMass Lowell was also recently recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education as ninth in the nation among public doctoral institutions on its Fastest-Growing Colleges list.
Lowell’s community organizations and UMass Lowell students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged to apply. The Chancellor’s 2020 Challenge Grants Committee, a panel comprised of representatives from each of these groups, will select the winning projects. Applications for the first round of funding are being accepted now through Monday, Oct. 3. The second round will open on Tuesday, Oct. 4 and run through Monday, Nov. 7. Applications submitted during the first round that are not selected will automatically be considered in the second round. Individuals interested in applying for a Chancellor’s 2020 Challenge Grant may do so at (http://www.uml.edu/challengegrants) www.uml.edu/challengegrants.
“The recipients of our 2020 grants are partners in UMass Lowell’s promise to transform our students’ lives through our commitment to innovative education, cutting-edge research, diversity and inclusiveness, and a culture that promotes entrepreneurship and civic engagement,” Moloney said. “I look forward to seeing the projects that will advance these aims with the support of this program.”
Projects receiving grants will demonstrate how they align with a goal in UMass Lowell’s strategic plan, that they can be implemented during the current academic year, that they fulfill an immediate need and how the funding would contribute to the initiative’s success.
Last year’s challenge grants funded an alternative spring break program through which students gained valuable experiential education while volunteering with Lowell-based nonprofit organizations; a proposal to bring high-school musicians from the Merrimack Valley together with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and a plan by the community development organization Made in Lowell to gather stories from residents of each of the city’s neighborhoods that will then be available to the public through programs and events.
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 17,500 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