News from UMass Lowell for Week of Feb. 1, 2016

02/02/2016

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. In case of inclement weather, call UMass Lowell’s weather hotline at 978-934-2121; if the university is closed, events are canceled. 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 Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication unless otherwise noted.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: 

• Results from the Iowa caucuses and a tracking poll by UMass Lowell’s Center of Public Opinion that is surveying voters’ views daily leading up to the New Hampshire primary next week;
• The link between diet and heart disease as the American Heart Association holds Go Red for Women Day on Feb. 5, which aims to educate the public about preventing heart attacks and strokes;
• What restaurant chain Chipotle, which will close its locations temporarily on Feb. 8 for employee training on food-borne illnesses, needs to do to restore consumer confidence. 

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

Trained Machinists First to Graduate from New Job Skills Program
Charles Dickens’ Travels to Massachusetts Focus of Book Event
Boston Symphony Orchestra Conducts Session on Beethoven
Kerouac Writer-in-Residence to Present Free Program for Public, Campus
Exhibit, Artists’ Talk Explore Cambodians’ Life in the 1970s


MassTrained Machinists First to Graduate from New Job Skills Program

When:     Friday, Feb. 5, 12:30 p.m.

What:      The first students to complete a job training program for Advanced CNC (computer numerical control) machine operators offered by the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) together with UMass Lowell will participate in a graduation ceremony. Launched last year, the program is enabling MassMEP to double its training capacity in advanced CNC technology and provides a new way for UMass Lowell to respond to the workforce development needs of the region by expanding access to its high-quality programs. The eight-week course includes classroom instruction and job interviewing sessions with potential employers in the manufacturing sector. Program graduates are from Chelmsford, Lawrence, Lowell and Methuen.

Where:    College of Engineering Makerspace, Falmouth Hall, North Campus, 201 Riverside St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu


DickensCharles Dickens’ Travels to Massachusetts Focus of Book Event

When:     Saturday, Feb. 6, 1:30 to 4 p.m.

What:      Author Charles Dickens’ visit to Lowell in 1842 will be explored during a free event open to the public that features Diana Archibald, an UMass Lowell English professor who is an authority on the writer’s life. Archibald will read from “Dickens and Massachusetts: The Lasting Legacy of the Commonwealth Visits,” a new book she co-wrote with Lillian Nayder about Dickens’ time in the Bay State learning about the American Industrial Revolution. The book expands on the award-winning exhibit “Dickens and Massachusetts: A Tale of Power and Transformation,” presented by the Lowell National Historical Park and UMass Lowell in 2012 as part of the worldwide celebration of the bicentennial of Dickens’ birth. Archibald was co-curator and lead scholar of the exhibition and directed seven months of programs associated with it. After the event, the authors will sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase.

Where:    Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 246 Market St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Phil Lupsiewicz, Lowell National Historical Park, 978-275-1705, phil_lupsiewicz@nps.gov or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu


BSOBoston Symphony Orchestra Conducts Session on Beethoven

When:     Sunday, Feb. 7, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

What:      Classical composer Ludwig von Beethoven’s music will be the focus of a free event presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and UMass Lowell that is open to the public and campus. BSO cellist Owen Young and Marc Mandel, who writes the orchestra’s program notes, will perform Beethoven’s music, play recorded samples of it and discuss its significance. The program expands on UMass Lowell’s community outreach efforts in partnership with the BSO and is part of the orchestra’s adult education series that seeks to enhance the public’s appreciation of classical music and other genres. Members of the public who wish to attend should e-mail customerservice@bso.org or call 617-638-9454.

Where:    Durgin Hall, Fisher Recital Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Alyssa Kim, BSO, 617-638-9286, akim@bso.org or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu


AlmondKerouac Writer-in-Residence to Present Free Program for Public, Campus

When:     Tuesday, Feb. 9, 5 p.m.

What:      Best-selling author Steve Almond – whose recent take on Sarah Palin’s endorsement of presidential candidate Donald Trump has been widely shared on social media – will present a free program about his creative process that is open to the public. During the event, he will read from his work, talk about how he develops his subjects and answer questions from the audience. Skilled in fiction and non-fiction genres, Almond has written several books including “Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto” and “Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America.” He is a winner of the Paterson Prize for Fiction and his short stories have been published in the Best American and Pushcart anthologies. A frequent contributor to NPR’s “Here & Now” program, Almond is teaching on campus this semester as UMass Lowell’s 2016 Kerouac Writer-in-Residence. The residency, which is named in tribute to Lowell native and “On the Road” author Jack Kerouac, is offered through the Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for the Public Humanities at UMass Lowell.

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, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu


ArtExhibit, Artists’ Talk Explore Cambodians’ Life in the 1970s

When:     Thursday, Feb. 11. Panel discussion, 3:30 to 5 p.m. and artists’ reception, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Exhibit runs through Saturday, Feb. 27. For exhibit times or to arrange a visit, contact Deborah_Santoro@uml.edu.

What:      The exhibit “1975” features commissioned works by three Cambodian artists whose art evokes the power of memory, war, displacement and globalization. Artist Anida Yoeu’s video installation and silk-screened prints recall life in a refugee camp after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Amy Lee Sanford’s video and photographs depicts the turmoil of the late 1960s and the 1970s, as told in letters written by a father she never knew. LinDa Saphan’s drawings of present-day Phnom Penh reveal the costs of urban development. The exhibit, which will include a panel discussion with the artists sharing the influences behind their work, is presented by UMass Lowell’s Department of Art and Design, Center for Asian American Studies and the Nancy Donahue Endowed Professorship in the Arts.

Where:    Panel discussion – O’Leary Library Learning Commons, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell. Artists’ reception and exhibit – University Gallery, Mahoney Hall, 870 Broadway St., South Campus, 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