Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
10/31/2017
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 news about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu/pressroom. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.
Sources of the week
UMass Lowell faculty experts are available to discuss:
- After this week’s widespread power outages, how to know which refrigerated food is safe to eat and which is not;
- The new debate that the appointment of Robert Mueller, who is overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, is unconstitutional;
- What may be next in the probe following yesterday’s announcement of indictments against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign official Rick Gates;
- Market Basket’s decision to launch a new website and what it says about the local chain’s strategy in the shifting supermarket industry.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
Green Beret, UMass Lowell Alum Featured at Veterans Day Event
When and where: Thursday, Nov. 2, 1 p.m. University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell
What: U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nick Lavery – a decorated Green Beret who lost his leg after being injured in Afghanistan and the first Special Forces amputee to be redeployed by the military – will headline the university’s annual flag ceremony, which honors veterans on campus and in the community in advance of Veterans Day. Lavery, a Kingston native and 2007 UMass Lowell graduate, will be honored as one of this year’s UMass Lowell Military Alumni Veterans Hall of Fame inductees. Open to the public, the ceremony will feature the unfurling of an American flag measuring 36 feet by 20 feet and is also scheduled to include the presentation of the colors by UMass Lowell Air Force ROTC Detachment No. 345, along with speakers such as Chancellor Jacquie Moloney and a performance by the UMass Lowell Marching Band. More than 1,000 student-veterans are enrolled at UMass Lowell on campus and online.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Innovative Research, Teaching Methods are Focus of Faculty Event
When and where: Thursday, Nov. 2, 3 to 7 p.m. UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell
What: More than 60 UMass Lowell faculty from all of the university’s schools and colleges will showcase their cutting-edge research – in areas from how the latest generation of sensors can help runners prevent injuries to work to eliminate global health disparities to the digital-mapping project that is creating a historical atlas of Lowell – at an event for the campus community. Civil Engineering Prof. Donald Leitch, winner of the 2017 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and English Prof. Sue Kim, who is leading an effort to create a library of cultural materials from Southeast Asian American neighborhoods in Lowell, will deliver keynote addresses from 3 to 3:30 p.m. at the 2017-2018 Faculty Symposium. “Lightning talks” by faculty will follow, highlighting research as well as innovative teaching from 3:40 to 5:20 p.m.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
‘Ideas & Images’ Exhibit, Panel Explore Art of Printmaking
When and where: Thursday, Nov. 2. Printmaking program – 3:30 p.m., O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell. Reception – 5 to 7 p.m. at University Gallery, Mahoney Hall, South Campus, 870 Broadway St., Lowell
What: UMass Lowell Art History Prof. Kirsten Swenson will lead a program on the printmaking process and the works included in “Ideas & Images,” an exhibit of eclectic art on loan to the university from the LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies. Curated by UMass Lowell Art and Design Prof. Stephen Mishol and Gallery Coordinator Deborah Santoro, the display includes lithographs and silk-screened prints from an array of contemporary artists. The forum, along with the reception immediately following it and the exhibit are all free and open to the public. The exhibit runs through Wednesday, Nov. 22, at University Gallery. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Deborah Santoro, gallery coordinator, 970-934-3491, Deborah_Santoro@uml.edu
Award-winning Performers Celebrate Music, Culture of Portugal
When and where: Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. Durgin Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell
What: Two of the brightest voices in Portuguese fado, award-winning singers Joana Amendoeira and Duarte, will perform this stirring folk music in concert at “Sounds of Portugal.” Amendoeira – who has performed to critical acclaim at some of the world’s greatest venues, including London’s Royal Opera House – will be making her East Coast debut at the event. Duarte – a talented singer, lyricist and musician – is returning to UMass Lowell after a memorable performance in 2014. The duo will be accompanied by accomplished musicians, guitarist Pedro Amendoeira and Tiago Silva on the viola. The concert is presented by the Portuguese/American Cultural Exchange and UMass Lowell’s Saab Center for Portuguese Studies, which advances the study and appreciation of Portuguese culture, language and literature. Tickets are $30 per person and are available online at https://www.uml.edu/fado-tickets. Members of the public who would like more information should contact the Saab Center for Portuguese Studies at 978-934-5199.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Coders, Collaborators Unite for 24-hour ‘Hackathon’
When and where: Saturday, Nov. 4, 11 a.m. through Sunday, Nov. 5, 3:30 p.m. Hacking begins – Saturday, Nov. 4, 1:30 p.m. Presentations to judges – Sunday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m. Awards ceremony – Sunday, Nov. 5, 3:30 p.m. O’Leary Library Learning Commons, 61 Wilder St., and McGauvran Center, 71 Wilder St., Lowell.
What: More than 200 students from universities across the America East athletic conference eager to hone their entrepreneurship and computer science skills will participate in the America East Hackathon, a 24-hour event in which students will develop technologies for use in the cybersecurity, education, environmental sustainability and health-care fields. Representatives of BAE Systems and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, who are among the event’s sponsors, are expected to speak and participating students with the best ideas and inventions will be recognized. Known as “Hack AE,” the event is presented by UMass Lowell, Major League Hacking and the America East Academic Consortium, an initiative of the America East Conference, in which 16 of UMass Lowell’s athletic teams compete, along with counterparts from nine institutions including Stony Brook University, Binghamton University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The event is sponsored by UMass Lowell’s Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, Kronos, Circle Health, Go Cubes and UltraPress.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, UMass Lowell, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Juliette Kenny, America East Academic Consortium, 617-695-6369, ext. 115, Kenny@americaeast.com.
Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Returns to Campus
When and where: Wednesday, Nov. 8, 3:30 p.m. River Hawk Shop, University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell
What: Boston Marathon bombing survivor and UMass Lowell graduate Roseann Sdoia will return to campus to talk about her new book, “Perfect Strangers: Friendship, Strength and Recovery After Boston’s Worst Day” at a free event for the campus and public. The memoir recounts her journey since the 2013 Boston Marathon and the life-altering relationships she formed within minutes of being injured in one of two blasts near the finish line on April 15, 2013. Sdoia is a Dracut native who built a 25-year career in real estate after graduating from UMass Lowell with a degree in business in 1991. Autographed copies of “Perfect Strangers” will be available for sale at the event, which is open to all.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
NBC Political Correspondent to Look Back, Ahead at Trump’s Term
When and where: Friday, Nov. 17, 3 p.m., doors open at 2:30 p.m. University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell
What: NBC News and MSNBC National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki will look back at the 2016 election and ahead to the 2018 mid-term elections at a free event open to the public. Kornacki’s talk “The Trump Election One Year On: Did it Change Everything?” follows on his visit to campus last November when he presented “Election 2016: What the #&^! Happened?” immediately after Donald Trump won the presidency. In May, Kornacki was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at UMass Lowell’s Commencement. A Groton native, Kornacki took two dual-enrollment classes at UMass Lowell as a high school senior. The program is sponsored by UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu