Story and Source Ideas for Journalists

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Award-winning authors – poet Duy Doan and novelist Jowhor Ile – will lead a Writers on Campus event on Thursday, March 22 at 5 p.m. that is free and open to the public.

03/20/2018

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 Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.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

  • President Trump’s plan to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic, which he unveiled today in Manchester, N.H.;
  • The latest forecast for the fourth nor’easter in three weeks, expected to hit Wednesday, from the UMass Lowell Weather Center and what is generating all of these storms;
  • The job outlook for this year’s college seniors after they graduate and what recruiters want to see in prospective new hires.

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

Career Fair Jumpstarts Students’ Professional Lives 

When and where: Thursday, March 29, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell -- Event rescheduled from Wednesday, March 21

What: Representatives of more than 200 businesses, government agencies and nonprofits – including Entegris, the Federal Aviation Administration and Key Autism Services – will come to campus to recruit UMass Lowell students from all majors for jobs, co-ops and internships. Many recruiters at the event will be alumni returning to the university because they know the value of UMass Lowell-educated candidates, who are eager to put their education, experience and enthusiasm to work. Note: The event is not open to the public, but members of the media are invited to cover it and interview students and employers.

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

Film, Forum Track Success Stories of Women Entrepreneurs

When and where: Wednesday, April 11, 5:30 p.m. UMass Lowell Innovation Hub, 110 Canal St., Lowell – Event rescheduled from Wednesday, March 21  

What: “She Started It,” a documentary that charts the journeys of trailblazing businesswomen in the world of high-tech startups, will be screened at a free event presented by UMass Lowell’s Innovation Hub and the Manning School of Business. Following the film, a panel of local entrepreneurs – including UMass Lowell graduate Rajia Abdelaziz, co-founder of personal safety system startup invisaWear; Nicole Mauro, president of medical-device maker Harmonus Inc.; and Katherine Collins, a director of Prosperity Catalyst, which provides a market for goods made by women in Iraq and Haiti – will share their stories and answer questions from the audience. With locations in Lowell and Haverhill, UMass Lowell’s iHubs are business incubators where entrepreneurs can grow their enterprises while enjoying access to the university’s experts and R& D resources. Members of the public who would like to attend should register at www.eventbrite.com/d/ma--lowell/she-started-it/?q=She+Started+It&loc=Lowell&date.

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

Event Explores the Future of Energy Industry

When and where: Wednesday, March 21, 6 p.m. UMass Lowell Innovation Hub, Harbor Place, Haverhill Campus, 2 Merrimack St., Haverhill – Event rescheduled from Wednesday, Feb. 21

What: Hunter Mack, an expert in next-generation biofuels and a UMass Lowell professor of mechanical engineering, will lead a program that explores how the university’s groundbreaking research is helping to transform the energy industry. The free event is part of the Emerging Technology Speaker Series presented by the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub in Haverhill, where entrepreneurs can develop their startups with the assistance of the university’s experts and resources. The new iHub, located at UMass Lowell’s Haverhill satellite campus in downtown Haverhill, is the second for the university, which also operates a location in Lowell. Members of the public who would like more information or wish to attend the program should email Stephanie_Guyotte@uml.edu.

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

High Tea Honors Women Leaders in Greater Lowell

When and where: Thursday, March 22, 3 p.m. O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Mezzanine, Room 270, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell – Event rescheduled from Thursday, March 8

What: Women from throughout the Greater Lowell community will discuss their careers and volunteer efforts during “Leadership through Service: Celebrating Women Who Serve,” a high tea and networking opportunity. Speakers are scheduled to include UMass Lowell Prof. Jenna Vinson, who specializes in issues facing women; Barbara Warren, UMass Lowell graduate and Community Teamwork Inc.’s director of residential programs; and Kayla Dooley of Lowell, who leads Engineers for Change, a UMass Lowell student organization that supports building needed infrastructure to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries. The sold-out event is presented by UMass Lowell’s Office of Multicultural Affairs in recognition of Women’s History Month.

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

Acclaimed Authors Read Works, Talk About Their Inspiration

When and where: Thursday, March 22, 5 p.m. O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell 

What: Award-winning authors – poet Duy Doan and fiction writer Jowhor Ile – will talk about their creative processes and read from their works at a free event for the public and university community. Doan directs the Favorite Poem Project, which celebrates poetry’s place in American life. Ile is the first Nigerian to win the esteemed Etisalat Prize for Literature, which he received for his first novel, “And After Many Days.” The program is the latest in the UMass Lowell English Department’s Writers on Campus Series. 

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

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian to Lead Program on the Civil War

When and where: Thursday, March 22. Reception at 5:30 p.m. at Allen House, South Campus, 2 Solomont Way, Lowell. Program at 7 p.m. in Weed Hall, South Campus, 3 Solomont Way, Lowell

What: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eric Foner will present “The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Changed the Constitution,” a program for the campus and community. One of the country’s leading scholars on American political history, Foner has written more than 10 books, including “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2011. A public reception with Foner will be held before his talk. Tickets are $65 per person for both the reception and Foner’s talk or $5 for the presentation alone. Proceeds will benefit UMass Lowell’s Doris Kearns Goodwin and Richard N. Goodwin Endowed Scholarship Fund. Doris Kearns Goodwin is an internationally known author and historian; Richard Goodwin is a writer who served as an adviser to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, among others. Members of the public should call 978-934-2237 or go to purchase tickets.

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

Security, Law Enforcement Leaders Take on Terrorist Recruitment

When and where: Friday, March 23. University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell 

What: Nicola Benyahia’s son Rasheed was recruited by ISIS as a teen and within a year, he was dead. Now the head of a nonprofit that fights terrorist recruitment, Benyahia will speak to a conference for more than 150 homeland security and law enforcement professionals presented by UMass Lowell’s Center for Terrorism and Security Studies. “Combating Hate and Extremism: Fostering Inclusion in our Schools and Communities” will feature several speakers as well as the UMass Lowell students who launched Operation 250, a nonprofit that works to empower the public to stop terrorist cells from recruiting new members. 

Speakers are scheduled to include:

  • Benyahia keynote address – 9:30 a.m.
  • A panel on how terrorists use the internet as a recruiting tool led by UMass Lowell Prof. Neil Shortland, director of UMass Lowell’s Center for Terrorism and Security Studies – 10 a.m.
  • UMass Lowell Prof. Arie Perliger on the rise of the radical right – 10:40 a.m.
  • UMass Lowell Prof. James Forest, who will discuss teaching anti-terrorism – 1:30 p.m.

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

Volleyball Fundraiser to Aid Refugee Community in Lowell

When and where: Saturday, March 24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mill City Volleyball Club, 1703 Middlesex St., Lowell

What: UMass Lowell faculty and students will compete against teams fielded by a host of other Lowell organizations in the second annual Community Volleyball Tournament. Admission to the event is free but donations will be accepted to benefit the SayDaNar Community Development Center, which helps refugees from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and other nations to build thriving lives in Greater Lowell. The nonprofit was established in 2012 by UMass Lowell graduate James Aung and Political Science Prof. Ardeth Thawnhmung.

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