As we begin a new semester, our approach to COVID-19 continues to evolve to match public health guidance and the widespread availability of vaccines, face coverings, tests and treatments to prevent and mitigate the impact and spread of the disease.

UMass Lowell requires all students and employees who live, learn, work or conduct research on campus, access campus resources, or participate in campus events be vaccinated for COVID-19 with a complete initial vaccine series.

The arrival of Spring has brought with it a welcome reduction in COVID-19 cases in our community. And while weekly campus cases have dropped to just a handful we must keep up our guard to protect against spread of the virus.

While any individual may choose to continue to wear a face covering, beginning Monday, Feb. 28, UMass Lowell will end its indoor face covering mandate for all campus locations, with the exception of university buses and shuttles as well as in the Wellness Center.

UMass Lowell scientists are developing a production method to freeze-dry COVID-19 vaccines activated by messenger-RNA so they can be transported and stored at room temperature.  

Two Honors College students who started their UML careers during the pandemic hosted a Discord server to keep in touch with other students they’d met at the summer Student Success Summit. “Riverhawk Rendezvous” has grown rapidly by hosting study groups and connecting students to clubs – and each other.

As the pandemic continues to disrupt global supply chains, Operations and Information Systems Asst. Prof. JM Song discusses why U.S. shipping ports are snarled and what it means for the holiday shopping season.

UML students, alumni and faculty have documented the pandemic experiences of Lowell and Lawrence residents for an oral history project and some of those stories will be published as a book next year.

A team of researchers from UMass Lowell, Physical Sciences Inc., the University of Connecticut and Merck is developing a manufacturing method that would allow mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines to be transported and stored at room temperature.

As the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary, Director Holly Lalos discusses why there’s been a resurgence in entrepreneurship during the pandemic, and Assoc. Prof. Li Sun shares research on how new ventures can survive a crisis.