The Equity in Sport Leadership Conference

April 28, 2025

The Equity in Sport Leadership Conference event was organized by the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport at UMass Boston. The conference focused on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within the sports industry. It brings together leaders, athletes, and advocates from various sectors of sports to engage in conversations about social justice and creating equitable opportunities for all. The theme for this year's conference is Lifetime Holistic Wellness In and Through Sport: A Multi-Generational Approach.

The conference featured a variety of panels, discussions, and keynote speakers from diverse backgrounds, sharing their insights and strategies for achieving positive social change in sports. It also offers an opportunity for networking and collaboration among professionals, athletes, and advocates committed to improving inclusivity and representation in the field of sports leadership. The undergraduate case study competition is part of its broader efforts to engage students in solving real-world challenges related to equity and inclusion in the sports industry. In the competition, teams of students were tasked with analyzing and presenting solutions to a case that addresses issues of diversity, equity, and leadership in sports. These cases often involve current challenges facing sports organizations or broader societal issues impacting the sports world in relation to the conference theme.

Donahue Responsibility, Ethics, Advocacy, Discovery and Stewardship (R.E.A.D.S)

group in front of screen with donahue center logo

Sandra Savage, Donahue Center Admin, Allison Estell, Director - University Library, Elise Magnant, Assistant Teaching Professor and Donahue Center Co-Director, Manning School of Business students Diana Rodriguez and Jess Jaime, Deb Casey, Assistant Teaching Professor, Erica Steckler, Associate Professor and Donahue Center Co-Director, and Sandra Richtermeyer, Dean of the Manning School of Business

February 10, 2022

The Donahue Center hosted the inaugural Donahue R.E.A.D.S event in Alumni Hall with students, faculty and staff discussing the book by Minouche Shafik, “What We Owe Each Other – A New Social Contract for a Better Society”. Donahue R.E.A.D.S. encourages Responsibility, Ethics, Advocacy, Discovery, and Stewardship. “What We Owe Each Other” was the perfect catalyst to spark discussion and share experiences, and important ideas for positively transforming our world.

Ethics Fest

Students at engagement station

November 4, 2021

Ethics Fest 2021 was the largest cross-campus event ever hosted by our college with well over 300 attendees. After an introduction by Manning School of Business Dean Sandra Richtermeyer, Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney shared remarks to open the event, with students, faculty, and staff from departments across the university in attendance.

The purpose of Ethics Fest 2021 was to facilitate a dynamic, high-engagement, community-building student event to raise ethics awareness and invite student participation and learning across a diverse set of ethics and social responsibility contexts. The event included a curated collection of interactive ‘stations’ featuring engaging ethics-related content and context. Topics ranged from ethics in business and entrepreneurship, income inequality, and job searches to environmental and sustainability challenges and the use of artificial intelligence in decision making. Students had great discussions with the many UMass Lowell faculty members and staff who were running the engagement stations, networked with peers, and filled out their event "passports" to receive a free Ethics Fest t-shirt. Participants and organizers are excited that the Donahue Center is making this an annual event!  Read more about Ethics Fest in our story, "Students Explore the Gray Areas at ‘Ethics Fest’ ".