Three faculty members have won U.S. Department of Justice grants to study pressing issues in crime: whether “red flag” laws help to prevent mass shootings, how police internal affairs units investigate citizen complaints, and whether sending mental health clinicians with Boston Police on some calls improves outcomes for troubled individuals.

Melissa Mullen, a 28-year veteran of the UMass Lowell Police Department, was sworn in as deputy chief, becoming the first woman to hold the role at the university.

Ryan Lamore, a housekeeper with Facilities Management, brightens people’s day – and copes with personal grief – by sharing dahlias from his home garden.

A trio of professors from the Climate Change Initiative will research how communities of various socioeconomic statuses are able to respond to severe weather events.