10/28/2017
Lowell Sun
By Rick Sobey
LOWELL -- UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney was thrilled when the university was named a top-100 women-led business in the state.
Then at the breakfast announcing the order of the top 100 on Friday, she didn't hear the university's name from numbers 100-51.
Number 25 came and went.
It was down to the top 10 -- Moloney on the edge of her seat.
"Companies like Fidelity had been called, and institutions like Harvard and Bentley were getting called," Moloney reflected Friday afternoon. "It was just a phenomenal experience, and we couldn't be more delighted."
UMass Lowell ended up getting ranked number 4 for women-led businesses across the state.
The university was recognized by The Commonwealth Institute (TCI), in partnership with the Boston Globe Magazine.
"This reflects our core values, and all the things we've been working so hard on," Moloney said.
Some of those efforts include gender equity, inclusion and entrepreneurship.
UMass Lowell is now among the top-100 public universities in the country and is New England's fastest-growing public doctoral university. Its economic impact is approaching $1 billion annually.
Faculty and staff diversity have increased 75 percent since 2010, and women are in more than half of senior leadership roles.
"This is also a reflection of President (Marty) Meehan's leadership and the transformation of the university over the last 10 years," Moloney said. Meehan was the chancellor preceding Moloney.
Other Greater Lowell businesses made the top 100, including Lowell's D'Youville Life & Wellness Community ranking number 54, led by President and CEO Naomi Prendergast.
Three Billerica companies made the list: Lantheus Medical Imaging, led by President and CEO Mary Anne Heino (19); Curriculum Associates, led by President Renee Foster (31); and Magellan Diagnostics, led by President and CEO Amy Winslow (91).
TCI, a nonprofit that supports women business leader, and the Boston Globe Magazine create the list by analyzing "revenue or operating budget and other variables, including number of full-time employees in the state, workplace and management diversity, and innovative projects. We then rank organizations according to our own formula."
The top-3 women-led businesses ahead of UMass Lowell were Brigham and Women's Health Care, BMC Health System and Boston Children's Hospital.