Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
03/25/2013
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. For more stories about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu and click on “Media” at the top of the page. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.
Sources of the week: A UMass Lowell robotics expert can discuss the industry’s future in advance of National Robotics Week, April 6 through 14. UMass Lowell political experts can discuss the changing of the guard in both the Democratic and Republican parties and the likelihood that Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush will run for president in 2016. A legal expert can discuss the Massachusetts Supreme Court case that challenges the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Avant-Garde Multimedia Artist to Speak with Students, Public
- Medical-Device Entrepreneurs Vie for $20,000 in Seed Money
- Award-Winning Poets Explore Lowell Roots
- UMass Lowell Launches Center for Portuguese Partnerships
- Music Students, Faculty Perform Free Concert
- ‘Disable the Label’ Week Promotes Awareness, Services
- Photography Students Capture Pilgrimage to Masters’ Homes
- ‘Day Without Violence’ Focuses on Gun Control Debate
- Authors to Speak about ‘Defiant’ Whitey Bulger
Avant-Garde Multimedia Artist to Speak with Students, Public
When: Wednesday, March 27, 4 p.m.
What: Martha Colburn, UMass Lowell’s artist in residence for the Spring 2013 semester, will discuss her work with students and the public. A collaborator with musician Sean Lennon, Colburn uses techniques such as puppetry, animation, collages and painting on glass to create films, music videos, CD covers, installations and murals. During her UMass Lowell residency, she will visit classes, offer workshops and meet with students and faculty. Her stay is presented by the UMass Lowell College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Center for Arts and Ideas.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
MedicalMedical-Device Entrepreneurs Vie for $20,000 in Seed Money
When: Wednesday, March 27, 5:30 p.m.
What: Fifteen medical-device startups will compete for $20,000 in product-development services during the 2013 M2D2 New Venture Competition Showcase. The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), a joint UMass Lowell and UMass Worcester initiative, is sponsoring the contest to find the best new medical-device startups, product designs and technologies, and award them $20,000 in engineering, business, legal and medical services. Now in its second year, the competition, which promotes entrepreneurship, is sponsored by Nutter, McClennen & Fish and will culminate in an award ceremony at the Boston law firm on April 10. Admission of $30 includes entry to both the March 27 finals at UMass Lowell and the April 10 awards ceremony. For more, visit www.uml.edu/m2d2 and click on “events.”
Where: Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, Wannalancit Mills, East Campus, 600 Suffolk St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
PoetsAward-Winning Poets Explore Lowell Roots
When: Wednesday, March 27, 6 p.m.
What: Writers with Lowell roots Kate Hanson Foster and Matt Miller will discuss and share their work as part of UMass Lowell’s Writers on Campus Series. Hanson Foster, a UMass Lowell graduate, was honored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, which selected her poetry collection “Mid Drift” as a “must read” book of 2011. Many poems in the collection are set in Lowell and evoke both pain and redemption. Miller, a Lowell native, has been nominated for four Pushcart prizes and received the 2012 Vassar Miller Poetry Prize for his latest collection, “Club Icarus.” Free and open to the public, the event is presented by UMass Lowell’s English Department.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
PortugueseUMass Lowell Launches Center for Portuguese Partnerships
When: Thursday, March 28, 6:30 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell will launch its new Center for Portuguese Partnerships, a resource for the university and the community to explore and celebrate Portuguese history and culture. Event speakers are scheduled to include Consul General Paulo Cunha Alves of the Portuguese Consulate in Boston. Author Anthony Barcellos will read from his novel “Land of Milk and Money,” kicking off the center’s speaker series, which will bring Portuguese artists and scholars to UMass Lowell. The center is supported in part by UMass Lowell benefactors Mark Saab ’81 and Elisia Saab of Lowell and Luis Pedroso of Hampton, N.H. The event is presented by the dean of the UMass Lowell College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Office of University Advancement and the Center for Arts and Ideas, along with the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at UMass Dartmouth, which will partner with UMass Lowell on some upcoming programs.
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
ConcertMusic Students, Faculty Perform Free Concert
When: Thursday, March 28, 7:30 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell’s University Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union will combine forces with the University Orchestra to perform Johannes Brahms’ “Requiem.” Conducted by Mark Latham, the soloists will be soprano Janice Giampa, a member of UMass Lowell’s music faculty, and baritone Mark McSweeney. The concert is free and open to the public.
Where: Durgin Concert Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Disable‘Disable the Label’ Week Promotes Awareness, Services
When: Monday, April 1 through Friday, April 4
What: UMass Lowell’s “Disable the Label” Week engages the university community and the public in promoting understanding of people with disabilities and raising awareness about local resources and support services. The event series is presented by the UMass Lowell Office of Student Disability Services, the Disable the Label Club and Psychology Department with other partners. Events include:
* “The Importance of Service Animals,” Monday, April 1, 3:30 p.m. UMass Lowell student Katerina Simpkins will discuss her experience with her service dog Graham, service animals’ important work and how best to interact with them. Weed Hall, Lecture Room I, South Campus, 3 Solomont Way, Lowell
* “Light it Up Blue for Autism,” Tuesday, April 2, 6 p.m. UMass Lowell will illuminate the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center in blue and host a reception in the center’s atrium to promote World Autism Awareness Day. Saab Center, North Campus, 40 University Ave., Lowell
* “Adam” film screening, Wednesday, April 3, 6:30 p.m. Hugh Dancy stars as a man with Asperger’s syndrome who falls in love with his neighbor, played by Rose Byrne. After the film, an expert in autism-spectrum disorders will offer insights into fostering personal relationships with people with these disorders. Weed Hall, Lecture Room I, South Campus, 3 Solomont Way, Lowell.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
PhotographyPhotography Students Capture Pilgrimage to Masters’ Homes
When: Exhibit runs from Monday, April 1 through Thursday, April 25; artists’ reception is Thursday, April 4, 5 p.m. University Gallery hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturdays and evenings by appointment.
What: The UMass Lowell photography program presents works by UMass Lowell international students who participated in a road trip from Lowell to Lexington, Va., to visit the homes of American photography entrepreneur George Eastman and photographer Sally Mann. The students were joined by counterparts from the Bilder Nordic School of Photography in Oslo, Norway and the Ecole Superieure d’Arts and Medias de Caen/Cherbourg in France. “Spirit Level V: An American Road Trip” is curated by Arno Rafael Minkkinen, the Nancy Donahue Professor of the Arts at UMass Lowell and world-renowned photographer, and includes works on display at UMass Lowell’s University Gallery and the Arts League of Lowell Gallery.
Where: University Gallery, McGauvran Student Center, South Campus, 71 Wilder St. Lowell. Arts League of Lowell Gallery, 117 Merrimack St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Guns‘Day Without Violence’ Focuses on Gun Control Debate
When: Tuesday, April 2, 11 a.m.
What: An outspoken author and journalist, Boston’s police commissioner and a former prison psychologist will take on the issue of guns and violence in a panel discussion. UMass Lowell’s “A Day Without Violence” will feature keynote speaker Craig Whitney, author of “Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment”; Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis; and Cathy Levey, a member of UMass Lowell’s criminal justice faculty who has more than 20 years of experience working as a Connecticut prison system psychologist. Each year, college and university campuses nationwide observe “A Day Without Violence” in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quest for social justice and equality. UMass Lowell’s observance is presented by the university’s Peace and Conflict Studies Institute, the Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies Program and the Center for Arts and Ideas. The program is free and open to the public.
Where: Comley-Lane Theatre, Mahoney Hall, South Campus, 870 Broadway St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
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BulgerAuthors to Speak about ‘Defiant’ Whitey Bulger
When: Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 p.m.
What: The authors of a new biography of notorious reputed mobster James “Whitey” Bulger will discuss the book, which provides unprecedented details about Bulger’s life and the 16-year manhunt for him. “Whitey Bulger: America’s Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt that Brought Him to Justice” is the work of Kevin Cullen, a Pulitzer Prize winner Boston Globe reporter and columnist, and Shelley Murphy, a George Polk Award winner who has reported for both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. The authors will sign copies of the book at the reception, which is presented by UMass Lowell’s English Department and Center for Arts and Ideas in partnership with the Boston Red Sox and the Great Fenway Park Writers Series. The program is free and open to the public.
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu