UMass Lowell Honors Outstanding Alumni at Event

04/24/2017

Media contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass. – James Costos, a native of Lowell and former U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra, and Norm Bazin, former UMass Lowell hockey player who returned to his alma mater to transform the team into a national powerhouse, are among the eight distinguished graduates who were presented with this year’s University Alumni Awards.

The honorees are selected from graduates of each of UMass Lowell’s six schools and colleges, as well as the university’s athletics program. One recent graduate who is already having a positive impact is also recognized. 

In addition to Costos and Bazin, this year’s award recipients include alumni who have had an impact in the fields of health care, technology, law and finance, and all have supported UMass Lowell and its students through scholarships, mentoring and other efforts.

“These individuals’ achievements, success and generosity represent the very best of UMass Lowell,” Chancellor Jacquie Moloney said during the awards presentation, held Thursday, April 20 at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. “Every day, I see how our graduates change lives. And I see our students’ determination to follow the lead of our alumni and make a difference.”

The 2017 University Alumni Award recipients are:

• Norm Bazin ’90, ’94 (G) (College of Education), who is in his sixth season as head coach of the UMass Lowell River Hawks men’s ice hockey team. He has led the team to several firsts: two Hockey East regular-season championships and three tournament championships, as well as an appearance in the NCAA Division I Frozen Four. A three-time Hockey East Coach of the Year, Bazin was selected as the NCAA Division I’s top coach in 2013. As a UMass Lowell student, Bazin played for the River Hawks from 1990 to 1994 and is a “double River Hawk,” having earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in education at UMass Lowell.
• Lorna Boucher ’86 (Manning School of Business), a Lowell native who now lives in New York, where she is the chief marketing officer of Instinet, a global financial securities company. As a student, Boucher worked part time at her parents’ diner while earning her degree in marketing and international management. Today, she is a member of the Manning School of Business Advisory Board, has served as keynote speaker for UMass Lowell’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference and a judge for the university’s DifferenceMaker competition. She established the Lorna Boucher ’86 Endowed Scholarship, which benefits women business majors at UMass Lowell.
• Robert Bushong ’67 (Athletics), the founder of Bushong Industrials Inc. and a resident of Bluffton, S.C., who traces his love of sports back to his days playing baseball at what was then Lowell Tech., which inspired him to create a scholarship for student-athletes in the name of his former coach, Jim Stone. Today, Bushong rides his racing bike 3,000 miles a year and golfs regularly, and has completed seven full marathons and 30 half-marathons. Professionally, Bushong has helped found many companies, including Bushong Industrials, which has reached more than $850 million in sales. 
• James Costos ’85 (College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), who grew up in Lowell and was the first in his family to graduate from college when he received his degree in political science from UMass Lowell. Costos went on to a successful career as an international leader in the entertainment and retail industries, most notably with HBO and Tod’s. In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed him ambassador to Spain and Andorra, a position Costos held until earlier this year. 
• William C. Geary III ’80 (Francis College of Engineering), an Andover resident who is a patent and trademark attorney with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., in Boston. Geary grew up in Lowell and originally came to UMass Lowell to study biology and chemistry, which led him to major in plastics engineering. Geary also served as captain of the swim team and met his wife, Kathleen, a fellow student, while at UMass Lowell. The couple has gone on to support a number of UMass Lowell initiatives and Geary serves on the advisory boards of the College of Engineering and the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), a joint venture of the UMass Lowell and Worcester campuses that supports entrepreneurs and startups in that field, many of which tap into UMass Lowell’s expertise in plastics engineering.
• Emmanuel Lamour ’05, ’16 (Young Alumnus honoree), a Canton resident who is a program manager with Raytheon overseeing teams around the world. Lamour was hired by Raytheon shortly before he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and has earned his MBA while working there. The youngest of 10 children, Lamour was born in Haiti and moved to Boston with his family at age 8. Lamour founded the UMass Lowell chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers while he was a student and as an alumnus, returns to campus regularly to mentor engineering majors, to volunteer with the Young Alumni Committee and to recruit for Raytheon. 
• Russell LeClaire ’67, ’74 (Kennedy College of Sciences), a Plano, Texas resident who is the retired vice president of development of CA Technologies. LeClaire, who earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in physics at UMass Lowell, worked as a staff physicist at a university in Florida before taking a position in computer systems with Texas Instruments that was the start of a 40-year career with the company, which became part of Sterling Software and then CA Technologies. LeClaire, who was a first-generation college student, and his wife organize alumni events in their home state of Texas and have supported scholarships for UMass Lowell students and the DifferenceMaker Program, among other initiatives. He also serves on the Kennedy College of Sciences advisory board. 
• Jerry St. Peter ’89 (College of Health Sciences), the vice president and head of ophthalmic business with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. and a resident of Plano, Texas. A Lowell native, he majored in health education at UMass Lowell and began his career in pharmaceutical sales, working his way up to executive management and corporate leadership positions in the industry, most recently at Sun Pharmaceuticals. He has served on the Kennedy College of Sciences advisory board and is co-founder of The Guardians in Fort Worth, a nonprofit that provides immediate financial support to people in need.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,750 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu