Former U.S. Ambassador to Speak on National Security Challenges

02/21/2023

Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

A former ambassador to Portugal who served under President Barack Obama will lead a program on U.S. policy at UMass Lowell this week. 

“America’s Security Challenges in 2023: The War in Ukraine and Beyond,” will be led by Robert Sherman and engage participants in a discussion about domestic and foreign affairs. Sherman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Portugal from 2014 to 2017, will share his insights on his role, discuss the country’s most pressing policy concerns and answer questions from the audience. 

The free event will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in Room 255 of Coburn Hall, located on UMass Lowell’s South Campus at 850 Broadway St., Lowell. 

“Former Ambassador Sherman has been a great friend to the UMass Lowell community, and we are pleased to have him join us again for what I know will be an enlightening conversation about the future of U.S. foreign and domestic policy,” said UMass Lowell’s Luis Falcón, dean of the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Falcón is expected to introduce Sherman, who will be joined by UMass Lowell political scientists Joshua Dyck and Angélica Durán-Martínez for the panel discussion.

Dyck, an expert in U.S. politics, voting and survey research, is a professor and chair of the political science department, where he also directs the university’s Center for Public Opinion. Durán-Martínez is an authority on Latin American politics; political and criminal violence, including international drug trade and crime; and the political economy of development. She is an associate professor who directs UMass Lowell’s global studies doctoral program.

As U.S. ambassador to Portugal, Sherman focused on bilateral economic development and international security issues. For his distinguished work, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa awarded Sherman the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator.

Sherman also has extensive experience in government investigations and litigation; internal corporate investigations; and consumer protection matters. From 1991 to 1993, he was an assistant attorney general of Massachusetts and chief of the state’s Consumer Protection Division. Today, he serves as senior counsel at Greenberg Traurig, one of the country’s largest international law firms, where he is a founding member of the firm’s Boston office. 

Most recently, Sherman served on Maura Healey’s steering committee during her successful campaign for governor of Massachusetts, as well as the campaign steering committee and post-election transition team for Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. 

The UMass Lowell event is presented by the political science department, and as part of the Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Speaker Series, the Global Studies Ph.D. program and the university’s F. Bradford Morse Speaker Series. Morse was a former U.S. congressman and United Nations administrator who began his career in Lowell. 

Members of the public who would like more information may visit the FAHSS Dean’s Speaker Series page on UMass Lowell’s website at www.uml.edu or email Joshua_Dyck@uml.edu.

UMass Lowell is a national research university offering its 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 and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu