Image by Ed Brennen English alum Ryan MacInnnis '13 has established the Lowell Rising Endowment Fund with a $50,000 gift to help fellow Lowell High School graduates attend UMass Lowell.
Growing up in Lowell, Ryan MacInnis ’13 was aware of the city’s reputation as a scrappy underdog. He came to believe that upbringing gave him an edge.
“I feel like you have an unfair advantage when you’re from Lowell,” says MacInnis, who graduated from Lowell High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in political science at UMass Lowell. “You have this chip on your shoulder.”
Now, MacInnis wants to help more Lowell students turn their hometown roots into opportunities of their own.
MacInnis recently established the Lowell Rising Endowment Fund with a $50,000 gift to provide scholarships for Lowell High School graduates who attend UML.
Rather than attach his name to the fund, MacInnis chose “Lowell Rising” in hopes that fellow alumni, Lowell residents and others will contribute and help grow it into a broader initiative supporting students from the city.
“I’m focusing on how this can lift up the city of Lowell and strengthen that relationship between the city and the university,” says MacInnis, who works as a principal product marketing manager at Adobe and lives in Connecticut with his wife, Maddie, and their infant twin daughters.
“I’ve been able to benefit from being from Lowell and going to Lowell High and then seeing what the university can do — not only providing incredible opportunities, but giving you a new lens and perspective,” he adds.
The fund has already attracted a prominent supporter: UMass President Marty Meehan ’78.
Like MacInnis, Meehan grew up in Lowell, attended Lowell High and earned a degree from UML. He went on to represent the 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years before returning to his alma mater to serve as chancellor from 2007 to 2015.
Image by Ed Brennen UMass President and Lowell native Marty Meehan '78 has supported the Lowell Rising Endowment Fund with a $10,000 gift.
“I am very proud to donate to the Lowell Rising Endowment Fund started by Ryan MacInnis, a fellow proud UMass Lowell alumnus who understands the transformative power of the university and the importance of providing opportunities to other young people like himself. His gift is an inspiration to all alumni,” says Meehan, who was the first alumnus to lead the university.
“I was able to transform my life because of the University of Massachusetts, and I want that for every student that walks through the door,” Meehan says. “I wholeheartedly believe UMass is the most important institution in Massachusetts for individuals to achieve social mobility and economic growth, and this scholarship fund will undoubtedly inspire many people to give so that more young people have a chance for a bright future.”
For MacInnis, it’s especially significant to have someone he admired growing up become one of the first people to join the initiative.
“He’s always been someone that I’ve looked up to,” MacInnis says. “To go from listening to his Commencement speech when I graduated to him saying that what I am doing is so impactful and motivating that he wants to get involved is surreal.”
MacInnis’ connection to UML began long before he enrolled.
His grandfather, Tony Romano, was head coach of the university’s men’s basketball team from 1976 to 1983. MacInnis remembers attending basketball games on campus as a child, as well as concerts at the Moloney Performing Arts Center.
When it came time to choose a college, those family connections mattered. So did affordability.
“UMass Lowell was a school that I had always considered, and it came down to financial accessibility,” says MacInnis, who lived at home and commuted to campus. “Some of my family members had gone there, and it was a great fit for me.”
Image by Ed Brennen "I'm focusing on how this can lift up the city of Lowell and strengthen the relationship between the city and the university," Ryan MacInnis '13 says of the Lowell Rising Endowment Fund.
He recently joined Adobe, where he works on Acrobat products for government, public sector and regulated industries.
MacInnis also recently became one of three inaugural Industry Fellows at Yale University’s Digital Ethics Center. He will spend a semester in residence this fall researching the impact of organizational design on technology outcomes, with the goal of producing a published academic paper.
The idea for Lowell Rising took shape through MacInnis’ involvement with the Manning School of Business Professional Leaders Council, a group of alumni that mentors students, shares professional expertise and strengthens connections between alumni and the school. Through the council, MacInnis met alumni whose philanthropy has supported UML.
“Philanthropy is one of those words that feels really intimidating,” MacInnis says. “You assume it’s for people who have accumulated large amounts of wealth, and they’re now looking to direct that in places that can be most helpful as they enter the back chapter of their life.”
MacInnis began wondering why he needed to wait.
“You don’t have to go and create an endowment,” he says. “There are ways that you can partner with the university and causes you care about to make a difference. You could choose to do that with your time. You could choose to do that financially.”
The fund will begin by awarding one scholarship annually, but MacInnis’ long-term goal is more ambitious.
“I’d love to get it to a place where we can pay for an entire year’s worth of tuition,” he says. “I want to be able to take the pressure of financing their first year off the table, giving someone the peace of mind to have a great experience.”
Twin daughters, a new job, a Yale fellowship and a new endowment have given MacInnis plenty to talk about these days. Yet when he considers the work that brings him fulfillment, he keeps coming back to UMass Lowell.
“Of course, the work that I do on a day-to-day basis is exciting. I love doing it,” MacInnis says. “But the stuff that I can’t wait to tell people about is the work that I’m doing with UMass Lowell.”