The Honors Development Studies Center (HDSC) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell is proud to recognize the outstanding contributions of its Board of Faculty Advisors, whose diverse expertise and commitment help advance the Center’s mission. Aligned with UMass Lowell’s dedication to providing a transformational education that fosters global awareness, these faculty members bring vital academic, research, and professional perspectives that enrich student learning and drive impactful engagement with the global community. They each play a critical role in supporting HDSC’s sponsored activities, offering mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and leadership that strengthen the Center’s efforts to promote sustainable development, cross-cultural understanding, and regionally informed solutions.
- Professor Robert Giles, Director: As chair of UMass Lowell's Physics Department and Director of HDSC, Professor Robert Giles has been traveling to Haiti biannually having established a research facility in the city of Les Cayes enabling UMass Lowell science and engineering teams to move beyond a crisis-management response and investigate chronic resource issues in an impoverished community. Addressing these challenges, Giles mentors multidisciplinary student-based teams investigating a broad array of technologies such as the installation of off-grid solar energy systems and conversion of combustible recycled waste materials and plastics to fuel. The goal is to prepare young professionals for serving impoverished regions internationally while contributing to the knowledge base of inexpensive alternatives for low-level energy requirement.
- Professor Jenifer Whitten-Woodring: Jenifer Whitten-Woodring has served as dean of the Honors College since 2022. She is also vice president of the International Studies Association and chair of the Commonwealth Honors Council. Whitten-Woodring remains active as a political scientist. Her research focuses on human rights and civil liberties, including gendered rights, media freedom and freedom of expression. Prior to becoming a political scientist, Whitten-Woodring worked as a journalist in print and broadcast media and received five first place awards from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association. She became interested in media freedom and the relationship between media, politics and human rights when she was a journalism instructor and student newspaper adviser, first at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania and then at California State University at San Marcos. She holds a B.F.A. from Emerson College, an M.S. from Syracuse University and Ph.D. in Politics and International Relations from the University of Southern California.
- Brian Corr: has been the executive director of the Peace Commission – that promotes peace and social justice, and has responsibility for Cambridge’s sister city relationships – since April 2008. Starting in September 2010, he has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for the Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) since 2012 and currently serves as the association’s vice-president. In his community, Brian is a member of the board of directors of the José Mateo Ballet Theatre and also serves on the board of the DiDomenico Foundation, Until 2013, Brian served on the board of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute while doing education and advocacy work to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of violence on individuals, families, and communities. Nationally, Brian served on the national board of directors and the executive committee of the American Friends Service Committee from 2007 to 2010, and as co-chair of the national board of directors of Peace Action from 2003 through 2007. Brian graduated from the University of Michigan in 1986 with a BA in Russian literature and language. A trained mediator, he is a NACOLE Certified Practitioner of Oversight, and he has completed the Negotiation and Leadership course at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
- Professor Wil Ngwa, with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Buea in Cameroon, has a developing country background. He later received his master's and doctorate at the University of Leipzig Germany as a Physicist with specialties in biophysics and material science. Serving at Harvard in the field of medical physics, Ngwa is a strong advocate for initiatives like UMass Lowell’s Haiti Development Studies Center that can foster science and technology in low-income countries like Haiti. He is currently the director of the Global Health and International Phytomedicines Institute with a major focus on leveraging science and technology with application in global health and economic development. As Abdus Salam, the Nobel Laureate in physics observed, science in developing countries is often treated as a "marginal activity'' and perceived even as an "ornament'.' Although some developing countries are aware of the importance of science and technology as a driver to sustainable development, this awareness does not necessarily make it easy to develop, and popularize science. Factors like inadequate scientific infrastructure, opportunity and mentorship create strong barriers to the path of advancement.
- Rachel Paquette is a 2014 University of Massachusetts Lowell graduate of the Honors College with a Bachelors of Science in Biology. Within the context of attending HDSC’s Seminar Course ("Science and Technology in the Impoverished World”) during the Spring of 2013, Ms. Paquette chose to address water purification with a Bio-Sand Filtration Technique using only materials indigenous to Haiti and readily available to the local population. With her proposal focused on education, implementation of Paquette’s filter project was easily scalable and sustainable even in the poorest communities. Fall 2013, Paquette provided the template for executing the prototype units in the city of Les Cayes, Haiti. Visiting Haiti during January 2014 and working with four college preparatory Haitian students at UMass Lowell’s Haiti Development Studies Center, Rachel oversaw the fabrication and setup of these filters, established the water testing procedures and oversaw the collection and organization of the water sample data. By mid-summer, Rachel was then working on simple diagrams and documentation detailing filter construction in the local language, “Kreyol”, for distribution to the community. Ms. Paquette had also completed her Honors thesis, Spring 2014, “Education and Implementation of the Biobubbler in Haiti”, documenting the program.
- Laura Magee graduated from UMass Lowell with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in 2017. Laura is doing her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy at Massachusetts General Hospitals Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP). At UMass Lowell, she did her honors thesis with Prof. Giles on accessibility to education in rural Haiti. Having been down to the center in Haiti twice, she has helped teach a geology workshop and a first aid class with supplies to the HDSC staff. She is currently working part-time as an EMT at Cataldo Ambulance Service in Somerville, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, and Revere. She has also been a part of some of the fundraising initiatives for the HDSC.
- Maureen Kelly graduated from the UMass Lowell Honors College with a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering (2015), and master’s degree in structural engineering (2017). Maureen first traveled to Haiti for her senior capstone project and honors thesis which included land survey, civil design, and cultural study. She was a co-founder of the student organization now called “Engineers for Change," where multidisciplinary student teams design technological solutions as a local and international community service. After moving on to full-time work in industry, Maureen served as an adviser on student engineering projects and traveled to Haiti with multiple design teams. Maureen works as a civil engineer for TFMoran, Inc., a leader in low-impact development, and is also a licensed foster parent dedicated to advocacy and trauma-informed care.