UMass Lowell has been an anchor institution of Lowell for nearly 130 years. This is where the river that powered industry now inspires ingenuity. Our community partnerships and contributions to the city’s economic, social and cultural vitality are points of pride. We believe it is to our mutual well-being to strengthen the bonds we enjoy and create new points of connection.
We’re not just Lowell’s only comprehensive public research university, but we also actively collaborate with Middlesex Community College and the Lowell K-12 schools. We collaborate with, learn from and benefit from the local businesses and robust corporations, vital community-based organizations and government agencies working for the common good.
Our students, faculty, resources and spirit connect us with prospective students, nearly half of whom are the first in their families to attend a university. Many grew up in local communities and come from culturally diverse backgrounds that make us a more powerful and exciting university community.
Our students and graduates are attractive to companies seeking a skilled workforce. By enhancing our local economy, we strive to strengthen Lowell as a sought-after location for more employers from outside the region. Our goal is to bolster Lowell as a fertile destination for business—a place for companies eager to join an affordable, growing community of industry, education, research and culture.
But challenges remain. We are still solidifying our reputation as a premier comprehensive research university in the minds of many residents. There is still a gap between outdated perceptions of our host city and the reality of this right-sized urban environment, a vibrant college town with restaurants, arts and entertainment. Our goals embrace the challenges and celebrate the opportunities to strengthen our bond with this vigorous Gateway City to help us both, town and gown, be all we can be in this world.
Our road to success.
Social and economic development.
Promote the role of students, faculty, staff and alumni as significant drivers of a thriving regional economy across Lowell and the Merrimack Valley. Support the role of employers to attract students and enhance the value of their experience on campus.
Measured by industry partnerships and student placements in paid career-connected experiences in Greater Lowell, including nonprofits and government agencies.
Arts and culture.
Increase our active partnership as creators and patrons of on- and off-campus arts and cultural offerings the help differentiate this campus from peer institutions in more isolated settings.
Measured by attendance at concerts, shows, exhibitions and cultural events on campus and participation by UMass Lowell community members in local arts and cultural organizations and events.
Teaching and learning.
Capitalize on the geographic integration of the university in the heart of the city and promote active engagement between the two to expand learning beyond the boundaries of the physical campus.
Measured by numbers of students completing courses that incorporate engagement with Lowell.
Faculty and staff community engagement.
Support the role of UMass Lowell employees as active members of the local community, both as residents and volunteers in municipal and community-based organizations and as research and scholarship partners.
Measured by employee volunteer hours; number of employees serving on municipal and community boards and commissions; and faculty, staff and student involvement in externally funded projects with community partners.
Promoting Lowell’s strengths. Celebrate the collective assets of the campus and the city to help encourage both students and employees from across the country and around the globe to choose the UMass Lowell community as a place to live and learn. A Gateway City location encourages a diverse student body to enroll and thrive.
Measured by impressions of Lowell among current and prospective students as documented in periodic surveys.
Environmental sustainability.
Promote the recognition of UMass Lowell and the city of Lowell together as an urban-focused center of excellence for climate change, energy and sustainability that merges expertise in teaching, research and operations in an urban environmental justice community.
Measured by the university's sustainability rating issued by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.