Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
10/19/2015
This is a notice of upcoming events, photo opportunities and story ideas at UMass Lowell, compiled by the Office of University Relations, 978-934-3224. For more stories about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu/pressroom. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication unless otherwise noted.
Sources of the week
UMass Lowell faculty experts are available to discuss:
- Gothic influences in popular culture, including the public’s fascination with zombies, vampires and witches as Halloween approaches;
- The debate over whether a plan to expand charter schools in Massachusetts will help improve student performance;
- Projections that the cost of home heating oil will be less expensive this winter and what that may mean for the New England economy.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
More than 200 Employers to Recruit Students at Career Fair
CNBC Business Analyst Helps DifferenceMakers Celebrate Success
UMass Lowell to Inaugurate New Chancellor Jacquie Moloney
Pride Soars During River Hawk Homecoming Weekend
Belfast Community Gospel Choir to Lift Voices in Lowell
Open House Gives Prospective Students Taste of University Life
Lowell Families to Scare Up Fun at UMass Lowell Halloween Party
Career More than 200 Employers to Recruit Students at Career Fair
When: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2 to 5 p.m.
What: More than 200 employers and an estimated 1,500 UMass Lowell students are expected to participate in UMass Lowell’s Fall Career Fair. From the New England Center for Children to NESN, City Year to Raytheon, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies looking for qualified employees will find them in UMass Lowell undergraduate and graduate students who are seeking full- or part-time jobs, internships or cooperative-education opportunities. Visit the event to interview UMass Lowell students about their career plans and talk to employers about their expectations for job candidates in today’s market. The event is presented by UMass Lowell’s Career Services and Cooperative Education Center. Note: The fair is not open to the public but the media is encouraged to cover this event.
Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
DifferenceCNBC Business Analyst Helps DifferenceMakers Celebrate Success
When: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
What: CNBC business analyst Ron Insana will deliver the keynote address during an event that will bring together UMass Lowell student entrepreneurs involved in the university’s DifferenceMaker Program with successful alumni and other business leaders. Established by UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, the program teaches students in all majors entrepreneurial skills that they can use to develop innovative solutions to issues in business and the community. Students in the program are mentored by UMass Lowell faculty and alumni who offer guidance to nurture their ideas and participate in competitions that allow them to earn seed money to advance their ventures.
Where: University Crossing, Moloney Hall, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
InaugurationUMass Lowell to Inaugurate New Chancellor Jacquie Moloney
When: Thursday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. Media check-in is 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
What: UMass Lowell will inaugurate Chancellor Jacquie Moloney – the first woman to lead the university in its 121-year history – at a ceremony that is expected to draw more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, community leaders and other friends of the university. Participants are scheduled to include UMass President Marty Meehan; tech entrepreneur Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, a champion of entrepreneurship education who collaborates with UMass Lowell; alumnus John Pulichino, for whom UMass Lowell’s new business school building is being named; and members of Lowell’s legislative delegation and city government. The event’s theme is “Making a Difference Together, Leading through Innovation,” a phrase that underscores Moloney’s achievements throughout her three decades at UMass Lowell. Most recently, as executive vice chancellor, she spearheaded the strategic-planning process that resulted in the greatest period of university growth to date, including a 50 percent increase in enrollment and the opening of 11 new buildings. She is advancing programs important to the “UMass Lowell 2020” strategic plan as part of her First 90 initiative (#First90) during the first three months of her administration. Moloney is known as a “double River Hawk” because she earned her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at UMass Lowell. The event will raise funds for the new Jacqueline F. Moloney Endowed Scholarship.
Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
HomecomingPride Soars During River Hawk Homecoming Weekend
When: Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24
What: One celebration for every generation, River Hawk Homecoming is UMass Lowell’s largest event for alumni, students, family, friends and the public to experience the campus’ transformation and dynamic university life. An outdoor fair, athletic competitions, class reunions, campus tours and a concert of Portuguese folk music are just some of the weekend’s activities. The full schedule can be found at www.alumni.uml.edu. Events include:
- “Fado: Sounds of Portugal” – Friday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. This concert of Portuguese folk music will feature musicians Ana Laíns, Santo Costa and Tô Neto in a performance to benefit UMass Lowell’s Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Culture and Research. Durgin Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell
- 17th annual Jennifer’s Fun Run/Walk – Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. Participants will follow a course that winds through Lowell along both sides of the Merrimack River while raising money for the Jennifer D’Amour Scholarship Fund, which benefits UMass Lowell women’s cross-country and track-and-field athletes. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell.
- Hawkey Way – Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 to 6 p.m. This free, outdoor festival will include food, live music, student performances, games, inflatable rides and arts and crafts. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
BelfastBelfast Community Gospel Choir to Lift Voices in Lowell
When: Friday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
What: More than 100 members strong, the Belfast Community Gospel Choir will perform in concert in an event that will celebrate Lowell’s kinship with the people of Northern Ireland. Called “the soul of Belfast,” the choir will sing stirring renditions of contemporary favorites under the direction of the ensemble’s founder Marie Lacey and perform selections with the UMass Lowell Gospel Choir and Lowell High School Choir. The event is presented by the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL) and UMass Lowell’s Center for Irish Partnerships, which provides exchange and research programs for UMass Lowell students and faculty with colleagues from educational institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The concert is open to the public and admission is free.
Where: Lowell High School, Cyrus Irish Auditorium, 50 Fr. Morissette Blvd., Lowell
Contacts for media: Celine Gettings, city of Lowell, 978-674-4040, cgettings@lowellma.gov or Nancy Cicco, UMass Lowell, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
admissionsOpen House Gives Prospective Students Taste of University Life
When: Sunday, Oct. 25. Exhibits and resource fair – 9 to 11:30 a.m. Academic presentations and campus tours – 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What: Prospective freshmen, transfer and graduate students will learn about UMass Lowell’s breadth of academic programs and get a taste of its vibrant campus life during the final of two annual open house events that offer an in-depth look at the university. Attendees and their families will meet with faculty, staff and students and tour UMass Lowell’s booming campus, which features 11 new buildings including new residence halls and academic facilities. Presentations on majors and programs, exhibits and information about financial aid and educational resources will illustrate why UMass Lowell is ranked as one of the fastest-growing public universities in the nation by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate degree programs and options for graduate study that include 42 master’s and 36 doctoral degrees and dozens of certificate programs.
Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
HalloweenLowell Families to Scare Up Fun at UMass Lowell Halloween Party
When: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4 to 8 p.m.
What: Lowell children and their families are invited to have some frightful fun at a free, annual Halloween event presented by UMass Lowell students through the university’s Office of Residence Life. Trick-or-treating, games, activities, a “haunted house” and spooky surprises await at Riverview Suites, UMass Lowell’s newly expanded residence hall, which was chosen as this year’s location to accommodate the event’s popularity. Free event parking will be available after 4 p.m. in the Broadway/Riverview lot accessible off Broadway Street on South Campus adjacent to the residence hall. Staff will direct guests from the parking lot into the building.
Where: Riverview Suites, 1291 Middlesex St., Lowell.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu