Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
03/23/2015
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 and click on “Media” at the top of the page. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.
Sources of the week
UMass Lowell experts are available to discuss:
- What Sen. Ted Cruz needs to do to secure the Republican nomination for president in the 2016 race;
- How parents can help their teenagers overcome anxiety about the high-school prom;
- How studio musicians featured in the new documentary “The Wrecking Crew” revolutionized pop music in the 1960s and 1970s.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
Series Marking Civil Rights Anniversaries Kicks Off This Week
Author, Humorist Shares How His Experiences Inspired His Art
Lowell Leaders Create, Strengthen Service Opportunities for Students
Career Fair Brings More than 190 Employers to Campus
Renowned Expert in Portuguese History Presents Programs
Events Roll Out Robots Made by Middle- and High-School Students
‘Master Thieves’ Author Explores Intrigue Behind Gardner Museum Heist
SeriesSeries Marking Civil Rights Anniversaries Kicks Off this Week
What: UMass Lowell programs commemorating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – marking its 50th anniversary – and the Civil Rights Act will explore the significance of Americans’ quest for equality in 1960s and the relevance of that struggle today. Events include a photography exhibit depicting the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., sessions with activists from the era who will talk about their experiences and accompanying film screenings at the Luna Theatre in Lowell. UMass Lowell honors students from Bedford, Billerica, Brockton, Chelmsford, East Walpole, Groton, Lawrence, Lowell, Merrimac, Middleton, Saugus, Taunton, Waltham, Westford and West Newbury are working to present these events. They include:
- Selma to Montgomery: A Photo Exhibition – Images by photojournalist and activist Matt Herron – whose photography is on display at the Smithsonian Institution and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture – documenting the 50-mile march will be on display daily. Exhibit runs from Monday, March 23 through Thursday, April 30. Opening reception – Monday, March 30, 5 p.m., University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell.
- Young People and the Civil Rights Movement – Journalist Callie Crossley, best known for her work on WGBH in Boston and on the acclaimed TV documentary series “Eyes on the Prize,” will talk about civil rights. The event will include a performance by the UMass Lowell Choral Union of songs from Marvin Gaye’s 1971 album, “What’s Going On?” Thursday, March 26, 4 p.m., O’Leary Library Learning Commons, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell
- The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Struggle for Civil and Political Rights – In the 1960s, Charles Cobb and Judy Richardson were members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, which participated in many of the major events in the civil rights movement. Cobb, now and author and journalist, along with Richardson – a leading scholar with the SNCC Legacy Project and a documentary filmmaker who also worked on “Eyes on the Prize” – will share their experiences with SNCC in the quest for civil rights. Thursday, April 30, 4 p.m., O’Leary Library Learning Commons, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell.
For a full list of events, see (http://www.uml.edu/FAHSS/VRA-Commemoration.aspx) www.uml.edu/FAHSS/VRA-Commemoration.aspx. For more on the film screenings at the Luna Theatre, see http://5.lunalowell.com/luna.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
AuthorAuthor, Humorist Shares How His Experiences Inspired His Art
When: Wednesday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.
What: Internationally acclaimed writer and humorist Drew Hayden Taylor will talk about the creative process behind his work and answer questions from the audience during a free program for the public and campus community. Taylor, who is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nation in Canada, is a multitalented artist whose work focuses on the stories of indigenous peoples. An award-winning playwright, he is also a standup comedian and screenwriter who has served as the artistic director of Canada’s Native Earth Performing Arts theater company. During his stay at UMass Lowell as an artist-in-residence, he will meet with students during classroom visits, lead a master class in screenwriting and participate in a variety of question-and-answer sessions.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Fourth Floor, South Campus, 61 Wilder 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
LowellLeadersLowell Leaders Create, Strengthen ServiceOpportunitiesService Opportunities for Students
When: Thursday, March 26, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
What: Last year, UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff participated in more than 168,000 hours of community service – an accomplishment that landed the university on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and contributed to its Carnegie Foundation designation as a Community Engaged Campus. During the annual Community Connections Breakfast, representatives of Greater Lowell’s service organizations will network with UMass Lowell faculty to expand existing and create new service-learning opportunities for students outside of the classroom. These experiences complement academic coursework and enrich students’ civic engagement. The event will include the university’s presentation of its Community Partner Award to one outstanding area nonprofit organization.
Where: Alumni Hall, North Campus, 84 University Ave, Lowell.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Career Fair Brings More than 190EmployersCampus190 Employers to Campus
When: Thursday, March 26, 2 to 6 p.m.
What: What are the most sought-after jobs and who are the hoped-for employees in the current market? What are UMass Lowell students looking for as they prepare to enter the working world after graduation? The “Summer and Beyond Career Fair” will hold the answers. More than 190 representatives of for-profit, nonprofit and government agencies and 1,000 UMass Lowell students are expected to attend the event, which will be held at the Tsongas Center – the university’s largest venue – to accommodate demand from employers to participate. Representatives from Raytheon and Fidelity Investments to the Peace Corps and City Year will meet with students about full-time, internship and co-op positions. Students, employers and UMass Lowell’s staff will be available to speak with the media about their goals. The event is hosted by UMass Lowell’s Career Services and Cooperative Education Center. Note: The career fair is not open to the public but members of the media are encouraged to attend.
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
Renowned ExpertPortugueseExpert in Portuguese History Presents Programs
When: “Age of Discovery” Series – Thursdays, March 26, April 9 and April 16, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Portuguese empire program – Tuesday, March 31, 5:30 p.m.
What: The travels of Portuguese explorers in the early 15th century – known as the “Age of Discovery” – and whether the country presided over an empire will be the focus of programs throughout the next month. Sessions in the “Age of Discovery” series will examine the first encounters between Christians and Muslims and Europeans, Africans, Asians and Americans, from West Africa to India and China. The talk “Empire, Religion and Utopia in the Early Modern Portuguese World” will examine how 17th-century scholar Antonio Vieira advanced the concept of a Portuguese empire and whether one actually existed. Leading the programs will be Ana Valdez, the inaugural Luso-American Foundation Visiting Professor in Portuguese Studies at UMass Lowell. The programs, which are free and open to the public, are presented by the university’s Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Culture and Research and UMass Lowell’s History Department. Members of the public who wish to attend must register with Natalia Melo at Natalia_Melo@uml.edu or 978-934-5199.
Where: “Age of Discovery” series – Dugan Hall, Room 211, South Campus, 883 Broadway St., Lowell. Portuguese empire program – Allen House, South Campus, 2 Solomont 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
EventEvents Roll Out Robots Made by Middle-and High-School Students
When: Saturday, March 28. Botball tournament – 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Botfest exhibition – 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
What: Robots built and programmed by middle- and high-school students from across the region will take center stage at the 11th annual Botfest and Botball tournament. Botfest is a robotics exhibition presented by UMass Lowell’s Computer Science K-12 Partnership Program, which supports robotics and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in elementary and secondary schools. Botball is an international tournament in which robots created by high-school student teams compete against each other. The university is home to the regional qualifying round of the competition. Students participating in this year’s events hail form Arlington, Ashland, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Everett, Hanover, Haverhill, Malden, Marlborough, Medford, Pembroke, Tyngsborough, Wellesley, West Roxbury, West Tisbury, Winchester, as well as Hampton, N.H., and Veazie, Maine. For more information, visit (http://www.botfest.org) www.botfest.org and www.botball.org.
Where: Costello Gymnasium, North Campus, 275 Riverside 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
Master‘Master Thieves’ Author Explores Intrigue Behind Gardner MuseumHeistMuseum Heist
When: Thursday, April 2. Talk from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and book-signing from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
What: Author Stephen Kurkjian will speak to UMass Lowell art history students about the still-unsolved theft of paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston 25 years ago in the largest robbery of fine art in history. Kurkjian – a former journalist at the Boston Globe who has won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work among other accolades – has penned “Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art Heist” detailing the case. The UMass Lowell students he will meet with are studying all of the artists – including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet – whose works were stolen from the museum on March 18, 1990. Kurkjian will hold a book-signing and offer remarks at the Whistler House Museum of Art later in the day. His visit to the city is presented by UMass Lowell’s Center for Arts and Ideas and the Whistler House.
Where: Talk – Coburn Hall, Room 300, South Campus, 850 Broadway St., Lowell. Book-signing – Whistler House Museum of Art, 243 Worthen 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