University Recognized Nationally for Community Service and Engagement
12/19/2014
Contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell’s commitment to community engagement and service puts it among the top institutions in the United States, according to a new national ranking.
UMass Lowell was recently named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, a prestigious recognition for colleges and universities committed to volunteering, service-learning and community engagement that produces measurable results.
UMass Lowell has received the honor every year since 2009. The 2014 honor roll is the first time institutions have been recognized for outstanding contributions in specific types of engagement. UMass Lowell was chosen for the honor roll in the general community service, education and economic engagement categories.
Selection for the honor roll underscores UMass Lowell’s overall commitment to applying knowledge for the public good and supporting the development of community through teaching, research, scholarship and engagement.
“Service to our community and the region is a longstanding tradition at UMass Lowell, both by the entire institution and the individual efforts of our students, faculty and staff. We are honored to once again receive this national recognition for that commitment,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan.
The university received the commendation based on several factors, including the more than 168,000 hours of service UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff provided in the community over the past year. Specific UMass Lowell initiatives deemed exemplary include:
- The Assistive Technology Program, through which engineering majors develop or adapt technology to create a custom solution for disabled individuals;
- The Community Co-op Scholars Program, through which students receive valuable experiential education by working with community organizations, often at no cost to the organization;
- The Burmese Weaving Group, through which business students used their marketing and other skills to assist refugees in Lowell who rely on their culture’s traditional craft to make goods and sell them to earn a living;
- The Bring Diversity to Nursing Program, which promotes awareness of nursing as a career choice to middle- and high-schoolers and works to increase diversity among nurses to represent all populations in health care;
- Jumpstart, which, operating through the Graduate School of Education, helps children from low-income neighborhoods develop the language and literacy skills they need for success in school;
- The UMass Lowell String Project, an initiative of the Department of Music that teaches local K-12 students to play string instruments including the violin and viola as well as how music creates positive relationships with peers and in the community;
- The DifferenceMaker Program, which teaches UMass Lowell students entrepreneurial skills they can use to solve problems in business and the community.
“We are gratified to receive this prestigious recognition because it validates the excellence in community engagement that is part of our culture at UMass Lowell,” said Paul Marion, UMass Lowell’s executive director of community relations. “Students, faculty and staff give back to others in many ways that make a positive difference.”
The Corporation for National and Community Service – a federal agency that oversees programs including AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and the Social Innovation Fund – administers the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Council on Education, Campus Compact and the Interfaith Youth Council.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, engineering, education, fine arts, health, humanities, liberal arts, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu