Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton novels, gave clear and simple advice to young writers in a conversation with author and Prof. Andre Dubus III: Listen. Keep writing. And keep your reader in mind.

Business alum Jeurys Santiago ’23 and computer science alum Nuno Mestre ’24 were named to the Boston Business Journal’s annual BostInno 25 Under 25 list, thanks in part to their winning DifferenceMaker projects at UML.

Education Asst. Prof. Christine Montecillo Leider, a new faculty member, has been awarded a $3.4 million federal grant to expand training for aspiring bilingual teachers in southeastern Massachusetts – and to start a similar program in UMass Lowell’s School of Education.

UMass Lowell and Lawrence Public Schools have teamed up to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and public administration at no cost to school employees.

The Massachusetts Gateway Cities Climate Resilience Center seeks to develop a community-driven climate resilience model in Lowell that can be replicated in other cities.

RoboXploration, a robotics camp for middle school students, launched this summer at the NERVE Center.

Manning School of Business Assoc. Dean Amit Deokar shared his AI expertise with nearly 80 local business leaders during his recent talk, “Leveraging Generative AI: Opportunities and Challenges in the New Era of Work.” It was the inaugural event of a new Business Leaders Roundtable series hosted by UMass Lowell, Enterprise Bank and the Middlesex 3 Coalition.

Hai and Lan Pho changed the city and the university forever when they founded the Indochinese Refugees Foundation to assist Southeast Asian refugees.

The food forest on South Campus is being used for research, in academic courses and as a place for the community to gather.

The MassRobotics Jumpstart Fellowship Program in Lowell and Boston provides opportunities for high school girls to learn about STEM careers in robotics.

Billerica Assistant Town Manager Clancy Main ’13, ’16 reached out to the Department of Public Health for advice on how to develop an effective plan that will help residents who suffer with substance use disorders.

The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran is much more than a struggle over whether women must wear the hijab, said exiled feminist activist, poet and scholar Fatemeh Shams, the 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies.

Nine Manning School of Business students are preparing taxes for low-income people as part of a three-credit internship with Community Teamwork, a Lowell-based nonprofit organization that supports the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

UMass Lowell was recognized as a silver-level EMS Ready Campus, its highest designation ever, at the National Collegiate EMS Foundation’s annual conference in Baltimore, where 10 student EMTs expanded their emergency response skills.

Students can take a break from city life — and step out of their comfort zones — on a trip with Campus Recreation’s Outdoor Adventure Program.

UMass Lowell student-athletes serve as mentors for Lowell schoolchildren through a pen pal program run by UML Athletics.

The Robotics Club is looking to make a difference in people’s lives with its robotic guide dog invention, which the club has entered into the SICK $10K Challenge and the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s $50K Idea Challenge.

Art & design alumna Anna Dugan ’13 was selected as the inaugural TD Garden House Artist and commissioned to paint a mural, “Celebration of Belonging,” inside the main entrance of the Boston arena.

A $4 million state grant will pay for the university to set up broadband internet access in disadvantaged areas of Lowell, Fitchburg and Haverhill. The grant, part of a state effort to promote digital equity, is also paying UMass Lowell students to teach basic computer skills to older and low-income residents.

Manning School of Business students are serving as consultants this semester to Lowell restaurant FORK Included as part of their Internship in Entrepreneurship course.

Nineteen teachers representing 18 countries spent six weeks at UMass Lowell for the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement program.

A theatre arts collaboration between Haverhill High School and UMass Lowell, led by alumna Melissa Allen ’15 and Prof. Shelley Barish, serves as a bridge to college for young students.

Lowell native Bucky Lew, who became the first Black professional basketball player in 1902 and later coached the Lowell Textile School team, will be recognized during a UML men’s basketball game on Feb. 22. He is also the subject of a recent book by English alum Chris Boucher ’93.

From discounted museum passes and ski lift tickets to free software and transportation, here are some great ways that UML students can save money on campus, in the city and beyond.

Craic Sauce has created a UMass Lowell-branded hot sauce made with peppers grown on campus.

Music adjunct faculty member Nicole Parks looks to create more learning and teaching opportunities as the new director of the String Project.

Three generations of River Hawks – Katherine Jeanne Manousos ’63, Julie Petros ’91, ’93 and senior mechanical engineering major Ben Petros – play pickleball together at UML, and two of them will be participating in a fundraising tournament during Homecoming. 

Members of the Joy Tong Women in Business student organization are selling backpacks to raise funds, some of which will be donated to Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell. The backpacks were donated by John Pulichino ’67, ’14 (H) and Joy Tong ’14 (H).

The Lowell National Historical Park’s new “One City, Many Cultures” exhibit showcases the history and experiences of various immigrant communities in the city.

UMass Lowell has received a $2.5 million grant to expand the work of its Asian American Center for Engagement and Excellence in collaboration with UMass Boston. This builds on UMass Lowell’s $1.5 million 2021 grant to launch the center.

The Zuckerberg: Ready, Set, Go! program hosted 20 first-year health sciences majors arrived on campus a week before classes start for social activities, community service and educational and cultural activities to help them get acclimated to campus and the city of Lowell.

Lowell is a city unlike any other, and September is the perfect time for UML students, faculty and staff to explore its eclectic mix of creativity, culture and history.

Through the Emerging Scholars program, graphic design major Michael Page ’23 and Architectural Studies Program Director Marie Frank teamed up to document a revitalizing era in Lowell’s history.

UMass Lowell’s Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp celebrated 25 years of curating students’ passion for music, capped off by the camp’s first-ever performance at Symphony Hall in Boston.

Campus may be quieter over the summer, but Lowell is buzzing with activity.

Students in an Introduction to Labor Studies class partnered with the Lowell National Historical Park this spring to propose their own potential exhibits for the Boott Cotton Mills Museum.

A multigenerational group of UML alumni created the Lowell Youth Leadership Program, a nonprofit that runs a free summer camp for underserved kids designed to help them become self-confident, socially connected community leaders.

The sixth annual UMass Lowell Women’s Leadership Conference featured keynotes from Brig. Gen. Ginger Gaglio of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and Pam Kuong, senior vice president and market director at Santander Bank.

Distinguished University Prof. Robert Forrant held a “book party” to culminate a monthslong collaboration with a second grade class from Lowell’s McAuliffe Elementary School in which he helped the students write and publish their own books.

The Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences recently rolled out its Mobile Health Unit, a 34-foot recreational vehicle that travels to local communities to promote health and wellness.

The New England Consortium at UMass Lowell partnered with the Lowell Community Health Center for the first time to provide disaster preparedness training sessions to the public.

Julie Chen highlighted the importance of making an impact during her formal inauguration as UMass Lowell chancellor, a two-day celebration that helped raise $2.6 million for her new Fund for Student Success.

Backed by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, the School of Education is expanding programs for students at Lawrence High School who want to become teachers.

Students in the Introduction to Gerontology course interviewed retired faculty about their lives and careers.

Members of four fraternity houses near North Campus rescued several people from a 2:30 a.m. house fire, gave them warm clothing and provided information to fire investigators and police. And the whole Greek system is working to aid the displaced families.

Students in “Experiencing Philanthropy,” an honors seminar that explores how nonprofit organizations and community foundations operate, awarded a $10,000 grant to Teen BLOCK, a youth development program run by the Lowell Community Health Center.

The UML Turkish Cultural Club is raising money and collecting donations such as winter clothing, blankets and baby formula to support those affected by the disaster.

Students in health sciences are gaining research experience in Lowell, working alongside an adult advisory group and local agencies to help make the city an “age-friendly” community.

During a class field trip to the State House, public health majors learned how advocates can impact policies that effect health.

The Tsongas Industrial History Center, a partnership between the university’s School of Education and Lowell National Historical Park, has welcomed more than 1.4 million students and teachers from around New England for hands-on lessons about Lowell’s history, technology and environment since its founding in 1991. 

Future teachers at UMass Lowell and Lowell High School were celebrated at the fall 2022 Education Symposium, where researchers, educators and activists talked about the need for "radical innovation" to address inequities.

A new study led by Prof. of Public Health Wenjun Li, with funding from a $4 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging, will analyze how older people move and use the outdoor space in their communities.

When students arrived back on campus, they were greeted by two colorful murals: a “chrome” hermit crab by internationally known artist “Bikismo” and six endangered species painted by New England muralist Sophy Tuttle. The murals were sponsored by ArtUp Lowell, a citywide coalition that brought nine muralists to the city in August.

Professors in music and psychology are running EcoSonic Playground music camps for children with autism spectrum disorder. UMass Lowell students are getting hands-on teaching. experience, too.

Outgoing Chancellor Jacquie Moloney and NBC Celtics reporter and host Abby Chin fired up 300 people at the UMass Lowell Women’s Leadership Conference, the signature event Moloney founded seven years ago.

To help students in her Chemistry I and II courses understand the diversity of those working in STEM fields, Asst. Teaching Prof. Suzanne Young has created brief lessons on Black, brown and indigenous scientists not mentioned in their textbook.  

Preparations are underway to reopen the Kayak Center for the season with student workers excited to bring water sports to the public.

More than 20 years after it began, the UMass Lowell String Project is bringing accessible, high-quality music education on violin, viola and cello to Lowell-area schoolchildren – and giving UML music students teaching experience. 

Mill City Consulting, a student-run venture created last fall in the Internship in Entrepreneurship course, helped two Lowell restaurants as they continue to recover from the pandemic.

After 25 years of empowering UMass Lowell students and communities through education and innovation, Julie Chen was unanimously approved as the university’s next chancellor — a move that received sweeping praise from students, faculty, staff and alumni.

UMass Lowell’s Innovation Hub in Haverhill hosted the Digital Equity Challenge, where entrepreneurs and nonprofits pitched their ideas and projects for increasing digital access and literacy in Essex County.

Students in the UTeach program who are getting early teaching experience in high school math, science and engineering classrooms hosted their high school students on North Campus for a day of hands-on activities.

Seven projects led by students, faculty and staff received a share of the university’s annual $50,000 Sustainability Encouragement & Enrichment Development (S.E.E.D.) Fund. 

This year, the Nancy L. Donahue Celebration of the Arts celebrated the Lowell philanthropist’s $2 million donation to renovate Durgin Concert Hall. It is only her latest gift to the university.

UML’s Society of Environmental Scientists teamed up with two local organizations for a cleanup along the riverbank behind LeLacheur Park. Together, they filled more than 30 60-gallon bags with trash.

The Kennedy College of Sciences hosted its fourth annual “Spring into Science” showcase, featuring educational and social events to highlight the importance of the field.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey visited campus to announce $500,000 in federal funding for the River Hawk Scholars Academy, which serves first-generation college students at the university.

Amara, a social media platform designed to create a more positive experience for users, took top honors at the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s 10th annual $50,000 Idea Challenge, held recently at Moloney Hall.

Sixty-five students from Greater Lowell and Shawsheen Valley technical high schools and their teachers got an overview of UML’s computer science and cybersecurity programs and some hands-on experience at the university’s Cyber Range during a recent visit to campus.

Art Assoc. Prof. Ingrid Hess is traveling to some of the world’s most beautiful places to make artwork that educates children about the natural world and environmental sustainability. She’s won grants, fellowships and artist residencies to visit national parks in Costa Rica, Australia, the U.S. and more.

Hosted for the first time by UMass Lowell, the Student Sustainability Leaders Symposium brought together more than 100 students from 18 colleges and universities across the Northeast to share their work and explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.

Four Manning School of Business students are preparing taxes for low-income families as part of a new internship program with Community Teamwork, a Lowell-based nonprofit organization that supports the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

Students gain professional experience and expert education through UMass Lowell’s close partnership with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

Local college-minded high school students discovered how UMass Lowell supports entrepreneurship, innovation and creative problem-solving during recent campus events hosted by the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute.

With construction work complete on two new canal bridges along Pawtucket Street, students are enjoying shorter trips on two of the university’s busiest bus lines — and improved paths for walking and biking.

Famed Beat writer Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell a century ago this March. The university, the city and Kerouac’s literary estate will be celebrating with an exhibit at Lowell National Historical Park, a festival and more.

Sociology Asst. Prof. Teresa Gonzales is studying how people of color use public parks and other urban spaces for leisure – and to assert their cultures. Her “Joyful Cities” project, supported by a Ford Foundation fellowship, is teaching students about ethnographic research.

The reach of the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute extends well beyond the boundaries of the UML campus, and groups of area high school students recently met virtually to compete using ideas rooted largely in the ongoing pandemic.

More than 100 students in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences have volunteered to help out at Lowell General Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic, which gives about 2,000 shots each day. In addition, some nursing students are earning clinical hours while giving vaccinations.

When two alumni now working at Lowell Community Health Center wanted volunteers for their “Stop the Spread” COVID-19 testing campaign this summer, they knew whom to call: their former professors in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences.

With the economy still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, the summer of 2020 could have been a washout for students looking to land internships or build their résumés through summer jobs. But scores of UMass Lowell students managed to find opportunities where they could apply their skills and gain experience.

UML students from the Manning Consulting Group volunteered their services this summer to help two Lowell businesses, Warp and Weft and Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus, find ways to increase business during the coronavirus pandemic.

Plastics engineering majors organized a small-scale COVID-19 response effort, using their 3D printing capabilities to crank out supplies for health care workers.

The New England Consortium, a UML-based institute, is offering free trainings on keeping workers safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, whether they’re front-line health care workers or employees in other essential industries.

As food insecurity grows because of the coronavirus pandemic, the university’s Urban Agriculture Program is helping to provide fresh, healthy produce to the community through its partnership with Mill City Grows.

With the university’s mid-March shift to virtual learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a new, remote reality began for students, faculty and staff. And don't forget those learning in retirement: LIRA members treasure their time at the university, as well.

The College of Education is stepping up to help teachers in K-12 schools transition their classes online during school closures caused by COVID-19. Clinical Prof. Michelle Scribner-MacLean created a Facebook group with teacher resources, and the Tsongas Industrial History Center is beefing up its social media offerings and website.

UML's Elissa Johnson-Green's EcoSonic Playground melds music with STEM and ends up being a whole new thing at the regional science fair.

This year’s winners of the university's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Awards have served the community through theater, community health research and volunteer work with homeless people and at-risk high school students.

When the Honors College dean put out the call for volunteers at a local food pantry, dozens of students stepped up, allowing Central Food Ministry to serve more families. Now, two honors student fellows are helping to sustain and grow the partnership.

UMass Lowell has opened a state-of-the-art lyophilization facility that will help drive innovation and discovery in biopharmaceutical manufacturing in New England and beyond.

Eight groups of physical therapy students partnered with local schools and senior centers to promote health and wellness.

UML’s College of Education is working with the state and local school districts to recruit future teachers who represent the Merrimack Valley’s diversity. Lawrence High School students visited the campus recently to learn more about careers in education – and campus life.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan discussed bipartisan legislation, the importance of research at UMass Lowell and ways to boost the innovation economy in a conversation with Chancellor Jacquie Moloney that was part of the Moses Greeley Parker Lecture series.

The Philosophy and Film series at the Luna Theater downtown brings students and community members together to watch popular movies and then discuss them with a philosophy professor. The free movies are shown monthly during the academic year.

College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences students Jacqui Gallant, Sarah Galevi and John Fedirko competed as the Rowdy River Rovers in the fourth annual Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race, a festive community event that merges the “STEAM” fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Students will get a chance to embark on a visual tour of our solar system and beyond when a new astronomical observatory opens on South Campus this fall.

When liberal arts alum Erin Reynolds ’18, coordinator of creative services and entertainment for the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball team, needed a video production intern this summer, she turned to her former classmate, senior graphic design major Sara May.

Rover the River Hawk, an Industrial Capstone Senior Design project that Engineering students are building to clean debris from the city’s canals, received a Green Design award from the Lowell Sustainability Council and a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.

The UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative, in conjunction with the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and the College of Education, hosted a professional development workshop for two dozen area K-12 teachers on incorporating climate change education into the classroom.

Summer camps at the Lowell National Historical Park allow children to explore history, science and more while having fun. The camps are run by the Tsongas Industrial History Center, a partnership between the park and UML’s College of Education.

Students donated more than 14,000 pounds of clothing, bedding, food and personal items during this spring’s Sustainable Move Out Donation Drive, which benefitted a half-dozen nonprofit organizations across the community.

“Be true to yourself” and “prioritize” emerged as key themes at the fourth annual Women’s Leadership Conference. Some speakers and sessions also encouraged women to work at tech firms.

At the third Voices of Hunger conference, UML and other colleges in southern New England shared strategies for serving students struggling with hunger, housing, transportation and other needs.

The university’s Climate Change Initiative hosted members of the state’s House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change for a roundtable discussion on climate science and policy at which faculty members shared scientific research and expertise to help inform policy decisions.

At UMass Lowell’s Center for Gerontology Research and Partnerships’ forum, speakers shared their latest research on aging workers in the workplace, age-friendly initiatives and asthma in older adults.

Education, psychology and art faculty worked with community groups to collect folktales from four Southeast Asian countries and turn them into a book that can be used in the Lowell schools.

Rows of kale, Swiss chard and collard greens are growing on the new Green Roof vegetable garden at University Crossing, a collaboration between Mill City Grows and UML’s Urban Agriculture Program, Student Government Association and Office of Sustainability.

Working Cities Lowell is a collaborative effort of 13 partners, including UMass Lowell, focused on improving the Acre neighborhood in Lowell and funded by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Nearly 200 high school students along with dozens of UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff and the public attended the recent “Moonshot” symposium organized by UMass Lowell and the JFK Library Foundation to commemorate this year’s 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

Immigrants bring a wealth of different languages to the United States. When schools value those languages, children learn better – and everyone benefits, Prof. Michel DeGraff told educators at the College of Education’s spring symposium.

Six of the 12 projects to receive a share of the $50,000 Sustainability Encouragement & Enrichment Development (S.E.E.D.) Fund this year were led by students, the most in the fund’s three-year history.

For four years, History Prof. Robert Forrant and Assistant Prof. Ingrid Hess of Art & Design have quietly charted the history of immigration in Lowell. With the help of a team of UML students , they have built a unique website to help teachers and students understand the waves of immigrants calling the city their new home.

Multiple groups of nursing students educated teens in Dracut, Billerica and Tewksbury about the health risks of vaping.

Thirteen business, engineering and health science students spent a week in Houston helping Hurricane Harvey flood victims rebuild as part of the Organizational Behavior in Action directed study course led by Olga Tines, an assistant teaching professor in the Manning School of Business.

The U.S. Mint’s release of a new state quarter featuring Lowell National Historical Park represents a quiet triumph for UML’s Ellen Anstey, who has devoted a decade to promoting, researching and critiquing designs for the coin.

The Manning School of Business hosted more than 800 students from nine area high schools for a DECA regional conference at the Campus Recreation Center and University Suites.

Are America’s public schools failing their students? For the most part, they’re not, says education historian and Asst. Prof. Jack Schneider – despite political rhetoric to the contrary.

Jonathan Lemire, White House correspondent for the Associated Press and the son of Susan Lemire, the university’s coordinator of advisory services and is a member of the curriculum committee for the Learning in Retirement Association, spoke at UMass Lowell recently.