Biosketch
Jacqueline F. Moloney, chancellor emerita of UMass Lowell, had a long and accomplished career during her nearly 40 years at the university. She served as the first woman chancellor from 2015-2022 after coming up through the ranks as a faculty member, administrator, dean and executive vice chancellor. Throughout her career, Moloney has been recognized as a national leader in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education by numerous institutions including the Boston Business Journal, the Mass High Tech Council, the Boston Globe Magazine, the Commonwealth Institute and the Online Learning Consortium.
As chancellor, Moloney led the university through the successful completion of its Strategic Plan that she spearheaded in 2010 as executive vice chancellor. As a result of the success of the Strategic Plan, which concluded in 2020, UMass Lowell nearly doubled its enrollment to 18,000 students, transformed the student experience, revitalized its campus infrastructure and quadrupled its scholarship endowment to more than $150 million.
Central to the implementation of the university’s strategic plan was the dramatic expansion and diversification of the student body. As the founding director of the Centers for Learning and Academic Support Services and later as the founding dean of the university’s nationally recognized online education program, Moloney built on that experience to expand programs and services to improve the student experience as chancellor. Programs such as DifferenceMakers, the Honors College, Student Leadership programs, the River Hawks Scholars Academy, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Office of Military & Veterans Services were developed and expanded under Moloney’s leadership, and now serve as exemplars of student development programs nationally.
Another of Moloney’s significant legacies is the first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign. Started in 2015, Our Legacy, Our Place exceeded its original $125 million goal, ultimately raising over $165 million by 2020. Moloney made her own personal contribution to this effort by establishing the Moloney Scholarship and Moloney Scholars Funds and was recognized by the university for her philanthropic contributions totaling more than $1 million.
During Moloney’s tenure as chancellor and executive vice chancellor, the university’s campus was substantially revitalized, adding 19 new or renovated buildings. An important component of this growth was to ensure the university reached “green” status and critical sustainability goals. In her first year as chancellor, Moloney established the university’s Office of Sustainability. As a result, the university has been ranked the “Number 1 Green Campus” in Massachusetts for six consecutive years according to the leading national ranking organization.
Prior to coming to the university, Moloney was a director of several non-profit agencies and programs including the Indochinese Refugee Resettlement Organization in 1978. She has remained involved in the community and served on non-profit boards including the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, House of Hope and Lowell General Hospital. She was also recipient of the 2008 Girls Inc. Woman of the Year Award for her contributions to the community.
Moloney currently serves as a member of the School of Education faculty, and as Senior Fellow and Advisor to the university’s Donahue Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. She is also a member of the Boards of Directors of two publicly traded corporations, the Enterprise Bank and Trust and is MKS Instruments, both headquartered in Massachusetts.