Campus Led by Jacquie Moloney is Highest-Rated University for 3rd Year Running
11/08/2019
Contacts for media: 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, led by Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, is ranked among the top 15 organizations on the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts list and the highest-ranked college or university for the third consecutive year.
Compiled annually by The Commonwealth Institute (TCI) in partnership with Boston Globe Magazine, the ranking announced this morning honors the top 100 of the thousands of businesses and organizations led by women executives in Massachusetts. Honorees are selected based on factors including the organization’s impact on the region, employee diversity, revenue and other metrics.
“This is a recognition of the incredible work UMass Lowell employees achieve on behalf of our students every day,” Moloney said of the No. 11 ranking. “Our business is to educate and inspire the next generation of thinkers, innovators and leaders and I’m so proud of what we have accomplished together.”
Earlier this week, Moloney was among the finalists for the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) CEO of the Year award. Other recognition for her work as UMass Lowell’s chancellor include the Chief Executive HR Champion Award from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources in 2018 and selection for the “Women Who Mean Business” honor by the Boston Business Journal in 2017.
Further, a 2019 Eos Foundation report, “Women’s Power Gap in Higher Education,” praised UMass Lowell for achieving gender parity across various levels of leadership categories, calling the university a “shining model” for other campuses to emulate.
UMass Lowell delivers $929 million in positive economic impact to the region annually and under Moloney’s guidance, the university has grown to more than 18,000 students, earning it a place among the Chronicle of Higher Education’s top 10 fastest-growing public research universities in the nation. UMass Lowell has the highest rating for graduates’ return on investment among all New England public research institutions, according to PayScale.com, and is ranked in the top 80 public universities nationwide by U.S. News & World Report.
The home to the Center for Women and Work for more than 20 years, UMass Lowell is leading efforts to close the gender gap across the field of higher education for faculty in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, including securing a $3.5 million National Science Foundation grant that is funding the development of new models to tackle this challenge.
Moloney has guided the university to reach record numbers of students – more than 18,000, a 57 percent increase over 10 years – and to grow its footprint to more than 4.8 million square feet including 17 new properties, all while leading Massachusetts colleges and universities in ratings for sustainability. UMass Lowell has awarded a record number of degrees every year since 2008 and 96 percent of the Class of 2018 reported they had secured full-time jobs or entered graduate school within six months of graduation.
Moloney – who earned two degrees at UMass Lowell and worked her way up from an entry-level job over her more than 30 years at the university – is an internationally recognized leader in education. She founded UMass Lowell’s online education program more than 20 years ago with a few dozen students in a handful of courses, growing it to more than 30,000 enrollments annually in 62 online undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs that have won honors for quality in academics and teaching.
An early proponent for integrating entrepreneurship education across academic disciplines, Moloney established UMass Lowell’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and the DifferenceMaker. The award-winning program – which has become a national model for teaching entrepreneurship – engages thousands of students in all majors each year and has led to the launch of than 30 companies and eight patents. The university operates four business incubators for technology and medical device entrepreneurs in the region and collaborates with ventures from startups to major employers like Kronos and Raytheon to advance research and provide students with opportunities for real-world experience.
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 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, 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 leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu