University to Announce Major Step in Sustainability Efforts
Image by Tory Wesnofske
10/15/2019
Contacts for media: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
Media Advisory
What: UMass Lowell will hold a series of events this week highlighting its 125-year history as well as what the future holds for the university. Programs will focus on the university’s mission to educate students and serve the community, the achievements of alumni and the commitment to sustainability and campus beautification.
The 125th anniversary celebration gala will feature festivities marking UMass Lowell’s 125 years of educating students, serving the community and fueling the economy and look ahead at what is to come for the university. The event will include speakers such as UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, UMass President Marty Meehan and Rob Manning, chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, all of whom are UMass Lowell graduates. More than 400 people are expected to attend the celebration, which will also feature this year’s University Alumni Awards, recognizing eight UMass Lowell graduates – from Andover, Boston, Dracut and Salisbury, Mass.; Naples, Fla.; Westchester County, N.Y.; Austin, Texas – who have gone on to professional success while also contributing to that of their community and the university. Thursday, Oct. 17, 6:45 p.m. (main program, preceded by awards presentation). UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell. Note: The event is sold out, but the media is welcome to cover the program.
The Rist Urban Agriculture Greenhouse and Farm will be dedicated at an event that is scheduled to include a major announcement about the university’s sustainability efforts. Already, UMass Lowell ranks No. 1 among Massachusetts colleges and universities in sustainability, from reducing its carbon footprint and increasing recycling to cutting-edge research and education in areas from climate science to clean energy. The greenhouse and farm, where UMass Lowell partners with community efforts including the Mill City Grows urban agriculture program, is one of the university initiatives being supported by alumnus Brian Rist, a Stoughton native who now lives in Florida where he built one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of hurricane-protection equipment. Last year, Rist made the largest gift to the university in its history, $5 million, to support sustainability, entrepreneurship and other programs. Speakers at the event are scheduled to include Rist; John Lebeaux, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources; and UMass Lowell representatives. Mill City Grows will have its urban market on site. Friday, Oct. 18, 10:30 a.m. UMass Lowell East Campus, 69 Pawtucket St., Lowell.
The dedication of the new Perry Hall Plaza will recognize the latest efforts in the beautification of UMass Lowell’s North Campus. The plaza – which features lawns and pedestrian-friendly walkways where there was once pavement and a parking lot – is located outside Perry Hall and named for alumnus Barry Perry and his wife, Janice, who have generously supported both the new plaza and the extensive renovations to the adjacent engineering building unveiled earlier this year, as well as student scholarships and other university initiatives. Thursday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. Perry Hall Plaza, UMass Lowell North Campus, 1 University Ave., Lowell.
River Hawk Homecoming will welcome UMass Lowell alumni and the public to campus with events from Friday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 20. They include men’s ice hockey games on Friday and Saturday nights and the River Hawk Way pre-game festival for all ages on Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. outside the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell. Saturday will feature two other activities: Community Service Day, when alumni, students and friends will volunteer with community organizations across the city of Lowell, and Jennifer’s Fun Run/Walk, which was named in memory of UMass Lowell graduate Jennifer D’Amour and benefits scholarships. The race starts at 10 a.m. and begins and ends at the Tsongas Center.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations for directions and parking information for all events.