umass lowell alumni magazine

UMass

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WINTER 2010 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1

The Power of Possibility:How Your Dollars Make a Difference

A Message From Chancellor Martin T. Meehan ’78

This issue of the UMass Lowell Magazine is devoted to recognizing philanthropy. I am grateful to be in the honored position of leading this institution – my alma mater – that has such great potential to improve lives and communities. Since assuming this role, I have been humbled and inspired frequently by the commitment of alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends of UMass Lowell.

There is enormous power in your philanthropy. More than 7,000 people – students,alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends – have contributed to the University in thepast year. With only 29 percent of the campus’s operating budget coming from thestate, your gifts are more important than ever. In this issue, you will read just a few of the many stories of tremendous generosity demonstrated by our donors – and the impact of gifts on the lives of our students at, and beyond, UMass Lowell.

What is made possible by giving to UMass Lowell? The potential is almost limitless. The impact of your gift is amplified through the lives that you help to improve through education and the important researchthat you help to advance. Whether you are supporting the annual fund, a scholarship, academic programs or athletics, you are providing the margin of excellence on our campus. Your gifts allow us to aspire toachieve goals of greater excellence, increased access and higher levels of engagement with our local andglobal communities.

The value that our public university creates is delivered on so many fronts: in the education of our workforce, in the creation of new technology that advances industry and job creation, and in research that informs responses to some of our most pressing local, national and even international problems. The public purpose of higher education is amplified further by the increasing number of students who are served at UMass Lowell and the affordable access that we continue to provide. We are educating more students than ever, generating graduates who fuel the state’s economy with their innovations andentrepreneurship and who become informed and engaged citizens. We also are turning more research dollars than ever into technological, environmental, health and economic development innovation thatmake our region – and our world – a better place in which to live and work. With your help, we cancontinue this progress.

Your philanthropy helps to turn possibility into reality, our aspirations into plans for what we will achieve.For those of you who have made gifts this year: thank you! For those of you who have not yet considered a gift to UMass Lowell, I urge you to join me in supporting this great University. You can visit us atwww.uml.edu/advancement/give or call (978) 934-4807. It is quick, easy and secure. I encourage all of you to visit campus and see all of the good that is being accomplished. On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of UMass Lowell, thank you.

Marty Meehan

Chancellor

UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE WINTER 2010 1

Arts & Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Alumni Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

WINTER 2010 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1

Philanthropy StoriesStudents, Staff, Alumni Support‘A Continuum of Givingand Learning’

19Gloucester Engineering HopesStudents Will ‘Torture’ ItsValuable Gift

20Generous Alumni Inject Fundsto Help Mold BuddingPlastics Engineers

24

‘Desh’ Deshpande:Philanthropist, Visionary, VentureCapitalist to the World

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Funds Raised, Honors Given14A Time of Growth: More StudentsThan Ever Leading Richer Lives16An Encore Tribute to SeniorPlastics Engineering Faculty22Body of Work:Arno Rafael Minkkinen43

A Hoff Scholar, 15 Years Later:‘You Were Able to See thePerson I Could Become’

30Linda FitzPatrick GivesBack to UMass Lowell for‘Changing her Life’

33Laying the Foundation27

TableofContents

Lowell Textile School • Massachusetts State Normal School • State Teachers College at Lowell • Lowell Textile InstituteLowell Technological Institute • Massachusetts State College at Lowell • Lowell State College • University of Lowell

From the EditorWelcome to our special issue on philanthropy, in which we examine the many ways

your gifts impact the people, programs and places of UMass Lowell. From enablingdeserving students to pursue their dreams, to contributing to the purchase of top-notchequipment, to helping faculty create groundbreaking programs in the community,your generosity is making the University a world-class institution. We couldn’t do itwithout you, and we thank you.

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Features

Winter 2010Volume 13, Number 1

The UMass Lowell AlumniMagazine is published by:Office of Public AffairsUniversity of Massachusetts LowellOne University AvenueLowell, MA 01854Tel. (978) 934-3223e-mail: [email protected]

ChancellorMartin T. Meehan

Chief Public Affairs OfficerPatti McCafferty

Director of Publicationsand PublisherMary Lou Hubbell

Director of Programsand Alumni ServicesDiane Earl

Associate Director of Programsand Alumni ServicesHeather Makrez

EditorSarah McAdams

Staff WritersEdwin AguirreRenae Lias ClaffeyGeoffrey DouglasBob EllisSheila EppolitoChristine GilletteMorgan HoughElizabeth JamesJack McDonoughKristen O’ReillySandra Seitz

Graphic DesignPaul Shilale

The University of MassachusettsLowell is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action, Title IX, H/V,ADA 1990 Employer.

2 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE WINTER 2010

COLLEGES -ARTS AND SCIENCES

CampusNews

Prof. Eby Helps ColombiaGrow Forensic Lab

A body is discovered hidden deep inthe woods somewhere. A prime suspectin the murder case has dirt caked ontothe bottom of his boots. How do crime-scene investigators determine if the soilfound on each person is from the sameplace? They turn to forensic geology.

If they’re in Colombia, they do so thanks to the helpof Prof. Nelson Eby, who spent a week in Bogota,Colombia, helping the country establish an InstrumentalNeutron Activation Analysis Laboratory for use incriminal investigations.

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) detects elementsin samples — such as soil, gunshot residue, bullet or glassfragments, paint specks and hair — typically found atcrime scenes. NAA is also used in archeology, gem fraud,art and historical artifact research, biochemistry, epi-demiology, geological science, semiconductor materialsand soil science.

Eby, who teaches a course in forensic geology for theEnvironmental, Earth and Atmospheric SciencesDepartment, presented an all-day seminar in Bogota onthe use of geology and various analytical methods inforensic investigations.

“We anticipate that this program will be an ongoingcollaboration with the Colombians,” he says.

Nelson Eby

NSF Grant Helps Improve Smartphones

We live in an increasingly “wireless”society, with people staying in touch andaccessing information anywhere andeverywhere through mobile smartphoneslike the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry andGoogle Android phones. Such smart-phones allow users to install third-partyapplications on their mobile devices toaccess news, weather, investing, games,entertainment and social networking.

Computer Science Asst. Prof. Guanling Chen recentlyreceived a three-year, $300,000 grant from the NationalScience Foundation (NSF) to help improve consumers’ expe-rience in using such applications. His goal is to identify theroot of common problems like slowness or connection failures.

“It is often unclear what is causing the problem — thedevice, the application, the network or the server,” says Chen.“The only feedback mechanism on the phones today is the

number of bars indicating a signal’s strength, which can bemisleading as strong wireless signals do not guarantee goodend-to-end application performance.”

Chen is using the NSF funding to develop tools that willhelp users troubleshoot their wireless systems.

Guanling Chen

Kidd Creates Group toSupport Area Singers

Murray Kidd knows first-hand what it’slike to be a struggling performer, withoutsteady pay or benefits.

That’s why the UMass Lowell VisitingProfessor formed the Boston Singers’ ReliefFund, an organization that provides finan-cial assistance to members of the singing community.

“Given the scarcity of full-time positions for singers in theUnited States, I’ve often thought about how hard it is formusicians to fulfill their creative ambitions without thesupport of health care, sick days, pensions, disabilities andother perks,” says the Music Department professor.

To launch the fund, Kidd organized more than 50 of thearea’s top singers, including soloists Barbara Kilduff, MichaelCalmes and UMass Lowell alum Donald Wilkinson ’84, for abenefit concert called “The Singers’ Voice Gala Concert,”which was held at the Church of the Covenant in Boston.

Murray Kidd

Research Explores Connection BetweenWeather in Siberia and U.S.

A new study by Asst. Prof. Mathew Barlow of the Environmen-tal, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department and a team ofco-researchers proposes that increased snowfall in Siberia canactually lead to colder winter temperatures in the Northeast; lessSiberian snow means a warmer winter for us.

“Decreasing Arctic sea ice appears to actu-ally increase autumn snow over Siberia,” saysBarlow. “Also, the amount of autumn snowcover over Siberia appears to play a role ininfluencing — via a fairly complicateddynamical pathway — subsequent winterwinds over much of the Northern Hemi-sphere, including the United States.”

The project, which launched in the fall, is funded through a$175,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Another interesting angle the team is pursuing is the recentapparent slowing of global warming.

“It turns out that this is due mainly to Northern Hemispherewinter, which has actually gotten slightly colder over the lastdecade while the other three seasons have continued their merrywarming ways,” he says.

Mathew Barlow


CampusNews

Students Meet Benefactors at Sciences Dinner

Often, when a student receives scholarship money, it’s an impersonal transaction;rarely is he or she able to put a face to the generosity.

For science students that all changed recently. The division organized a dinnerthe night before its semi-annual board meeting so that scholarship recipients, andtheir parents, could meet their benefactors, members of the Sciences AdvisoryBoard.

“My mother and I had an incredibly nice time at the scholarship dinner,” saysstudent Tom Cole, recipient of the LaTorre Family Scholarship, who met DonLaTorre ’60. “I have gotten plenty of scholarships before, and for the most part Inever met the person giving the scholarship, so it was incredibly nice getting totalk to Mr. LaTorre. He really is an incredible man and it was a pleasure getting toknow him.”

The benefactors have similar reactions upon meeting students, says SciencesDean Bob Tamarin.

“Board member John Kennedy still talks of the first scholarship that he gave outin 2006 to biology major Athina Mantzouranis, a very moving experience for bothof them,” he says.

It’s also a vital component in the education of so many students.

“So many of our students work so many hours during the week that it is hard forthem to concentrate on very challenging curricula; scholarship money can makethe difference between good and poor grades and between four, five or six years tograduate,” Tamarin says.

Student Caitlin Dolan, winner of the KennedyFamily Scholarship, second from right, is joinedby her parents and Dean of Sciences RobertTamarin, right.

LaTorre Family Scholarship winnersThomas Cole and Bianca Melo flankSciences Advisory Board memberDon LaTorre '60.

O'Connor Family Scholar Anne Laraia, seated in middle, is flanked by her parents and joinedby Chair of the Sciences Advisory Board Carole Ward '62, seated at far left. Standing behindthem are, from left, Ward’s husband, Ray Pritchard, Susan Pasquale '75, Computer ScienceAssoc. Prof. Fred Martin (winner of the Pasquale-Boudreau Faculty Award for the Advance-ment of Teaching and Learning in the Sciences) and Pasquale’s husband, Ron Boudreau ’75.

Shea and Lee ReceiveGrant to Study Neurons

Motor neurons are among thelargest in the central nervous system.Starting from a small cell at the baseof the spine, for example, a nerveaxon extends all the way down theleg to move muscles in your toes.

How motor neurons mature andfunction is the focus of a new study,funded by a $65,405 grant award fromthe National Science Foundation.Leading the research team is Prof.Thomas Shea of the Biological Sci-ences Department and director of theCenter for Cellular Neurobiologyand Neurodegeneration Research.Sangmook Lee, senior post-doctoralresearch fellow, is conducting thestudy with the assistance of under-graduate student Jacob Kushkuley.

Nerve structure and function areremarkably complex. A long series ofresearch investigations in Shea’s labhas led to ever more detailed knowl-edge, more understanding and newquestions.

“At the beginning, we didn’t evenknow what proteins are involved [innerve maturation] and now we’reinvestigating their electrical charge,”says Shea.

Lee, with Kushkuley, recentlypublished findings on the team’s workin the Journal of Cell Science.

Thomas Shea, left, and Sangmook Lee


CampusNews

The Tsongas Industrial History Center, whose weaverroom is shown here, provides participants in theTeaching American History project with site-basedexperiences to accompany their course work.

Carifio Wins Mentoring Award, Sees Mentees‘Pay it Forward’

Prof. James Carifio of the Graduate School of Educationwas recently presented with the Thomas F. DonlonMemorial Award for Distinguished Mentoring from theNortheastern Educational Research Association.

Rocco Perla ’06, a biologist and researcher atHealthAlliance Hospital, earned his doctoral degree ineducation from UMass Lowell – with the help of Carifio.Perla nominated his former professor for the award.

“Like many students before me, Prof. Carifio helped me not only as a studentbut at every point in my professional development, well beyond my days atthe Graduate School of Education and well beyond anything that could beexpected from a faculty member,” he says. “I think Prof. Carifio is the standardby which all faculty mentors should be measured.”

Carifio says that he is particularly proud that many of his mentees have goneon to “pay it forward.” In fact, while a founding teacher years ago at The HydeSchool in Bath, Maine, Carifio had a student “who is now quite successfulfinancially, who contacted me last year to ask me how he could return thehelp I had given him then and over the years,” he says.

“I told him to pay the tuition and fees of some worthy student going toUMass, which he did and found it so satisfying that he did the same foranother student this year and is thinking about expanding his ‘program,’ ”Carifio says.

He points out that it’s notable that his former mentee chose to helpUMass students, even though he only attended private schools himself.

“I said to him at one point in the original conversation, ‘Everyone gives toand supports students going to private schools and universities ... be differentand provide some help and support where there isn’t a lot – where it can andwill make a big and real difference’,” he recalls.

James Carifio

New Education Minor Helps Undergrads Get a Jump

More than a century ago, when UMass Lowell was known as a StateNormal School, the University offered nothing but undergraduate course-work in education. But it’s been almost 30 years since the school hascarried an undergrad program; instead, the focus has been on the robustGraduate School of Education and its myriad advanced degrees.

That changed this school year, when the University also began offeringan undergraduate minor in education.

“There was a lot of interest over the past few years from students askingabout undergraduate work and our fifth-year [Fast Track to Teaching]master’s program,” says Vera Ossen, director of educator preparationprograms at the Graduate School of Education.

Although the 18-credit minor will not lead to licensure, it will enablestudents to explore education as a possible career path. Should a studentdecide to become a teacher, he or she can apply to the fifth-year master’sdegree program, either as a Fast Track candidate in the senior year orupon completion of the undergraduate degree.

UMass Lowell — in partnership with aconsortium of eight of the region’s schooldistricts, led by Billerica Public Schools —was recently awarded a three-year, $1 millionTeaching American History grant by the U.S.Department of Education.

Funding will enable 120 elementary andsecondary history and social studies teachers toparticipate in professional development as partof a project titled “Imagination, Invention,Innovation: The Making of American History.”

Faculty in the Graduate School of Educationhave been working with Billerica and theconsortium to develop a range of activities foreach of the three years. Each year will encom-pass a particular theme in American historywith local history examined in relation to thelarger, national dynamics.

This is the fifth such grant UMass Lowell hasreceived from the Department of Education.In total, the University and 25 school districtpartners have been granted almost $5 millionin Teaching American History money.

“I think the continued success of the proposalsis due to the high quality of project designs,excellent scholarly content provided by UMassLowell faculty and robust partnerships withschool districts,” says Judith Boccia, directorof the Office of School Partnerships, which,along with the Tsongas Center, is part of theGraduate School of Education.

University Shares in $1 MillionEducation Grant

EDUCATION


CampusNews

University Helps Lawrence HighSchool Launch Weather Club

Robert Gamache, dean of Marine Sciencesand a professor of Environmental Earth &Atmospheric Sciences, along with a teamof his students, has helped Lawrence HighSchool create a weather club.

Using WeatherBug equipment – whichprovides real-time and archived weatherdata – Gamache’s students will providedemonstrations and projects for the highschool students. He will also oversee adual-enrollment course in weather andclimate at Lawrence this spring.

The ultimate goal of both initiatives, hesays, is to pique and sustain high-school stu-dents’ interest in the STEM areas: science,technology, engineering and mathematics.

“It is hoped that learning weather andusing mathematics as a tool for solvingweather-related problems will increase theirinterest in math and science,” Gamachesays. “We lose too many students from theSTEM areas in middle and high school.We want to present science to them assomething vibrant and dynamic.”

Helping to launch the Weather Clubrecently was UMass Lowell AtmosphericScience graduate Danielle Niles ’06, anon-air meteorologist at New England CableNews (NECN), who joined Gamache andteacher Steve MacDonald ’78 in speaking ata kick-off event at the high school.

Helping launch the Lawrence High School WeatherClub are, from left, NECN meteorologist Danielle Niles’06, Lawrence High School teacher Steve MacDonald’78, Dean of the School of Marine Sciences RobertGamache and Judith Boccia, director of the Officeof School Partnerships in the Graduate Schoolof Education.

COLLEGES - ENGINEERING

Honda, Motorola Help Fund DesignLab

DesignLab – UMass Lowell’s innovative after-school educational programoffered through the University’s Future Engineers Center – got a boost recentlywith gifts of $50,000 from the American Honda Foundation and$50,000 from the Motorola Innovation Generation Grant.

“This is the second time we have received generous sup-port from both Honda and Motorola,” says Douglas Prime,the Center’s executive director. “They really are excitedabout what we are doing with kids.”

These funds go a long way in helping realize DesignLab’sfive-year, $1.4-million expansion plan to formally developand pilot-test eight after-school engineering workshops formiddle schools, says Prime.

“Our plan involves training 125 teachers from more than 50 middle schoolswho will teach hands-on engineering programs to more than 7,500 students inMassachusetts by 2011,” he says.

This is the first time that the Center is conducting two 30-hour DesignLabcourses in which 17 middle-school teachers participate in two hands-onengineering workshops: electrical inventions and motorized machines.The teachers then apply what they have learned by conducting theseworkshops for sixth- and seventh-grade students in their respective schools.

Margala’s New Technology to Leadto Ultrahigh-Speed Computers

Electrical and Computer Engineering Assoc. Prof. MartinMargala wants to make today’s computers perform evenbetter. He and a research team of students are developinga unique type of super-fast chip, called the “ballistic-deflec-tion transistor,” or BDT, which is a building block forultrahigh-speed computers and circuits.

“Such a nanotransistor would operate a thousand timesfaster — in the terahertz range — and consume extremely low power andgenerate far less heat compared to conventional transistors,” explains Margala.

Margala’s research on BDTs actually began in 2005, when he was with theUniversity of Rochester. Since he joined UMass Lowell in early 2007,he has continued his work in this field, receiving grants from the Air Force($400,000), Navy ($453,000) and the Defense University ResearchInstrumentation Program ($60,000).

This past September, he received a $100,607 grant from the NationalScience Foundation (along with $40,000 from UMass Lowell) to purchase amulti-probe, wide-temperature parameter analysis system for measuring lowvoltages and low noises. Margala is the principal investigator in the NSFgrant, with Profs. Craig Armiento and Joel Therrien serving as co-principalinvestigators.

“Ballistic deflection transistors should be easy to manufacture usingcurrent technologies,” says Margala. “They have the potential torevolutionize modern electronics.”

Martin Margala


Therrien, Schmidt to DevelopProbe, Will Improve Airbags,Wii and iPhones

Asst. Profs. Joel Therrienof the Electrical and Com-puter Engineering Depart-ment and Daniel Schmidtof the Plastics EngineeringDepartment have receiveda three-year $340,000 grantfrom the National ScienceFoundation to producenew, unconventional can-tilevers for use in high-speed Atomic ForceMicroscopy (AFM).

The AFM is a type ofscanning probe microscopecapable of resolving surfacefeatures down to a fractionof a nanometer (billionth of a meter).It consists of a mechanical cantilever with asharp tip, or probe, at its end that is used to“feel” the surface of a specimen.

However, high resolution comes with aprice: speed.

“Current AFM probes are unable to rapidlyscan over large areas,” Therrien says. “To givean idea of how slow they are, it will takethem a little over 2,200 years to scan a single8½-by-11-inch sheet of paper! This is becausethe response of the probe — determined byits shape and stiffness — is simply not fastenough.”

The team’s research is looking at ways tomake AFM probes operate significantly faster.

Therrien and Schmidt say the techniquesthey are developing can eventually be appliedto devices known as Micro Electro-Mechani-cal Systems (MEMS), to enhance their func-tionality and durability. MEMS are commonlyfound in a wide range of consumer products,such as air-bag sensors in cars and the positionand pressure sensors in Nintendo Wii videogame controllers and iPhones.

“Our process will result in tremendous costsavings,” says Therrien. “We will be able totake a normal, five-minute scan and reducethat to a few seconds.”

Daniel Schmidt

Joel Therrien

CampusNewsProf. Yu Develops Handheld DeviceThat Detects Damage in Roads, Bridges

On July 10, 2006, a three-ton concrete ceiling panel inBoston’s Interstate 90 connector tunnel fell on a car head-ing to Logan Airport, killing a passenger and injuring thedriver. After the collapse, a section of the tunnel wasclosed for nearly a year. This Big Dig tragedy illustrates theneed for regular monitoring and inspection of the country’shighway and bridge infrastructure to prevent further loss oflife and property.

Asst. Prof. Tzu-Yang Yu of the Structural Engineering Research Group inthe Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has developed anew method that can help. His non-contact, non-destructive technique usesradar signals to conduct in-depth inspections of buildings, bridges, roadways,tunnels and dams for any structural defect or damage to the concrete or rebar.

“The practical application of this technique will be a portable, handhelddevice to collect radar measurements from the surface of the structure at adistance of about 20 to 50 meters,” says Yu, adding that one inspector canoperate the device without stopping traffic.

Yu recently published a book about his method entitled “DamageDetection of GFRP-Concrete Systems Using Electromagnetic Waves:Theory and Experiment,” which is available at Amazon.com.

Tzu-Yang Yu

Witnessing the signing of the CIPET agreement are, from left, Dr. S. K. Nayak,Prof. Ramani Narayan, Secretary Shri Bijoy Chatterjee, Prof. Stephen McCarthy,Provost Ahmed Abdelal and Prof. Krishna Vedula.

UMass Lowell, Indian Institute to CollaborateUMass Lowell recently signed an agreement for education and research

cooperation with the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering Technology(CIPET), a premier institution in India devoted to academic and technolo-gy support for the country’s plastics and allied industries.

Dr. Shri Bijoy Chatterjee, secretary of the Government of India’s Depart-ment of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and president of the CIPET gov-erning council was among those representing CIPET at the signing.

The agreement was the result of Chatterjee’s vision of creating formalalliances between CIPET and leading institutions in the Unites States.

“The timing was perfect for a formal partnership between the leadingplastics engineering institutes in India and the United States,” says Prof.Stephen McCarthy, who will serve as technical contact for UMass Lowell.

New Dean Welcomed to School ofHealth and EnvironmentFaculty, staff and administration welcomed Shortie McKinney asthe new dean of the School of Health and Environment at an out-door reception at the Allen House. Flanking her, above, areCharlotte Mandell, vice provost of undergraduate education, andDonald Pierson, vice provost of graduate education. McKinneywas formerly dean of the College of Health Professions at MarshallUniversity in Huntington, W.V. She succeeds Prof. David Wegman,who stepped down in 2008. Prof. Kay Doyle, department chair,served as interim dean following his departure.


CampusNews

Thanks to Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof.Sam Mil’shtein, the days of using ink pads to obtainfingerprints may soon be over. He and a team of ECEstudents have developed a contactless fingerprint scan-ner that produces quick scans of fingers without anysmudging or mess.

Chancellor Marty Meehan was among the first totest the scanner, inserting each of his fingers into thedevice’s small porthole. A high-resolution electroniccamera then swung 180 degrees around each finger,recording a three-dimensional, distortion-free scan.The entire scanning process took only about a second.The prints were then downloaded and displayed on acomputer monitor.

Such a system, according to the team, is far moreaccurate than the traditional ink method since thereis no distortion of the fingertips’ dermal patterns.

For added security, the same camera can also beprogrammed to take a simultaneous infrared image ofthe finger’s blood vessels. Like the blood vessels in theretina, a person’s pattern of finger blood vessels isunique to each individual, says Mil’shtein.

This technology will be especially useful in lawenforcement, forensic investigation, counterterrorismand identity theft. For example, electronic fingerprintscan be embedded in the magnetic strips of credit cards,IDs and ATM cards to help authenticate the identityof the person using the card.

Chancellor Tests Touch-freeFingerprint Scanner

Chancellor Marty Meehan’sfingerprints are scannedas engineering studentMichael Baier and UMassLowell Police Chief AllanRoscoe, left, look on.

Newly Detected Chemicals in Great Lakes

Current chemical regulations in Canada and theUnited States are not protecting people from newlydetected chemicals in the Great Lakes, according to a newreport co-authored by the Lowell Center forSustainable Production.

Known as “chemicals of emerging concern,”these contaminants are primarily coming fromthe use and disposal of everyday products,such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics,personal care and plastic products. Establishedpolicies and control mechanisms, such aswastewater treatment plants, were notdesigned to manage these types of substances, and as a result,they are now found in the Great Lakes basin along the Canada-United States border.

“If governments do not take decisive action now, thereis a reasonable chance the Great Lakes will see another catas-trophe like that of PCBs that are now suspected by federalagencies to cause cancer,” says report co-author Assoc. Prof. JoelTickner of the Community Health and Sustainability Depart-ment and project director in the Lowell Center for SustainableProduction. “The only way we can truly eliminate the emissionsof these toxics is to redesign products so that they do notcontain dangerous chemicals to start with.”

COLLEGES - HEALTH


CampusNews

For the second year in a row, UMassLowell bested the competition in thesystem-wide Student-Managed Fundcontest. The group retains its title as theonly team to ever win the competition,which challenges business studentsfrom each of the University of Mas-sachusetts campuses to make the mostmoney on a $25,000 seed fund throughreal investing in the stock market.

UMass Lowell posted a 2 percentdecrease in value in the fund (whichbeat the performance of major stockindexes like the S&P 500 for the sameperiod); the team’s original investmentof $25,000 two years ago now stands atabout $31,000.

UMass Amherst’s team came insecond in the competition, followed byUMass Dartmouth and UMass Boston.

“All of these funds ‘beat’ the marketquite well and all of the student man-agers should be quite proud of theiraccomplishment and significant experi-ence and training in the investmentfield,” the UMass Foundation stated inannouncing the results.

In honor of the team’s win, currentand past members of the StudentManaged Fund group, along with facultyadviser Asst. Prof. Ravi Jain, were invit-ed to the UMass Club in Boston tomeet with the investment committeeof the UMass Foundation. While theywere there, they also met UMassPresident Jack Wilson and TreasurerRoy Zuckerberg, who chairs the invest-ment committee, as well as otherfoundation leadership and staff.

“They graciously commended us onour achievements and wished the cur-rent group future success,” says alumAmy Osgood ’09, who participated inthe first two years of the competitionand now works for Fidelity Investments.

Student-Managed Fund team members from this year and last, alongwith adviser Ravi Jain, gather with the UMass Foundation and Universityof Massachusetts President Jack Wilson at the UMass Club in Boston.

‘Bring Diversity to Nursing’Program Expands

The Nursing Department recentlywelcomed 10 new students to theBring Diversity to Nursing Program,bringing the total number in theprogram to 23.

Funded in September 2008 with$1 million in federal and stategrants, the program was developedto recruit, retain and graduate minor-ity and economically disadvantagednursing students. The studentsreceive scholarships, equipment,tutoring and mentoring to helpthem succeed.

“As our population grows older andmore diverse, we need to not onlyattract more people to the professionto stem the nursing shortage, but wealso need people who can effectivelyinteract with patients across culturesto deliver the best care possible,” saysProf. Karen Devereaux Melillo ’78,chair of the Nursing Department.

During the past year, the BringDiversity to Nursing team visited13 elementary schools in Lawrenceand Lowell, held workshops for morethan 300 middle- and high-schoolstudents and participated in careerfairs and informational sessions.

Diorra Guzman, left, who was acceptedinto the Bring Diversity to Nursingprogram in September, joins AlexKinyanjui and Ava Richardson, whohave each been with the programfor a year.

COLLEGES - MANAGEMENT

Student-Managed Fund Team Remains Unbeaten


The newly renovated UMass LowellBellegarde Boathouse: “The jewelof the Merrimack River.”

OUTLOOK

Boathouse Renovations Completed

The University recently unveiledthe results of two years of extensiverenovations to the MerrimackRiver boathouse that is home touniversity, local and communityrowing programs.

With $1 million in state fundingthat the University received in 2007,extensive remodeling and repairs weredone on the interior and exterior ofthe 27-year-old boathouse. The build-ing houses offices, locker rooms, stor-age bays for boats and equipment, ameeting room and space for education-al programs. Improvements includedreplacing the roof, windows, gutters,trim, siding and decks, as well asupgrades to boat docks, mechanicalsystems, fencing and signs andother displays inside and outsidethe building.

“With this work, this first-ratefacility is now truly the jewel of theMerrimack River and something thatthe entire community can enjoy,” saidChancellor Marty Meehan.

The facility has been renamed theUMass Lowell Bellegarde Boathouse inhonor of both the landmark’s historyand the University’s commitment toits restoration. The boathouse wasconstructed in 1982 and originallynamed for Edmund Bellegarde, aLowell resident and avid boater whosefamily still has strong roots in thecommunity. The state Legislaturetransferred the boathouse, locatedon Pawtucket Boulevard, to UMassLowell from the Massachusetts

Division of Conservation and Recre-ation in 2006.

The boathouse’s condition had beendeteriorating prior to the start of therepairs and suffered more serious dam-age from spring flooding in recentyears. Educational programs that hadbeen offered through UMass Lowelland the National Historical Park’sTsongas Industrial History Center atthe boathouse were suspended becauseof the poor conditions. The otherprimary users – the UMass Lowell andLowell High School rowing teams andthe Merrimack River Rowing Associa-tion – were also at a disadvantagebecause of the facility’s deterioration.

Since reopening, the boathouse hasbecome home to new programs for thegeneral public, including kayaking andpaddle-surfing. The annual TextileRiver Regatta, the longest single-dayregatta in the nation, uses theboathouse as a base of operations.An advisory committee representingthe primary users and communitywill establish additional programsfor the public.

The boathouse’s rebirth also includesa renewal of programs designed toeducate students about the historicaland environmental significance of theMerrimack River. Funding from theNational Park Service of $65,000 toUMass Lowell’s Graduate School ofEducation and the Lowell NationalHistorical Park, will support andexpand the Tsongas Industrial HistoryCenter’s experiential educationprogramming at the facility.

Middle East CenterHolds First Event

UMass Lowell officially launched itsCenter for Middle East Peace, Develop-ment and Culture with a special eventfeaturing a presentation by Prof. YoramMeital of Ben-Gurion University inIsrael.

The new Center, directed by Prof.Paula Rayman of the Regional Economicand Social Development Department,reflects UMass Lowell’s growing commit-ment to international programs that pro-mote the mutual understanding necessaryfor the future of our society, both locallyand globally. Through the Center, UMassLowell faculty will explore collaborativeventures with major universities inMiddle East nations, including Egypt,Israel, Jordan and Turkey.

Meital, chairman of the Chaim HerzogCenter for Middle East Studies andDiplomacy at Ben-Gurion University, isan expert on the Israeli-Palestinian con-flict, the politics of Arab states andnationalism in the Middle East, and pro-vides news analysis for media around theworld. Meital’s most recent book is“Peace in Tatters: Vision and Reality inthe Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”

Welcoming Prof. Yoram Meital, center, areProf. Paula Rayman, director of the newCenter for Middle East Peace, and ProvostAhmed Abdelal.

10 U M A S S L O W E L L M A G A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Conference Joins UMass Lowell,Irish Universities

UMass Lowell, in partnership with Queen’s University of Belfast andDublin City University, hosted the first U.S./Ireland Emerging Tech-nologies Conference in October.

The international conference featured experts from the three universi-ties presenting on new research in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices,nanomanufacturing and nano/biosensors. All sessions were held atUMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center in downtown Lowell.

Robert Tamarin, dean of the Division of Sciences in the College ofArts and Sciences, who opened the conference, says the event was bene-ficial on several levels.

“The conference offered UMass Lowell and Irish scientists the oppor-tunity to get together with leading industry partners as they consider theapplication of new technologies to meet medical and scientific needs,”he says. “Also, it reflects our growing commitment to internationalpartnerships, which add to the vibrant exchange of ideas.”

Prof. Stephen McCarthy, left, and Francis Talty, right, with Queens UniversityProfs. Fraser Buchanan, Tony McNally, Eileen Harkin-Jones, Peter Hornsby,Marion McAfee and Nicholas Dunne

Right from the first day, one thing was clear –this was not your basic college dorm.

There was the opening-night meal: a welcomebanquet, hosted by Aramark, complete with foodstations, with the Chancellor as guest speaker.The on-site dining room, the mail room, the plushfront lobby, the oversize bedrooms – all with airconditioning – the private bathrooms, the queen-size beds. Even a special second-floor “learningcommons” for uninterrupted late-night study.And a shuttle bus that ferries students to and fromcampus at 15-minute intervals. Almost like athree-star hotel. Which, of course, is what it was.

On Aug. 30, a Sunday, UMass Lowell studentsofficially set up housekeeping in the University’snewest residence hall: the 252-room UMassLowell Inn & Conference Center – formerly theDoubleTree Hotel – which the Universitypurchased earlier in 2009 for $15 million.

As presently configured, the ICC houses roughly400 students, mostly upper-class and honors –many of them organized as “living and learningcommunities” of eight students or more, focusedon particular subjects or themes – on the topseven floors of the nine-story building. The lowertwo floors, once renovations are complete, willcontinue to be used as a hotel.

“The message we wanted to give them, rightfrom the start, right from that first-night banquet,is that this is different – this is the new UMassLowell,” says James Kohl, the University’s directorof Residential Life.

The biggest reason for the hotel purchase, ofcourse, was the shortage of student housing: lastyear, the overflow was so critical the Universitywas forced to house close to 400 students at theRadisson Hotel in Nashua. But there’s more to itthan that, says Kohl.

“There are so many resources in the city – therestaurants, the coffee houses, the museums, thegalleries, the national park – that we hadn’ttapped into completely before,” he says. “So wesaw this as an opportunity to do that: to expandthe University, to bring the city to the students, toreally infuse student life. The idea was to makeLowell, in a very real way, a part of the campus –with all the benefits that accrue.”

New ICC Residence HallEnriches, Expands Student Life

Virtual International Centers Established

UMass Lowell recently established six virtual international centers,each of which is being directed by faculty members who are leadingthe University’s international efforts with partner institutions.

Provost Ahmed Abdelal says that pursuing international partner-ships will not only give students a global perspective, but will alsostrengthen research efforts by increasing the breadth and depth of col-laborations with international universities, research centers and firms.By nurturing research relationships around the world, the campusincreases the chances that it will innovate more efficiently and moreeffectively and perhaps in ways not otherwise imagined.

The six virtual centers are: the Center for Irish Partnerships;the Center for Asian Partnerships, including China, India andCambodia; the Center for Latin and South AmericanPartnerships; the Center for African Partnerships,including South Africa and Ghana; the Centerfor Middle East Partnerships and the Centerfor Hellenic Partnerships.

CampusNews

U M A S S L O W E L L M A G A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 11

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, right, helped save TURI. Joining himat a State House celebration are, from left, Prof. Ken Geiser,Prof. Michael Ellen Becker and Shortie McKinney, dean of Healthand Environment.

OUTREACH

UMass Lowell Shares inCommunity Service Grant

Harnessing the strength and enthusiasmof 1,500 UMass students, a five-campuseffort is placing volunteers in a wide rangeof community service projects acrossthe state.

The Corporation for National andCommunity Service awarded a Learn andServe America grant for $471,000 to thefive UMass campuses to support a statewide effort toincrease student involvement in their communities.

Through a $83,000 sub-grant, UMass Lowell studentshave the opportunity to supplement their academic experi-ence by participating in mentoring projects at local K-12schools, pursuing alternative school breaks working inhigh-poverty Massachusetts communities, receiving IRStraining to help local families with tax preparation, assistingin worker-education programs and incorporating service-learning into their curricula. It is expected that anadditional $1.4 million in federal funding will beforthcoming over the next three years.

“We have big plans for the funds, and look forward tosupporting civic engagement through student outreach,”says Robin Toof, assistant director of the Center for Family,Work and Community.

Robin Toof

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) will survivethe current budget year, thanks to an infusion of federaleconomic stimulus funds granted by the state’s ExecutiveOffice of Education (EOE).

“Governor Patrick and the legislature stepped up the plateto ensure that TURI can continue to help reduce the useof toxics in the Commonwealth,” says Chancellor MartyMeehan. “The one-time federal funding will allow UMassLowell to cover the costs of the institute this year, withoutdisinvesting in our core mission – providing high quality,affordable higher education.”

Meehan had announced in August 2009 that UMass Lowellwould be able to fund the Institute only through December,if no outside funding were secured. Thirty-nine representa-tives and 13 senators signed letters to their leadership request-ing separate state funds for TURI, and UMass PresidentJack Wilson helped work out an agreement with EOE for theEducation Stabilization funds. The federal stimulus legislationensured that the Stabilization funds were available.

Although TURI is part of the UMass Lowell campus,it has been funded separately by the state since its inceptionin 1990. Under the state’s Toxics Use Reduction Act(TURA), Massachusetts businesses that use toxic substancespay fees to the Commonwealth, in essence covering the costsof the program. In 2008, $3.2 million in fees were collectedfrom 550 facilities. This year’s state budget requires thatUMass cover its costs.

“I’m relieved that the stimulus funds will carry TURIthrough this year. Nevertheless, the environment is notsomething we can decide to protect one year, and forget aboutthe next,” says George Bachrach, president of the Environ-mental League of Massachusetts. “We look forward to arobust discussion with state leaders about how to fund it wellinto the future.”

Since the inception of the TURA program, TURI hashelped Massachusetts companies reduce the amount of toxicchemicals used in manufacturing processes by 41 percent.

Toxics Use Reduction Institute Savedwith Stimulus Funding

CampusNews

Members of UMass Lowell and Queens University are joining forces tooffer a four-week program to students that will examine the Great IrishFamine and wave of Irish emigration through archeological digs inBelfast and Lowell. From left, are Frank Talty, director of academicprograms in the Division of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,Chancellor Marty Meehan, Executive Vice Chancellor JacquelineMoloney, UMass President Jack Wilson, Queens University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Gerry McCormac, Provost Ahmed Abdelal and QueensUniversity Archeology Prof. Colm Donnelly.


CampusNews

Two Lowell Homes Win ‘Zero Energy Challenge’

The winners of the “Getting to Zero Energy Challenge,” a competi-tion sponsored by National Grid and the City of Lowell, in partner-ship with UMass Lowell, were honored in a ceremony at Lowell CityHall recently. The contest aimed to help local property owners gettheir homes as close to zero net-energy consumption as possible.

Lowell residents Bonna Sam Mai and David and Sharon Logvineach received a $25,000 rebate from National Grid for having themost energy-efficient homes. Mai’s residential building on WilderStreet qualified under thelow- to medium-incomecategory, while theLogvins’ home onStarbird Street qualifiedunder the unrestricted-income category.

In preparation for thecontest, Prof. SammyShina of the MechanicalEngineering Departmentorganized two trainingsessions for 11 mechanicalengineering students onthe basics of zero net-energy homes. NationalGrid donated $10,000 forthe training, which wasconducted by the Build-ing Science Corp., a zero-energy consulting firm inWestford. Eight seniorsserved as volunteers forthe contest.

Prof. John Duffy, whocoordinates the Universi-ty’s solar engineeringgraduate program, led thestudents in two seniorcapstone teams to assist contest applicants in developing detaileddesign proposals for the final phase of the selection.

By retrofitting Mai’s home with better insulation and more energy-efficient doors, windows, lighting, appliances and heating/coolingsystems, the team was able to create energy savings of nearly $87,000over 30 years and reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions byabout seven tons per year.

The Logvins will also realize savings of nearly $87,000 in energybills in three decades and reduce roughly five tons of CO2 emissions ayear. A three-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system will also be installedon their south-facing roof to provide a renewable source of energy.

Energy contest winner Bonna Sam Mai, center,receives a $25,000 check from Lowell CityMayor Bud Caulfield, left, and City ManagerBernie Lynch.

David and Sharon Logvin and their son posewith former Mayor Bud Caulfield, left, and CityManager Bernie Lynch.

Chancellor Marty Meehan welcomed school district leadersfrom 25 communities to the third annual Chancellor’s Breakfastfor Superintendents recently. “I started this annual traditionwhen I became Chancellor to make it clear that partnershipswith you and your teachers are central to our work here atUMass Lowell,” he told guests. Four panelists spoke at thebreakfast, introduced by David Troughton, superintendent ofNorth Reading Public Schools. Pictured, from left, are AnitaGreenwood, interim dean of the Graduate School of Education;Susan Nicholson, assistant superintendent of Andover PublicSchools; Jim Nehring, assistant professor and Chris Scott,superintendent of Lowell Public Schools.

UMass Lowell Ranked TopSchool in Graduates’ Salaries

When it comes to translating abachelor’s degree from a publicuniversity into a salary, UMassLowell delivers the top mid-careerpay in New England, according toPayScale.com.

PayScale.com ranked institutions in order of gradu-ates with the highest mid-career salaries. The goal ofthe study was to determine which undergraduateprograms provide the most value.

New England schools ranked in the top 10 wereprivate institutions: Dartmouth College, the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Universityand Yale University. UMass Lowell was the top-rankedpublic institution in New England and in the top20 percent of public and private schools nationally,coming in at No. 124 of more than 600 institutionsincluded in the survey.

“This is another example of how UMass Lowell offersa high-quality education that our graduates are able touse to achieve their career goals and earn top salaries.And, not only does the University offer a top-notcheducation, it does so at an affordable price that willnot leave graduates with decades of debt,” saysChancellor Marty Meehan.

UMass Lowell graduates with a bachelor’s degreeearn an average mid-career salary of $90,000, accordingto PayScale.com.

Moloney Honored forOnline Learning Vision

Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloneywas recognized for her online learning leadershiprecently by the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C),which presented her with the 2009 award forMost Outstanding Achievement in OnlineLearning by an Individual.

UMass Lowell’s program, which began with400 students and four classes now generates morethan $24 million in revenues and currently has 12,000 studentsenrolled. It has been incorporated into UMass Online.

Jacqueline Moloney


Bond Honored for EthnicMinority Mentoring

Meg Bond, professor of community psychologyand director of the Center for Women andWork, was awarded the 2009 Ethnic MinorityMentorship Award by the Society for CommunityResearch and Action (SCRA).

As a past president of SCRA, Bond introducedthe practice of inviting to executive committeemeetings someone who could suggest how its decision-making mightaffect minority groups. She also encouraged minority members toassume leadership positions and was proactive in recruiting talentedindividuals.

“Ethnic minorities often arrive in professional organizations anduniversity departments without networks of support,” says Bond.“We need to be attuned to the dynamics in various settings in orderto create a structure where people feel they belong, are supportedand welcome.”

Prof. Ken Geiser, center, has been recognized as University Professor,the most esteemed title bestowed on a faculty member. Geiser is joinedat a recent celebration of the honor by Prof. David Wegman, left, andProf. John Wooding. “Ken is everything a faculty member should be,”says Chancellor Marty Meehan.

Meg Bond

The New Tsongas: ‘The Region’sPremier Entertainment Destination’

The 6,500-seat Tsongas Arena, home of theUMass Lowell River Hawks and the American HockeyLeague’s Lowell Devils, is now – following a sale bythe city, and its blessing by the state legislature –officially the property of UMass Lowell.

The transfer, announced at a River Hawks game inOctober and formally ratified early this year, will allowthe University year-round, debt-free use of the $24 mil-lion facility, both as a home to the River Hawks andas a venue for other events. Previously, the Universityhad paid the city $50,000 a year for the team’s use ofthe arena.

Early plans for the newly owned venue, which hasbeen renamed the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell,include a slate of UMass Lowell basketball games,the state high school hockey and basketball champi-onships and nationally known musicians. Another newaddition is the installation of electronic, LED-poweredfascia boards – the only ones in the region, outside ofBoston, says Assistant Athletic Director Eric Allen –which display scores, messages and fan cheering cuesvisible from every angle.

“This is about making UMass Lowell a place wherestudents want to be,” said Chancellor Marty Meehanfollowing news of the transfer. “The Tsongas Centerwill help us provide the array of activities andevents necessary to keep them engaged and happy –important ingredients for ensuring that studentssucceed academically.”

The River Hawks and the Devils account for about60 days of the year-round schedule. The venue alsohosts a number of concerts, conventions and othersporting events. Liza Minelli, Barry Manilow,Bob Dylan and Lynyrd Skynyrd all have performedthere, as have the Boston Bruins and tennis mega-starsVenus and Serena Williams. A performance byhip-hop artist Drake is planned for April.

PEOPLE

FACILITIES


FeatureStory

It was a night to celebrate individualswho have brought honor to UMass Lowell– successful alumni, pioneering facultymembers and one community memberwhose support has helped bring music toLowell school children. More than 200people applauded these honorees at theFrancis Cabot Lowell Alumni Awards andHonors Fellows Gala on Thursday, Nov.19, at the UMass Lowell Inn & Confer-ence Center. Proceeds from the event willbenefit students in the Honors Program.

“We are very, very fortunate to have awealth of riches: from world-class faculty,to our diverse and motivated students,to engaged and active and successfulalumni,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan.“This event highlights some of thoseriches.”

Honored were: Lawrence J. Ardito ’69,president of Toscano & Ardito PC: FrancisCabot Lowell Award for OutstandingAchievement in Business; Claire Cham-berlain, retired physical education, physi-cal therapy and exercise physiology facultymember: Francis Cabot Lowell FacultyAward; Swanee Hunt, Eleanor RooseveltLecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Uni-versity’s Kennedy School of Government,president, Hunt Alternatives Fund, formerU.S. ambassador to Austria: CommunityHonors Fellow; Mary Kramer, retiredEnglish professor and strong supporterof the UMass Lowell Honors Program:Honors Fellow, College of Arts andSciences; Ehud David Laska ’75, presi-dent and CEO of Pelion Financial Group:Francis Cabot Lowell Award forOutstanding Achievement in Business;Peter O’Connell, retired director of theTsongas Industrial History Center: HonorsFellow, Graduate School of Education;Diana Tran ’02, founder and owner ofDiana’s Hair Fashion and Design: FrancisCabot Lowell Young Alumni Award.

Hunt, who spoke earlier in the day tohonors students and gave the 2009 Com-munity Fellows Talk, accepted her award

in honor of her mother, whose four broth-ers saved up money to pay for a year ofcollege for their sister.

“My mother was very smart – CrackerJack smart. She would have given anyamount in the world to have more thanone year of college. But there weren’tscholarships for someone like her,” saidHunt. “And when I look at this room andI see what you are all supporting, I take itvery personally.”

The Hunt Alternatives Fund givesmoney to Prof. Kay George Roberts’ StringProject, which introduces Lowell grade-school students to string instruments.Twelve students from the group, thecharter members of the Lowell SymphonicYouth Orchestra, played a piece duringthe reception.

Honors Fellow Mary Kramer talkedabout the importance of leaving a legacyto the next generation. “My colleaguesand I think that maybe we have contribut-ed through teaching, providing studentsnot just the academic materials, but ideasand theories and values. We teach themwhy and then encourage them to go outand ask, why not,” she said.

Peter O’Connell noted that the TsongasIndustrial History Center is considered apartner of the University so his facultyrole was somewhat unusual. “The fact that

the University is making the award to a‘partnership person’ like me says muchabout the University’s commitment topartnerships. It is the way the Universitydoes business,” he said.

Larry Ardito’s friends and familydonated $5,000 in his name to the HonorsProgram, creating the Larry ArditoAccounting Scholarship. He talked abouthow, as an 8-year-old, he sat with hisfather sorting money and receipts from thefamily business at the dining room table.Going to college was not optional in hisfamily, and he spoke fondly of his time atwhat he now calls “UMass Lowell Tech.”

“My professors, some of whom don’twant to admit they taught me for age rea-sons, imparted such knowledge and gaveme the character and ethics and directionthat you couldn’t get anywhere else,” saidArdito.

Claire Chamberlain objected to beingcalled a pioneer in advocating for women’sathletics, even though when she came tothe Lowell State 37 years ago there wereno intercollegiate athletics for women andshe worked hard to change that environ-ment. She has been inducted into theNortheast Hall of Fame for her pioneeringwork for Title IX.

“We simply saw what needed to be doneand did it,” she said. “You students here

Funds Raised, Honors GivenFaculty, Alumni, Community Member Recognized for Accomplishments

1.

by Kristen O’Reilly


tonight will mark your own brilliantpaths, and you couldn’t have picked abetter place to do it.”

Ehud Laska, who has achieved successin building, restructuring and selling com-panies, offered some career advice: “Yourpoint of view is not important, but yourviewing point is,” he said, noting the for-mer is an opinion and the latter is a per-spective. “If you look at things from adifferent direction or a different perspec-tive, you’ll be able to close a deal, close atransaction and invent something.”

Diana Tran, who came to the UnitedState knowing little English 14 years agoand has now achieved success as a small

business owner, gave a touchingacceptance of her award.

“After I was accepted as a student atUMass Lowell, I learned from studentsand faculty who set high standards andencouraged me to reach my goals. Formyself, UMass Lowell has given me theconfidence and knowledge to enter theworld of business,” said Tran.

“This Honors Program is making adifference in the lives of our students,”said Meehan. “Your support provides anopportunity for highly motivated studentsto realize their full potential as thinkers,inventors, teachers, analysts, creators,entrepreneurs, innovators, critics.

Whatever they want to do, our HonorsProgram can give them the tools theyneed to reach their full potential.”

The Francis Cabot Lowell Award, givento alumni, faculty and staff, honors thevalues and accomplishments of the cityof Lowell’s namesake. Honors Fellowsrepresent the legacy of educationalexcellence that inspires the UMass LowellHonors Program. The CommunityHonors Fellow is the only fellow selectedoutside of UMass Lowell, a traditionthat began in 2008 in recognition of thesynergistic connection between theUniversity and the community. �

1. More than 220 people gathered at theUMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center tohonor the award winners.

2. Former U.S. Ambassador Swanee Hunt wasnamed the 2009 Community Honors Fellow.

3. State Rep. David Nangle presents YoungAlumni Award winner Diana Tran ’02 with theFrancis Cabot Lowell Award with ExecutiveVice Chancellor Jackie Moloney.

4. The Francis Cabot Lowell Alumni Awards andHonors Fellows Banquet raised money to helpstudents in the Honors Program. Scholarshipwinners were recognized at the event. Shown,from left, are Liam Driscoll; Honors ProgramAdministrator Beth Donaghey; Tinuviel Lathrop;Ianna Hondros-McCarthy; Cassandra Lowneyand Honors Program Director Doreen Arcus.

5. Enjoying the evening were Prof. Emerita EthelKamien, Ehud David Laska ’75, Kathy Laska,Eric Laska and Siri Kamien.

6. Larry Ardito ’69, left, shared the evening withhis family. With him are from left, Dan Ardito,Deborah Gangi and Genevive Gangi.

7. Honors Fellow Peter O’Connell andClaire Chamberlain.

8. From left, Swanee Hunt, Community HonorsFellow; Peter O’Connell, Honors Fellow, GraduateSchool of Education; Mary Kramer, HonorsFellow, College of Arts and Sciences; LawrenceJ. Ardito ’69, Francis Cabot Lowell Award forOutstanding Achievement in Business; ClaireChamberlain, Francis Cabot Lowell FacultyAward; Ehud David Laska ’75, Francis CabotLowell Award for Outstanding Achievement inBusiness; Diana Tran ’02, Francis Cabot LowellYoung Alumni Award; Chancellor Marty Meehan.

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FeatureStory


For UMass Lowell, it has been atime of superlatives – so many

‘firsts’ and ‘mosts’ and ‘bests’ thatit might be hard to find another

time, any other year or two in theUniversity’s long history,

in which progress could bemeasured on so many fronts.

It has been a time of growth: more graduates last Junethan ever before, more new ones than ever taking theirplace, more of those already here staying on to graduate.And a time of change, nearly all of it for the better: agreater diversity than at any time in the past (a 51 percenttwo-year increase in minority students); more studentsthan ever now living on campus; an ambitious outreachbeyond the University, unparalleled initiatives within it.And all of this against the backdrop of an ever-finerstudent body: higher freshman SAT scores than at anytime in the past, and an average GPA that creeps upwardevery year.

And it’s not only the freshmen. On the graduate level,the combined total of master’s-degree and doctoral enroll-ments is up 10 percent this year. Over the past two years,across all classes, total student enrollment has grown bymore than a fifth – while the growth-rate of new-studentenrollments has been even more impressive than that.

Put it all together, and the message seems irrefutable:today’s UMass Lowell students are more numerous, morediverse, more accomplished and more motivated thanthey’ve ever been before.

by Geoffrey Douglas

A TIME OF GROWTH: MORE STUDENTSTHAN EVER LEADING RICHER LIVES

Continued


Much of this, of course, is theproduct of what’s been happeningon-campus. The 13 percent increasein residential students (to 2,900, thehighest number ever) has been madepossible through the addition of morethan 700 new beds over the past twoyears – 400 alone in the newly outfit-ted UMass Lowell Inn & ConferenceCenter – while the upswing in totalenrollment is a function of a coupleof things: richer opportunities forstudents on campus, and an unprece-dented outreach beyond it.

“The numbers are very exciting,very hopeful,” says Director of Under-graduate Admissions Kerri Johnston.“We’re doing a lot more outreach thanever before, both out of state andinternationally. Academically, there’smore opportunity in the classroom,and more internships being offered.And student life – with nearly 120student clubs now, and the [residencehall] living and learning communities– has probably never been richer. Allin all, I think we’re just making our-selves more attractive, and more visi-ble. And it’s showing some results.”

Perhaps the most ambitious of theseon-campus initiatives (and a big partof part of what Johnston is talkingabout) has less to do with numbersthan with lives. Beginning this pastfall, all incoming freshmen (as opposedto roughly half in 2008-09, the pro-gram’s first year) have been enrolled incohorts of 20-25 students each, knownas learning communities, in whichthey share three core courses, a facultyadviser and a major or academictheme. To further cement the bondamong them, all residential freshmenin a particular cohort are assigned tothe same University residence hall.

The underlying objective, as ProvostAhmed Abdelal explained last year, isto improve the freshman-to-sopho-more retention rate (and thus thegraduation rate) by helping students“bond with each other and with afaculty mentor, and [thereby] connectsolidly with the campus.”

In a further extension of this con-cept, in place for the first time thisyear, designated sections of Fox Hallhave been given over to cohorts of 20or more residential freshmen, knownas living-learning communities (orLLCs), joined by their interest in somedistinct (usually non-academic) topicor theme. Though looser and less for-mal in their make-up, LLCs also areoften mentored by faculty.

Both the learning communities andthe LLCs, says Dean of Students LarrySiegel, “give students the opportunityto come together around a shared lifeinterest – politics, the environment,performing arts, whatever – and toexplore it further, often with the peo-ple they’re living with. This is the sortof thing that builds connections, oftenfriendships – as well as knowledge.All of which goes a long way towardmaking for a richer, fuller collegeexperience.”

Much of the University’s outreachhas been directed internationally,toward partnerships and exchangeprograms with foreign schools – whichpartly accounts for the steady increasein diversity. Another target has beenthe transfer-student population. Themain sources of this are the state’s 15community colleges, especially thenearest two: Middlesex and NorthernEssex. This year, of the University’s936 transfer students (a 14 percentincrease over 2008-09), 250 were fromMiddlesex alone. Next year’s goal, saysJohnston, is to increase this number byanother 5 percent.

“We try to maintain a strong pres-ence at the community colleges,” saidGerry Durkin, director of transferadmissions, speaking on his cell phoneon the way to a college fair in Roxbury.“One appearance a month at least, atthe first-tier schools, and probably

once a semester at the others. Andit’s a year-round push. Unlike withfreshman enrollments, we get an activeFebruary class of students as well –we had 425 enroll for the springsemester last year.”

The spike in transfer enrollments,says Durkin, much like the increaseamong new freshmen, has a lot to dowith what’s happening on campusthese days: “The changes these lastcouple of years have really made a dif-ference. We’ve got the new academicbuildings coming in, a growing athleticfocus. There’s just a lot happeningright now. That’s exciting. It createslots of interest – which makes our jobeasier, of course.”

Meanwhile, as enrollments continueto grow across all sectors of the popula-tion – freshmen, graduate students,transfers, residential – what of thosestudents who have been here all along?In 2008, the national freshman reten-tion rate (the percentage of freshmenwho return for their sophomore years)for all U.S. colleges, according toACT, the independent educationalassessment organization, was just under66 percent. How does UMass Lowellfare against that number?

More than 15 percent higher — at76 percent, for the same (2007-08)academic year. For this year, it was81 percent, or more than 20 percenthigher than the national average.

“That’s a very high number for apublic institution,” Chancellor MartyMeehan told a reporter earlier this fall.“I think if we can get it up a littlehigher, we can compete with anyoneat any time.”

With enrollment at an all-time high,a new $15-million residence hall justopened, a second one refurbished fornearly $12 million, at least three newacademic buildings on the drawing

“The changes these last couple of years have really made adifference. We’ve got the new academic buildings coming in,a growing athletic focus. There’s just a lot happening rightnow. That’s exciting.” — Gerry Durkin

FeatureStory


board and millions more being spent orbudgeted for improvements – and statefunding for higher education in ayears-long decline – the question hasnever seemed more pressing: Justwhere are the dollars coming from?

The short answer: from more places,and in greater numbers, than at anytime in the past.

It has been roughly two-and-a-halfyears since Marty Meehan took overas chancellor, and less than two yearssince his inauguration. In that time,the new administration, while presid-ing over the largest student enrollmentin the University’s history, as well as itsmost ambitious expansion plan ever,has also overseen a doubling of theUMass Lowell endowment – to morethan $40 million – a more-than-dou-bling of its scholarship funds and adramatic, unprecedented widening ofits fund-raising outreach.

It’s been a remarkable run. By theclose of the 2008 fiscal year alone, theUniversity had raised nearly $8.5 mil-lion in cash and pledges, $14 millionin total support – far in excess of itsgoal. Within the UMass system, onlyAmherst by then exceeded the UMassLowell endowment: close to $3,800 perstudent, a 65 percent increase in justfive years.

That’s the big picture — which, likemost big pictures, is an amalgam of athousand smaller ones. And it isamong these smaller ones (some ofthem not so very small) that you findmuch of the richness and diversity thatwill take the University into its future.

Like the gift from Nancy andRichard Donahue, a $500,000 dona-tion announced last spring, to createthe University’s first-ever endowed

professorship in the arts. Or the two$500,000 gifts – matched by a UMasstrust fund – from Jim Dandeneau andMark Saab, who graduated a year apartin the ’80s, used to fund two endowedprofessorships in “green plastics.” Orthe long-ongoing Hoff scholarships(see related story on Page 30), thelegacy of a gift of alumnus Charlie Hoff’66, that have helped put as many as1,000 UMass students through school.Or the $511,000 Dana McLeanGreeley endowment, now in its secondyear, that is funding yearly campusvisits by world-renowned peaceactivists. (“With this gift, we areinstitutionalizing peace,” said UMassLowell Prof. Robert Gamache of theGreeley endowment).

Or any of dozens of others.

“There are just so many excitingthings happening right now,” saysKerri Johnston. “The speakers series,the new professorships, the newresidence halls – they make us thatmuch more visible, that much moreattractive to students. And the newscholarships [being funded] – theytell the world out there that we recog-nize the need for assistance, especiallyin these times we’re all living through,and that we’re ready to step in….

“I think what people are seeing is auniversity moving forward, a universityon its way up. And that makes our jobthat much easier – that they want tobe a part of that.” �

“I think what peopleare seeing is a universitymoving forward, auniversity on its way up.”

— Kerri Johnston Nancy Donahue, left, andher husband Richard, secondfrom right, join ChancellarMarty Meehan and fellow artssupporter Terry O’Connor at aconcert where the Donahuesannounced their endowedprofessorship.

FeatureStory


by Geoffrey Douglas

Alumni giving is at the heart of thefinancial health of any university.And a big part of that heart – for all thecritical importance of wealthy alumniand those five- and six-figure donations– is the large, unsung body of former stu-dents, faculty and staff who answer thephone when they’re called and givewhatever they can.

At UMass Lowell, there are morethan 7,000 of them – students, alumni,faculty and staff, parents and friends –who, each year, realizing that state-support and tuition dollars alone are notenough to provide an education to allthose who deserve it, dig into theirpockets to make up the difference. Overthe years, in response to calls from the40-odd student workers who man thephones in the “Phone Room,” and tothe thousands of letters and fliers that goout, many millions of dollars have beenraised for the annual fund.

Steve Weisfeldt ’88 is one of those7,000 givers – and a Lowell Fund caller’sdream. Twenty-one years out of school,and he’s been giving for the last 15,more generously as the years havepassed. After earning his degree in com-puter engineering, he is today (followinga recent, difficult stint with a start-upthat fell victim to the recession) theowner-founder of a small software con-sulting firm in Belmont, and doing verywell. For him, the choice of giving – aswell as how much, and to whom – hasevolved naturally, over time, as a kind ofphilosophical ranking of priorities.

“I used to give to a lot of causes –schools, hospitals, charities, a little bitto each – until at some point I got tothinking: Is it better to give a little to a

lot of people, or more to just one or two?And the more I thought about it, themore I realized: a college education is atthe root of everything, of all those otherthings I’m giving to,” he says.

“So now I just give to UMass Lowelland one or two others – but I givemore,” he says.

Not all those who give are alumni.Some, like donor Christopher Chao, acurrent student now in his senior year,have come early to an understandingof the urgency – as well as to the incal-culable benefits – of a UMass Lowelleducation. He used to believe, he says,that “the costs would always becovered ... I assumed that state fundingwould always cover any deficits.”

But lately, at least partly through hisown fund-raising duties (he has madecalls for the annual fund himself), hehas come to think differently: “I was sur-prised to learn how much state fundinghas dropped over the past nine years.That went a long way toward changingmy mind,” he says. “I see now howimportant it is that students, alumni,whoever is able, give as much as theypossibly can.

“I hear a lot from alumni, when Imake those fund-raising calls, how muchthey feel the school has grown andchanged since they left. I want to besure I have that same feeling myself, 20or 30 years down the road.”

Casey Maxwell graduated in 2007with a degree in business administration.She works today in a research lab atMass General Hospital in Boston. Forher, giving has always seemed as naturalas going to school itself.

“My mother, who’s a nurse, alwaysgave to her college,” she says. “And she’sstayed in touch with so many friendsfrom there, it’s been such a big part ofher life – I guess I just grew up believingin it, seeing it as something you neededto do.

“And now that I’ve been through thesame experience myself, and with thefriendships I made at UMass Lowell thatI’ll probably always have, and the train-ing it’s given me – I don’t know whereI’d be without it – giving just seems likean easy, natural choice. I guess you couldsay it’s my way of closing the circle.”

Oneida Blagg, neither student noralumna, is the University’s director ofEqual Opportunity and Outreach, andanother annual fund donor. For her,much like for Maxwell, giving seemslargely a matter of closing a circle –though with a different emphasis.

“The students at UMass Lowell today,the ones we’re giving to – not only arethey our future leaders; they’re the ones,as time moves on, who will be takingcare of us. So as they learn, as theybecome more productive and take onresponsibility, it’s important that wesupport them in every way we can,” shesays. “It’s all part of a continuum, really.A continuum of giving and learning.”

The current campaign, under the ban-ner of “The Power of Possibility,” kickedoff in the fall with a direct-mail drive toalumni, and also features an “AlumniShowcase” speakers’ series, highlightingthe wisdom and experience of formerstudents who return to campus to sharetheir memories and life experiences. �

Students, Staff, Alumni Support‘Continuum of Giving and Learning’

Steve Weisfeldt

Oneida Blagg

Casey Maxwell

Philanthropy:The Powerof Possibility


W hen Bill Hellmuth ’77 was an undergraduate in thePlastics Department 35 years ago, the equipment inthe film laboratory was, to phrase it diplomatically,

not what you’d call “cutting edge.”

Or, to quote Hellmuth today, “I was using the laboratoriesfrom ’74 to ’77 and the film lab was old when I was there.”

That situation changed for the better about 10 years ago,thanks in large measure to Hellmuth and Gloucester Engineer-ing, the firm at which Hellmuth is senior product manager forblown film systems.

As Department Chair Bob Malloy tells it, “Our existingblown film line was very old, probably dating from the 1960’s,when we approached Bill around 2000 to see if Gloucestercould do anything for us.”

They could. And did.

“Gloucester Engineering was so receptive to this request,”Malloy says, “that they wound up giving us a very sophisticatedline worth about $350,000. The line was custom built for our

specific needs and space limitations.”

It was installed in Ball 108, which was completely renovatedwith new flooring, ventilation, plumbing and lighting.The room was painted with the company’s color scheme andlogos, and the sign on the lab’s glass door read “GloucesterEngineering Film Extrusion Lab.”

When the space was ready, Gloucester delivered the line,which included an extruder, gravimetric feed system, screenchanger and other features, along with a blown film towerand winder.

“Not only did they donate the equipment, but they alsosent along a team of electricians and technicians who workedfor a week to get the line up and running,” Malloy says. “Andthey still help us whenever we have maintenance issues.”

But that’s not all.

“Now,” Malloy says, “the Gloucester management hasoffered to upgrade the line. They want to be sure that our stu-dents are working with state-of-the-art extrusion equipment.

Gloucester Engineering Hopes StudentsWill ‘Torture’ Its Valuable Gift

by Jack McDonough

Graduate student Ken Hanson, left,and Andrew Fothergill, a junior, createpolyethylene film with the custom-madeequipment provided by GloucesterEngineering.

They plan to upgrade the con-trols with a current generationtouch-screen control system,add a second extruder and putin a new die and new air ringcooling system.

“This will be as sophisticateda lab film line as I have seen atany university.”

Happily, Gloucester Engi-neering will also realize somebenefits from its generosity.

Carl Johnson, the company’spresident and CEO, says,“We’re going to get somethingout of this, too. We’ll getfeedback from the nextgeneration of plastics gradu-ates. We’re excited about that.

Gloucester is currentlyconverting the University’sextrusion control system to a multi-layer system and upgradeswill continue over the next couple of years. He says theupgrade will probably take place in conjunction with thePlastics Department’s anticipated move into the EmergingTechnologies building, which is slated for construction onthe North Campus. The ceiling in the newlaboratory will be higher than the one in Ball,making possible the installation of the largertower required for the new equipment.

Johnson says, “We want the kids there tohave access to the latest technology and beable to understand how the process works. It’sone thing to read about these processes in abook but it’s another to actually do it.

“We also want them to torture test this new software.If anybody can give it a run for its money, it’s a bunch of verycurious college students.”

Johnson says Gloucester developed its relationship withthe plastics program through alumni who work for thecompany and who are “very dedicated to UMass Lowell.”In particular, he mentions Hellmuth, Dave Constant ’79 andGerman Laverde ’97.

“The University gave Bill a chair in honor of his service andwe have it in our boardroom. He and Dave have really beeninstrumental in maintaining our ties with the University,”Johnson says.

“We plan to continue working with UMass Lowell,” headds. “We believe there’s a lot of value in it.” �

Carl Johnson

Ken Hanson uses the computer-basedprocess system that controls theGloucester Engineering blown filmextrusion line in the Ball Hall laboratory.

Corporations Provide Vital Supportfor Plastics Engineering Program

“Maintaining state-of-the-art manufacturing, testing anddesign laboratories is an extremely expensive proposition,”says Plastics Department Chair Bob Malloy. “Given ourlimited operating budget, there is no way we could acquireand maintain these facilities without corporate and alumnisupport.”

The assistance provided by Gloucester Engineering, asdescribed in this issue of the alumni magazine, is but oneexample of the generosity extended to the University bya number of companies, Malloy says.

The list includes:

Cincinnati Milacron, a leading manufacturer of injectionmolding machines. The very first company to provide labsupport, Milacron has consigned several molding machinesto a lab bearing its name, and provides technical supportand training in its operation.

Putnam Plastics, founded by Jim Dandeneau ’80, hasdonated a named laboratory containing tubing and sheetextrusion lines and thermoforming machines. Additionalequipment in that room was donated by other companies,including Boston Scientific, Maac Machinery, Gillette(now P&G) and the Society of Plastics Engineers.

The Nypro Corp., its founder Gordon Lankton (H) ’02 andthe Nypro Foundation have also been long-time scholarshipand lab supporters. “I would estimate that more than 80students have received Nypro scholarships over the years,”Malloy says. The corporation also provided funds forequipment and renovation for the Nypro Precision InjectionMolding Laboratory. Other companies that have providedelectric molding machines for this lab include NisseiAmerica and Sumitomo Machinery.

The Rocheleau Corp. of Fitchburg has donated blowmolding equipment and provides service for technicalproblems. “The importance of follow-up service by thesecompanies cannot be over-emphasized,” Malloy says.

The Advanced Polymers Corp., founded by Mark ’81and Elisia Saab, donated funds for the renovation of thePhysical Properties Testing Lab, along with a variety ofendowed scholarship funds. “This very large lab is usedfor both melt rheology and solid properties testing,” Malloysays, “and is a night-and-day improvement over our previ-ous materials testing facility.”

He adds that “other companies sponsoring labs includeFreudenburg NOK for our rubber processing and Moldflow(now Autodesk) for our Computer Aided Engineering andDesign Lab. And Leistritz Corp. has provided major dona-tions for our materials compounding lab.

“The list goes on and on. The students, faculty and staffare greatly indebted to so many individuals and corpora-tions it would be impossible to thank them all individually,”Malloy says.




M ore than 325 plastics engi-neering alumni and friendsgathered in Chicago last June

to honor five senior plastics engineer-ing faculty, each of whom have 40 ormore years of service at UMass Lowell— Profs. Aldo Crugnola, StephenDriscoll ’66, Stephen Orroth ’66,Nick Schott and Rudy Deanin, whoretired last year.

However, because of the bad econo-my and company travel restrictions,many alumni were unable to attendthe Chicago get-together, which washeld in conjunction with a majornational plastics conference and expo.

“Many local alumni contactedme to see if we could hold an encoreevent locally,” said Prof. RobertMalloy, chair of the Plastics Engineer-ing Department. “We decided to haveanother tribute dinner in conjunctionwith the MassPlastics Trade Showin Fitchburg on Oct. 21, and onceagain we had a great turnout withmore than 250 alumni and friendsattending.”

During the program, ChancellorMarty Meehan presented hisdynamic vision for the University.He announced that Plastics Engineer-ing will have a significant presence inthe new Emerging Technologies andInnovation Center, which is sched-uled to begin construction this springwith completion targeted for 2012.

Meehan also awarded two newendowed professorships — theMark & Elisia Saab and the James V.Dandeneau Endowed Professorships— to Asst. Profs. Dan Schmidt andRamaswamy Nagarajan, respectively.Both awards were established with$1 million gifts. Interest from thesefunds are to be given annually to fac-ulty members who bring additional

elements of sustainability andenvironmental awareness to thedepartment. Schmidt was cited forhis work as sustainable curriculumcoordinator while Nagarajan wasrecognized for his research on envi-ronmentally friendly flame retardantsand biopolymers and for developing acurriculum on plastics and additivesfrom sustainable materials.

Malloy spoke to attendees about theearly history of the Plastics Engineer-ing Department. He said while creditis often given to Prof. Russ Ehlers forfounding the department, people tendto overlook the developments that ledto the hiring of Ehlers by the LowellTechnological Institute. Malloy point-ed out that, as the textile industrymoved south, there was no longer ademand for textile engineers, chemistsand designers.

“Around 1952, the Lowell Techadministration formed an advisorygroup of local industry leaders todetermine what technologies wouldbe emerging that would require askilled technical workforce,” he said.“One industry leader and visionary,Ralph Mondano of Raytheon Corp.,said that companies would need pro-

cess engineers, materials engineersand design engineers to work with thenew family of materials known asplastics. We, as graduates of theplastics engineering program, are allindebted to Ralph for his uniquevision at the time. He has never reallybeen given proper credit for this andother work he has done for theCollege of Engineering.”

Malloy has asked the UMass LowellAdvancement Office to rename thePlastics 50th Anniversary EndowedScholarship the Ralph MondanoEndowed Scholarship in honor ofhis efforts.

“We can think of no better way tothank Ralph for his efforts relatingto the creation of the Plastics Engi-neering Department,” he said.

That evening, Malloy also thankedProf. Amad Tayebi, who recentlyannounced his intention to retire inJune. Malloy presented him a letteron behalf of the Chancellor awardingan Emeritus Professor status to Tayebiupon his retirement.

“Prof. Tayebi is known for his excel-lence as an educator, receiving moredepartmental teaching awards than

by Edwin L. Aguirre

An Encore Tribute to Senior Plastics

FeatureStory


any other faculty member,” said Malloy.“He has also brought a spirit ofentrepreneurship to the department,teaching courses such as his popularBusiness Law for Engineers.”

Upon retirement, Tayebi intendsto continue to teach part time at the

University and will also give lecturesat companies on the subjects of intellec-tual property and patents.

“The funds he earns for this work willbe donated to The Amad Tayebi PlasticsEngineering endowed scholarship he hasrecently created,” said Malloy. �

1. Chancellor Marty Meehan presents Prof. Ramaswamy Nagarajan the first James V. Dandeneau Endowed Professorship.2. Plastics Engineering class of 1980 alumni gather, from left: Mark Yates, Juliette Carignan, Mike Heath, Andy Routsis, Carol Royal, Steve Kincaid, Jim Nason and Roger Temple.3. Friends and co-workers, from left, Steve Fidrych ’00, Peter Harrison ’77, John King ’97 and Michael Poirier ’01.4. Longtime Plastics Engineering supporter Rick Hoeske ’66, left, chats with, from left, plastics alumni Roger Somers ’69, Bob Cook ’77, Steve Kincaid ’80 and Gary Lane ’78.5. Prof. Aldo Crugnola, center, speaks with his college classmate Ray Naar, left, and plastics alum Bob Pierotti ’69.6. Ron Pataky ’94, left, and John Doucette ’89 congratulate Prof. Stephen Driscoll, center.7. Class of 2003 alumnae Susan Parisi, Melissa Egan and Cristina Emphasis catch up.

“We decided to have another tribute dinner in conjunction withthe MassPlastics Trade Show in Fitchburg on Oct. 21, and onceagain we had a great turnout with more than 250 alumni andfriends attending.” — Robert Malloy

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Engineering Faculty

FeatureStory


E very Monday and Friday morning at 7:30, Michael Furbush leaves hisUniversity Avenue apartment, gets into the 1985 Chrysler New Yorkerthat used to be his grandfather’s and which, he says, “is dying pretty

quick,” and heads off to work.

The senior plastics engineering major drives to Bedford where, for 17 to 20hours a week, he works for Millipore Corp., one of several jobs that havehelped him pay for part of the expense of earning a college degree.

He also has worked summers as a house painter, waited tables at RubyTuesday’s, had a work-study job in the College of Engineering and, this pastsummer, had an internship at Millipore.

“I work as many hours as I can, given my class workload,” he says.

Still, the debt is mounting.

Before graduating from Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Michaelapplied to several colleges and “got in pretty much everywhere,” but choseUMass Lowell because it was the most affordable one that offered civil engi-neering and industrial planning, careers he thought he might like to pursue.

But he soon discovered that civil engineering wasn’t his cup of tea. Thenhe gave the business curriculum a try with the same results. At that point, a

Scholarship money and a variety ofjobs have helped Michael Furbushfinance his education.

GenerousAlums InjectFunds to HelpMold BuddingPlasticsEngineers

by Jack McDonough



friend suggested plastics. That sounded“new and cutting edge,” he says, and hesoon found himself majoring in plasticsengineering.

Finances continued to be a problem,though. His father, who has alwaysworked in the financial field, and hismother, an accountant, had establisheda small business, which failed after threeyears. There was little support, there-fore, for Michael and his younger sister,Sara, who eventually would have todrop out of college for lack of funds.

It was critical, therefore, that scholar-ship money be available for Michael atUMass Lowell.

“I probably wouldn’t make it throughcollege without scholarship help,” hesays. “Anything helps. $500. $1,500.Anything. Once I graduate and I’mpaying off my loans, I’ll realize evenmore what a difference that money hasmade to me.”

Rick Hoeske ’66 knows what Michaelmeans because he, too, relied on schol-arship money when he was a student atLowell Tech. Now he has returned thefavor, establishing The Hoeske FamilyScholarship Fund that has benefitedMichael and many others.

Now retired after a career that includ-ed 31 years as vice president of engi-neering at Nypro Inc., Hoeske saysthere was no money for college when hegraduated from high school in Pittsfieldin 1958.

“So,” he says, “I entered a four-yearapprentice program, going three nightsa week to learn how to design andconstruct injection molds to produceplastic parts. When I finished, I had theequivalent of an associate engineeringdegree and a journeyman’s card, but Iwanted to explore the possibility offurthering my education.

“I still didn’t have much money, onlyenough to pay for about a semester and

a half. But I wanted to go anyway, soI quit the job I had and enrolled atLowell Tech.”

Once at Lowell, Hoeske made themost of it, playing varsity basketball,serving as president of his freshman classand becoming actively involved insocial activities.

“I became veryclose with the classadviser, Prof. (Ernie)James, and Dean(Richard) Ivers andthey arranged for meto have a three-yearscholarship as longas I maintained mygrades,” he says.

Hoeske did maintain his grades butdiscovered that the plastics curriculumwasn’t for him (too much chemistry)so he earned his degree in IndustrialManagement. After graduating, howev-er, he did “get involved” in plastics,working first for E.I. Dupont and BectonDickinson Inc. before joining Nypro.

“I always vowed that if I could do it,I’d like to reciprocate to the Universityand support some students,” he says.“There definitely are students at Lowellwho need money.

“I’ve found it very gratifying to dothis and I’ve enjoyed meeting studentswho’ve received support from my fund.I try to encourage them to stay in thiswonderful world of plastics, and remindthem that if they get the opportunity toreciprocate in the future they shouldtry to do it.”

The Plastics Engineering Departmenthas benefited from the generosity ofmany alumni like Hoeske. Among themare Andy Routsis ’80, Larry Acquarulo’81, Barry Perry ’68, John Quinn ’69,Leo Montagna ’70, Joe Day ’66, FredCharpentier ’81, Eamonn Hobbs ’80,Michael Johnston ’69, Jim McDonough

’76, Dave Myers ’76, David Pernick ’41,Peter Rucinski ’92, ’93 and Mark Yates’80, ’81.

Routsis, who established the AndyRoutsis Endowed Scholarship, says, “Ijust wanted to give back in some way.I’d like to give more and, as thingsdevelop and get better, I think I’ll beable to do that. I didn’t receive anyfinancial aid when I was a student.I worked fulltime and paid for it outof my own pocket.”

Because he had to work his waythrough school, Routsis understandshow difficult it can be and he wants tomake his scholarship attainable.

“When my scholarship was estab-lished, the school wanted to set theparameters higher,” he says. “Theywanted the student to maintain morethan a 2.5 GPA but I said ‘no.’ If some-one is struggling with the work, the lastthing they need is to worry about howto pay for their education. I probablyhad the lowest GPA in my class becauseI had to work fulltime.”

Routsis, president of A. RoutsisAssociates, a leader in the productionof training material forthe plastics industry,is excited about theprospects of PlasticsEngineering occupyinga section of theUniversity’s plannedEmerging Technolo-gies building.

“We’ve got an out-standing reputation allover the world,” he says. “We need tobe in a modern facility because we’reproducing world-class talent.”

The other alums have similarstories to tell.

Larry Acquarulo has established theAcquarulo Family Endowed Scholar-ship. What was his motivation?

“Probably the same as everyone else,”he says. “You’ve done well since you leftLowell so you feel an urge to give some-thing back. It was a great experience

Continued

“I probably wouldn’t make it through college without scholarship help,”he says. “Anything helps. $500. $1,500. Anything. Once I graduate andI’m paying off my loans, I’ll realize even more what a difference thatmoney has made to me.” — Michael Furbush

Rick Hoeske ’66

Andy Routsis ’80



there and it’s been a great experienceafter graduating … keeping in touchwith other alumni … and the successwe’ve had. Feeling fortunate. You’dlike to see the school do well and you’dlike to have everyone coming throughthe school have the same opportunitythat you had.

“I really like the direction that(Department Chair) Bob Malloy hastaken the program in, and (Chancel-lor) Marty Meehan has done a nicejob supporting the plastics program.We certainly want to keep it as it is —recognized as one of the premierprograms in the world.”

The founder and CEO of FosterCorp. in Putnam, Conn., Acquarulosays, “The last few years we’ve beenon campus recruiting graduates. Andwe’ve been bringing in interns for thelast eight or 10 years. We try to hireas many Lowell candidates as wepossibly can.”

Barry Perry, retired chairman andCEO of the Engelhard Corp. of Iselin,N.J., is another successful alumnus who

knows it’s not alwayseasy to finance acollege education.

“When I went toschool I came from aworking-class family.Going to college wasa big deal,” Perrysays. “I was fortunateto get some scholarships and that reallymade a difference for me. So, when Ihad a little extra disposable income, Istarted to think of what I wanted to do,and I thought of what Lowell Tech andplastics had done for me. I’d like tohave other kids have a scholarship ifthey need it, so that’s why I went withthe [Barry Perry Plastics EngineeringEndowment] scholarship fund.

“The program has maintained itsbasic values and I think that’s impor-tant.

“The thing that I think is so valuableabout the education I got was that ithad the technical components that areabsolutely necessary but there was alsoa practical element. I went to GE plas-tics right out of school, and I foundthat I had a lot of practical skills likehow to operate a machine that theywere trying to teach new hires. Thosethings served me well in jump-startingmy career.”

John Quinn, president of Excel Poly-mers of Solon, Ohio, and founder ofthe John E. Quinn Scholarship Endow-ment Fund, says, “I was motivated togive back when I heard that engineer-

ing careers are diminishing in thiscountry. I want to help keep the torchlit for the plastics program, the world-class team of professors and, of course,the students, the next generationof our industry.

“The PlasticsEngineering programat Lowell has been apremier curriculumsupporting the globalgrowth of the polymersindustry for over fivedecades. I was fortunateto have ‘caught thewave’ for 40 of thoseyears. Not only did I receive an educa-tion at Lowell, but I have been ableto maintain a network of classmateswho penetrated the industry and withwhom I have had the opportunityto work.

“One of the more satisfying aspectsof my job has been to recruit andmentor Lowell plastics engineers andto watch their professional andpersonal development.”

Leo Montagna says, “I startedmaking small contributions as soonas I graduated. As I started earningmore money in my job, my amountsincreased to where they are now.What motivated me was gratitude forthe education I got and the opportuni-ties that opened up to me.”

Montagna, president of Lee Plasticsin Sterling, has established the LeePlastics Equipment Endowment. �

Plastics engineering major Michael Furbushworks many hours a week to help pay for partof the cost of his education. When he says heprobably couldn’t make it without scholarshiphelp, he’s describing the plight of manyUMass Lowell students today.

The example set by the six alumni whosescholarships and endowments are describedin this article could be considered a challengefor all graduates to follow their lead.

For information on how to underwritefacilities or offer financial assistance of anyamount to those preparing today to be tomor-row’s productive citizens, contact John Davis,executive director of principle programs, at(978) 934-4806 or John_Davis @uml.edu.

The Eastman Kodak scholarship fundThe Russell Ehlers scholarship fundThe Henry Thomas scholarship fundThe Raymond Normandin scholarship fundThe Sung (S.J.) Chen scholarship fundThe Scott Adams scholarship fundThe Dandeneau Family scholarship fundThe McDonough Family scholarship fundThe John E. Quinn scholarship fundThe Moldflow Corporation scholarship fundThe Sterilite Corporation scholarship fundThe Hoeske Family scholarship fundThe Lee Plastics equipment fundThe Visteon scholarship fund

Plastics Department Scholarship Funds

Barry Perry ’68

John Quinn ’69

Larry Acquarulo ’81

The Mark and Elisia Saab scholarship fundThe Day Family scholarship fundThe Plastics Faculty scholarship fundThe Eamonn Hobbs scholarship fundThe Acquarulo Family scholarship fundThe Michael Johnston scholarship fundThe David Pernick Grad Student exchange fundThe David Pernick Plastics equipment fundThe Andy Routsis scholarship fundThe New England Keyboard scholarship fundThe Nypro Corporation scholarship fundThe Scholarship Fund for Students from IndiaThe Plastics 50th Anniversary scholarship fundThe Barry Perry Plastics Engineering Endowment



M ore than 130 years ago, on anApril evening in 1877, 40 mengathered upstairs in the Boston

and Lowell railroad station in Lowellto watch Boston University ProfessorAlexander Graham Bell demonstratehis new brand-new invention, the“telephony.”

Among those believed to be present –and to listen to an organ 26 miles away inBoston play songs like “Yankee Doodle” –was Dr. Moses Greeley Parker. An ama-teur inventor, as well as physician, Parkerwas intrigued by the telephone demon-stration and began buying stock. By 1883,he was one of the largest stockholdersin both the American Telephone Co.and the New England Telephone andTelegraph Co.

Upon his death, the bulk of the fortunehe amassed passed to his sister, MaryGreeley Parker Morrison, and to anephew, Theodore Edson Parker Jr.The latter inspired the formation of theBoston-based Theodore Edson ParkerFoundation in 1944; in its early years,the foundation spread its goodwillthroughout the state. Today, it supportsonly Lowell-based non-profits.

After all, “the money was made inLowell,” says Phil Hall, the foundation’sadministrator. “Plus, our annual budget ofabout $1 million doesn’t go far in Boston,but in a city like Lowell it does.”

UMass Lowell has been a beneficiary ofthe Parker Foundation’s commitment toLowell; since 1985, the organization hassupported the University with more than$500,000 in gifts, across a broad rangeof disciplines.

“We’re all about the revitalization ofLowell and certainly the University hasbeen very good at that,” he says. “Theacquisition of the downtown hotel, whencoupled with the influx of artists, is very

exciting for us. It’s making for a muchhappier downtown and students [who areliving in the new Inn & ConferenceCenter] contribute greatly to that.”

Meanwhile, says Caitlin O’Brien,UMass Lowell’s corporate and foundationrelations officer, the Parker Foundation’s“dedication to the Lowell community hasallowed the University to partner withlocal organizations and to provide servicesto many – not just our students.”

In particular, the foundation has pro-vided critical funding to encourage adeeper collaboration between UMassLowell and the National Park Service,as well as with Middlesex CommunityCollege and the City of Lowell throughthe Cultural Organization of Lowell.

“The Parker Foundation plays anessential role in Lowell as both a funderand leader in helping the community setpriorities for development,” says PaulMarion, executive director of Communityand Cultural Affairs at UMass Lowell.

Most notably, Parker grants werecritical to the success in recent yearsof collaborative projects such as the pre-miere of the Cambodian rock opera“Where Elephants Weep,” the award-winning museum exhibition of JackKerouac’s legendary “On the Road” scrollmanuscript and the first two years of theMassachusetts Poetry Festival in Lowell.

David Turcotte, program manager ofthe University’s Center for Family, Work

and Community, knows firsthand thevalue of the foundation; since 1999, hisproposals have earned him $135,000 ingrants from the Parker.

Turcotte has used the money to addressa variety of challenges: the growinghomelessness and foreclosure crisis; theneed for sustainable development andgreen building programs and operationaltraining for non-profits.

“These grants often lead to the creationof other institutions to sustain the impor-tant work,” he says. “For example, theNon-Profit Alliance was organizedthrough funding from Parker and hascontinued its work for almost 10 yearswhile the green building report we pro-duced for the City of Lowell led to theestablishment of Lowell’s Green BuildingCommission, which is helping to imple-ment many of our recommendations.”

The Parker grants provide seed fundingfor needed projects that don’t qualify fortraditional federal and state funding,Turcotte adds. “Unlike a city like Boston,which has many large private foundationsto support the work of community-univer-sity partnerships, Lowell only has theParker Foundation to support these kindsof projects and research,” he says. �

Music Prof. Kay George Roberts, left, traveled toCambodia to conduct the workshop performance“Where Elephants Weep,” an opera funded in partby the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation.

Lowell’s Jack Kerouacinspired a generation ofbeat writers through hiswork, including "On theRoad" which was typedon a long scroll. An exhibitfeaturing that scroll wasfunded in part by theTheodore Edson ParkerFoundation.

Laying the FoundationWith more than $500,000 in grants, the Theodore Edson Parker Foundationhas enabled a deeper connection between UMass Lowell and the community

by Sarah McAdams

“We’re all about the revitalizationof Lowell and certainly theUniversity has been very goodat that.” — Phil Hall



“If you pose a problem to an inno-vative mind, it will come up witha solution to the problem.”

Such a simple notion. Obvious, really.But when you replicate it, thousands oftimes over — which is what GururajDeshpande is really talking about —and back it with commitment, patienceand millions of dollars in capital, it canliterally change the world.

Applying minds and dollars to someof the world’s biggest problems is what“Desh” Deshpande devotes his life tothese days. He is doing it, especially, inhis native India, where a kitchen he isfunding is feeding hungry children at apace of 185,000 meals a day – and wherea total of 70 of non-profits he is backingare harvesting rainwater, teaching chil-dren to read, training teachers, empow-ering women, massing voter drives,improving healthcare and a hundredother things. He is doing it at MIT,where his $20 million gift supportsresearch and collaboration among stu-dents, young companies and high-techentrepreneurs: the Deshpande Centerfor Technological Innovation, one ofthe world’s foremost non-profit collegethink tanks. And he is doing it right

here at UMass Lowell, where his IndoU.S. Collaboration for Engineering Edu-cation (IUCEE) is funding engineeringworkshops in India, led by U.S. profes-sors, to advance the teaching of engi-neering education in Indian colleges.

“Things can be done in India atunimaginably low costs,” he says. “Theidea is to find these [low-cost] areas,optimize your solutions, then replicatethem as widely as you can.”

Deshpande is, as you would expect,a very wealthy man, though with thebursting of the high-tech bubble, hiswealth may be less today (“I’m a rich guy– every day’s a fun day for me,” is theonly answer he would give to a reporterlast April when had asked if he’s a bil-lionaire). Whatever his wealth totals,its earliest growth took place in Canada,where he had moved in the mid-70’sfrom India after earning his B.S. at theInstitute of Technology in Madras.As he tells it, a professor he had ingraduate school – Queens University inToronto, where he earned his Ph.D. indata communications – offered him thechance to work with him at a smallcompany there, a division of Motorola.He began there in 1980.

“It was very small, a garage operation,really, with maybe 20 of us. But we hadquite a ride,” Deshpande says.

By the end of that ride, four years later– when he left Canada for the UnitedStates, to work for Motorola itself – the20 employees had grown to 400, and thecompany was billing $100 million a year.He would spend the next four yearslearning the guts of a business – withjobs in sales, marketing and other areas –but he knew by now where he wanted tobe going from there.

“I’d gotten hooked on buildingcompanies,” he says. “I had really caughtthe bug.”

There was one false start along theway: a start-up called Coral Networks,which was launched with a partner in1988. It didn’t work out; when he lefttwo years later, there was almost nothingin the bank (“I had no money,” he wouldtell a writer several years later, “but onceyou’ve run a company, it’s very tough towork for anyone else again”).

There would be no more failures. Thenext venture, Cascade Communications,based in Westford, a developer of frame-relay equipment, was a winner from the

‘Desh’ Deshpande: Philanthropist,Visionary, Venture Capitalist to the World

by Geoffrey Douglas


start. Founded with a partner in 1990with a few thousand dollars and someventure-capital help, it quickly grew to900 employees and $500 million in sales.In March 1997, it was sold for $3.7 bil-lion. The Deshpande share, though onlya fraction of this, still measured in thehundreds of millions.

That was big – but nothing even closeto what followed. Sycamore Networks, inTewksbury, one of the earliest fiber-opticcompanies, was launched in 1997, in theheat of the technology boom. Funded,like Cascade, on venture-capital funds(“Once you’ve done a successful start-up,it becomes relatively easy to get access toventure capital,” he would say later),it went public only two years later: theIPO, which opened at $38 a share, closedthe same day at $170, and would rise farhigher in the following months – eventu-ally reaching a market capitalization of$51 billion. By any measure you apply,Deshpande was now a billionaire.

And that was when he got out. Or, ashe prefers to describe it: “It was when Idecided I’d rather be more of a coach.”

Leaving his old business partner to runSycamore, Deshpande refocused hisefforts. Where before they had been sin-gular – one company, one set of goals at atime – they now became almost impossi-bly diverse: Piggy-backing on his abilityto attract venture-capital funds, he hasbeen launching small start-ups and non-profits (the goal, he says, is one of eachevery year) since he walked away fromSycamore nearly 10 years ago. Some arehigh-tech, others not. All are backed byventure-capital money. Some of them,not surprisingly, are based in India.

One of the first start-ups was TejasNetworks, a telecom company in Banga-lore. Another is A123 Systems, whichmakes rechargeable batteries. There is awireless company, Airvana, an invest-ment company, a natural language pro-cessing company and many, many more.

The non-profits are even more diverse– and more ambitious. Funded largelythrough grants by the Deshpande Foun-

dation, which was created by Desh andhis wife, Jaishree, 13 years ago and hasbeen building on itself ever since, theseare a network of organizations, based inthe northwestern Karnataka region ofIndia (the childhood home of both Deshand Jaishree) that raise the level of lifeacross the widest possible spectrum –and, at the same time, create an afford-able, “scalable” model for expansion.

The basic idea is to apply the time,efforts and creativity of the best mindsavailable to some of the most intractableproblems in India: hunger, illiteracy,unemployment, disease, drought, pollu-tion, the marginalization of women.By concentrating their initiatives solelyon the Karnataka region – an area ofroughly 9 million people, which theFoundation terms its “Sandbox” – thenon-profits can remain focused, makethe greatest difference possible for thedollars available and, at the same time,construct a model for expansion(“optimize, then duplicate”).

There is almost no limit to the scopeof these organizations. Loosely structuredaround four basic classifications – liveli-hood, agriculture, education and health– they include everything from villageclinics and school-lunch kitchens toirrigation projects, science classes forrural children and micro-loans for familyfarms. The key to all of them is theparticipation of innovative leaders –the “social entrepreneurs” that are atthe core of the Deshpande initiative.

Then there is the IUCEE. This initia-tive, similar in intent but narrower infocus than the Karnataka non-profits,was the brainchild of UMass Lowellengineering Professor and Dean Emeritus

Krishna Vedula, also a native of India,who sees it as a way to transform thescope and quality of engineeringeducation in that country.

Based on the premise that the UnitedStates and India are at the leading edgeof the worldwide technology revolution,the aim of the IUCEE is to increase thenumber of engineering faculty in the twocountries, at the same time promotingcollaboration. Under the direction ofVedula (whom Deshpande describes aspossessing both “the energy and theintellectual rigor to make this a suc-cess”), and backed by the DeshpandeFoundation and a consortium of globalorganizations and businesses – HP, Infos-ys, Dassault Systemes, National Instru-ment, the World Bank Institute, andothers – the IUCEE is now approachingits third year. For the last two summers,600 engineering college teachers inIndia have attended workshops there,in a range of specializations, taught byU.S. professors.

The idea, of course, is that the chainwill self-perpetuate: each summer’s stu-dent-professors will in turn impart theirknowledge to the students they teachat home, and so on down the line.Ultimately, if the chain remains intact,up to 600,000 engineering students willhave benefitted from the best trainingand the finest body of knowledge avail-able in the world – and both they andthe world will reap the results.

It is this same philosophy that liesat the core of all of Desh Deshpande’smany – now nearly countless – initia-tives: that if you apply the best possibleminds to a problem, then replicate theprocess, there is no limit to what youcan achieve.

“[Feeding] one kid can change afamily,” he says. “With a million kids,you could change a million families.You do that for 15 or 20 years, youcould change the entire country.”

And, by natural extension, theworld. �

“[Feeding] one kid can changea family. With a million kids,you could change a millionfamilies. You do that for 15or 20 years, you could changethe entire country.”

— Desh Deshpande



Robert Molinari ’94 was 40 years oldin 1992, a single father of two youngchildren working a blue-collar job.But at least there was security – hehad been with the company 15 yearsat the time.

Then one day, with little warning,he learned that the company would bemoving out of state. He had a choiceto make: follow the work and risk dis-ruption to his children, whose liveswere already upended by their parents’divorce; to look for another job or –the riskiest course of all – to take theopportunity to complete the collegeeducation he’d halfway-finishedyears before.

“I met [Charlie] Hoff at his office inAttleboro,” Molinari wrote in a lettertwo years ago. “I explained my situa-tion and asked him for his help.”

He was awarded a Hoff Scholarship,one of the early ones. For the next twoyears he worked part-time jobs, tookcare of his children and carried thefullest course-load he could manage(“day, night, summer and interses-

sion”) to earn the credits required tograduate – which he did, from theCollege of Management with a 3.95GPA, in June of 1994.

He passed the CPA exam that samespring with the third-highest score inthe state. He is today a successfulaccountant, managing the internalaudit department of a major health-care system.

“Without the support of the Hofffamily, I’m certain I wouldn’t havebeen able to take the courses neededin the timeframe that I did,” Molinariwrites in concluding his letter.“They were a lifeline for us in atime of real need.”

The Hoff Scholars

Robert Molinari’s letter is one ofdozens Charlie Hoff ’66 received inthe spring of 2008, congratulating himon receiving the UMass President’sMedal, the University’s highest honor,which was awarded to him that year ata presentation in Boston’s SymphonyHall. Many of the letters, like Moli-nari’s, are from long-ago graduates;

A Hoff Scholar, 15Years Later:‘You Were Able to See the Person

I Could Become’

Robert Molinari ’94

Datda Chanthavysouk ’10

Ciana Abdollahian ’09 Daniel Ewing ’98

by Geoffrey Douglas



others are from recent ones, othersfrom students still in school. All ofthem share a common story-line: offinancial need answered, an educationmade possible, the successes that fol-lowed, the deep gratitude that endures.

Hoff, a 1966 Lowell Tech graduate,has been giving away UMass educa-tions – at all five campuses – for morethan 20 years. The exact number of“Hoff scholars” is hard to determine,but it is at least 1,500, probably more.Their majors run the gamut frommusic to nursing to business manage-ment; some are as young as 19, othersas old as 60. All that joins them isfinancial need, a desire for an educa-tion and a minimum 3.0 GPA. Andfinally, as Hoff once put it: “They needto be the sort of people who’ll make adifference in their communities … thesort of people who, if I were still hir-ing, I’d want to hire myself.”

Daniel Ewing ’98, like Molinari,seems just that sort of person. Awardeda Hoff scholarship in the early 1990s,he was still a student several years laterwhen, he writes, a diving accidentrendered him a quadriplegic. He spentmuch of the next three years in and

out of hospitals, shuttling betweensurgeries and rehab appointments,relearning how to live. Finally, in1996, with much help from friends andcaregivers, and the Hoff scholarshipstill in force, he was able to returnto his studies. He earned his UMassLowell degree, in chemical engineer-ing, in 1998.

“The only problem,” his letter says,“was that being confined to awheelchair didn’t lend itself to work-ing as a chemical engineer.” So hemastered some new skills, relearnedsome old ones, and found work asa software engineer. He has beenworking at the same company now –with continual advancements – formore than 10 years.

“My career is rewarding, and I wel-come new challenges,” he concludeshis letter. “[What I accomplished] wasmade easier for me by the self-confi-dence I gained because you, and otherslike you, had confidence in me.”

Datda Chanthavysouk’s story, ormuch of it, is still unwritten. A seniorthis year on her way to a degree inbusiness management, she lives inLowell with her parents, who, she

wrote, “emigrated from Laos to pursuebetter lives from communism.” At thetime of her letter, she was workingpart-time as a teller at a bank inLowell, and helping to take care of herparents. Following graduation, she ishoping to be part of the bank’s man-agement team – though her long-termgoals were more ambitious than that:

“One of my dreams is to open ayouth community center that serves asa place where young children can goafter school. I want to be able to helpbuild a better future, and I think itstarts with the youth…

“It is a great honor to be a recipientof a Hoff scholarship. Without it, Idon’t think I would be able to attendcollege full-time. When I graduate, Iwill be the first in my family to go tocollege and finish. This was a dreamthat is now an obtainable goal.”

In the fall of 2007, just as JarradFarrington was starting his firstsemester as a Hoff scholar (he was asenior at the time), his father diedunexpectedly. Not only was this adevastating blow – it also left him tolook after, almost single-handedly, aclose family friend, an elderly manwho suffered from Alzheimer’s andhad depended on Farrington’s fatherfor his care.

“This entails between two and sixhours a day, seven days a week,” he

“It is a great honor to be a recipient of a Hoff scholarship.Without it, I don’t think I would be able to attend college full-time.When I graduate, I will be the first in my family to go to collegeand finish.” — Datda Chanthavysouk

Jarrad Farrington ’08 Carol Francis ’92 Michael Hatfield ’94

Continued



wrote in the spring of 2008. “It is difficult attimes, but extremely rewarding.” At the timehe wrote his letter, he was still in pursuit of adegree in his double-major of psychology andcriminal justice, and working part-time as anauxiliary police officer in Winchester. He wasalso president of the criminal-justice honorssociety and the psychology honors society; atgraduation, several weeks later (though hecouldn’t have known it at the time), he wouldbe honored with the Department of Psycholo-gy’s Rondeau Leadership Award

“It has been several months since we met,”Farrington wrote, “but I still remember everymoment….Without your exceptional generosi-ty and high expectations of me, my work on-and off-campus would not have been possible.I thank you for everything you have done, formy fellow students and me.”

The tributes go on and on. AlexandraSchechter ’10, a senior this year, who spenther freshman year (before qualifying for a Hoffscholarship) working three jobs, writes tothank the Hoff family for “taking the burdenof my tuition off my parents’ shoulders – theyare the hardest-working people I know.” CianaAbdollahian, a 2009 marketing graduate,writes to share the news of her graduation andnew job as a marketing specialist, and to addthat she hopes: “one day, like you, to be ableto contribute to the success of future genera-tions.” Michael Hatfield ’94, today a directorof finance at a public company, remembersthat “when I met [you] it was a time in my lifewhere, due to circumstances, very few peoplehad any confidence in me. [You] were able tolook past things that had happened in my life,and to see the person I could become.”

Carol Francis ’92, who owns and runs herown lease-advisory company, concludes herletter (in which she enclosed a photo of herwith her baby daughter, Sophia) with perhapsthe simplest, most eloquent tribute of them all:

“Sophia has just celebrated her first birthday,and is by far my greatest accomplishment andjoy. Your gift of an education has allowed meto become a woman I hope my daughter willone day admire: educated, self-sufficient andhappy. And for that you have my gratitude.” �

For Lawrence High School Students:Bridging the Tuition GapHenry J. (“Hank”) Powell ’55 and his wife M.J., like Charlie Hoff ’66 and

his family, are a fixture among UMass Lowell scholarship funds. For morethan 10 years now, the Powell Family Endowment Fund has been makingeducations possible, awarding scholarships to students – especiallyminority students – from high schools in Lawrence and Lowell.

Only last year, Chancellor Marty Meehan announced the establishmentof the Henry J. Powell Lawrence High School Endowed Scholarship forUniversity Success, designed to bring students from Lawrence publicschools to UMass Lowell for a seven-week residential summer program.Nearly 150 students from grades seven through 12, at all achievementlevels, participate in the program.

The most recent Powell initiative, the Lawrence High School/University ofMassachusetts Pathways Initiative, follows in the tradition of earlier Powellefforts by taking the lead in placing a UMass Lowell education within reachof qualified Lawrence High graduates.

In order to augment this funding, a new collaborative effort by theUniversity and the Lawrence Public School System, directed specifically atUMass Lowell alumni living in the Greater Lawrence area, aims to raise anadditional $100,000 in scholarship funds for LHS graduates who plan toattend UMass Lowell.

“As an alumnus and resident [of Lawrence], you may have a personalinterest in helping your alma mater support a very special scholarshipinitiative,” reads the text of a letter that went out recently to Lawrence-areaalumni. “Henry Powell and his wife are leading the way…” Last September,40 LHS graduates entered UMass Lowell as freshmen. Of these, nearly half– 19 students – had participated in the UMass Lowell summer program. Andof these 19, three were awarded scholarship aid as a result of contributionsthat had come in through the new Powell initiative – a number, says ViceProvost for Graduate Education Don Pierson, that the University hopes toimprove on as the $100,000 target grows nearer.

“The Powell family has consistently taken the lead in making a Universityeducation affordable to Lawrence students who could not otherwiseafford it,” says Pierson. “For students willing to commit their time in thesummer, this new program – assuming that other alumni follow their lead —will make it possible for even more of them to attain their educational goals.”

Although all 40 of last fall’s entering freshmen from LHS received some formof private and/or state scholarship aid, Pierson notes, the average studentwas still left with $5,500 in debt to meet the costs of first-year tuition andfees – which, projected over four years, would accrue to a loan burden ofmore than $20,000 by graduation. More than a few of these students, ifhistory is any guide, will elect to drop out of school before finishing ifsomething isn’t done to lighten their load.

“That shouldn’t be happening,” says Pierson. “And thanks to thegenerosity of the Powell family and the alumni who follow their example,it will be increasingly less common – as more of those students than everbefore will be able to afford to complete their educations.”

Powell, a Lowell native and 1955 UMass Lowell graduate, is the founderand former president of the Powell Corporation in Haverhill.


As the oldest of eight children,Linda (Mangan) FitzPatrick ’68 mightnot have been able to attend collegewithout the scholarship she receivedfrom UMass Lowell (then LowellState).

“That scholarship opened opportu-nities for me, as someone from aworking-class family,” she says.“The education I received and thepossibilities it opened up for mechanged my life.”

That’s why, in addition to herongoing support for her alma mater,she included a bequest in her willfor UMass Lowell. She thinks otheralumni should, too.

“My line of work taught me theimportance of bequest gifts to non-profits,” says FitzPatrick, who retiredtwo years ago as senior vice presidentand national business manager forCharitable Gift Services at BNYMellon Wealth Management inBoston. “They are usually largergifts that create a lasting impact onthe charity. I wanted to make alasting impact on UMass Lowell withthe FitzPatrick Family EndowedScholarship.”

She established the FitzPatrickFamily Endowed Scholarship in 2005with an outright gift. The scholarshipbenefits students enrolled in the FastTrack to Teaching Program in theGraduate School of Education.

“The bequest will ensure ongoing,continuous support for the scholar-

ship,” she says. “It’s important toprovide a good education for thosewho don’t have the resources.”

FitzPatrick was originally an elemen-tary school teacher with a degree fromLowell State, but later earned bache-lor’s and master’s degrees in account-ing from other universities. Her careerevolved from teaching to workingwith not-for-profits, and culminatedin her heading up BNY Mellon’sCharitable Gift Services division.

It was her early years at LowellState, though, that “opened up allthese possibilities for me and gave memy start,” she says. She remembersfondly her Lowell State professorswho influenced her, including Dr.McGauvran who “instilled confidencein me” and Dr. Burto, who was “justwonderful and creative.”

In retirement, FitzPatrick and herhusband, Peter, a retired engineer,enjoy traveling and spending timewith their two children and twograndchildren. At UMass Lowell,Linda serves on the Graduate Schoolof Education Advisory Board.She helped establish the PlannedGiving Committee, and adviseson fundraising and marketing ofplanned gifts.

“The FitzPatrick Family EndowedScholarship is not about me. It isabout UMass Lowell now and in thefuture,” she says. “I had a wonderfulcareer, and I want others to have thesame opportunity.” �

Linda FitzPatrickGives Back toUMass Lowellfor ‘ChangingHer Life’

Bequests ProvideLong-Term Supportfor UMass LowellOne of the easiest ways to make

a significant gift to UMass Lowell isthrough a bequest.

“Leaving a bequest to UMass Lowellor creating a charitable gift annuityallows donors to hold on to theirmoney now and give it away whenthey no longer need it,” explainsCarolyn Flynn, director of giftplanning for the UMass system.

Establishing an endowed fund likeLinda FitzPatrick did is just one wayto provide such a gift. Other ways toleave bequests include creating anew will or revocable trust, addinga codicil to your present will, ordesignating UMass Lowell as thebeneficiary of your retirement plan,insurance policy, donor advised fundor private foundation.

Leaving a bequest to UMass Lowelldemonstrates your confidence andsupport for the future of the University,says Flynn, adding that most donors“may be able to do more than theyever thought possible through aplanned gift.”

For more information, pleasecontact Flynn at 877-775-1992or [email protected].

Linda FitzPatrick ’68, shown herewith her grandchildren, establishedthe FitzPatrick Family EndowedScholarship in 2005 to make alasting impact on UMass Lowell.


Athletics

Volleyball: A well deservedChampionship“This is the greatest!”

So exclaimed UMass Lowell Volleyball Head CoachKaren McNulty after the No. 4 seed River Hawkssurprised everyone and won the Northeast-10Conference Volleyball Tournament.

“We’ve had some big wins, but this is the biggest,” saysMcNulty, now in her 16th season as head coach. “This isthe greatest win since I’ve been here.”

UMass Lowell defeated Adelphi University in theconference tournament championship game, three setsto two. The scores reflect the battle; 23-25, 25-22, 25-17,21-25 and 15-12.

The championship was the volleyball program’s first inits 27-year history. It was only the third time in historythe school had reached a conference championship game.

“Certainly we are a talented team,” says McNulty,who was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coachof the Year, “but I also think maturity was a big part ofthe success.”

The coach also pointed to the off-season preparation:“We had two great non-traditional seasons in which theplayers have lifted [weights] and gotten stronger, whichmade us mentally stronger.”

The turning point in the season came in late September– a 3-1 win against Merrimack in what was the team’s17th game of the year. “We hadn’t beaten Merrimackin quite a while and they were a very good team,” saysMcNulty. “The players realized, once they were actuallyable to get that ‘W,’ that potentially they could beatanybody they wanted to.”

The River Hawks went on to win 16 of their next19 games and the NE-10 tournament Championship,finishing the year with a 22-10 record.

by Bob Ellis


UMass Lowell Hockey:Hunter or HuntedThere is a difference between being the hunter and thehunted. In the 2009-10 college hockey season, the UMassLowell River Hawks are the latter.

“We’re the hunted for sure,” says Head Coach BlaiseMacDonald. “The difference is, in the past we’ve alwayspostured ourselves as the hunter.”

The identities have been defined by the national rankings.UMass Lowell spent the first 13 weeks of the college hockeyseason among the elite. The team held a place in the top20 according to both major polls, USCHO and USAToday/American Hockey Magazine. This is the team’s longestperiod of time ranked since the 2001-02 season when theRiver Hawks spent 22 weeks in the top 20.

Even during the last two seasons, which each culminatedwith a trip to the NCAA tournament, the River Hawksspent fewer weeks on the hot list.

“That’s respect shown to our players and program,” saysMacDonald, “but the only thing that matters is the actionon the ice.”

For MacDonald, the coaching staff and the players, it’s notabout what the “experts” say: “We try to have our team feel agreat sense of pride in who we are, not what other people saywe are. We always want to strive for excellence,” says Mac-Donald. “We want to take the small but difficult leap fromgood to great.”

Does a national ranking bring additional pressure? No, saysMacDonald: “Pressure is something that you can apply orfeel. We want to have such high standards that nobody canput pressure on us.

“Lowell hockey is tough, hard-nosed hockey. Lowell Hock-ey is playing with a lot of integrity, consistency and prepara-tion. Lowell hockey is dependent upon trust and structure.”

by Bob Ellis

Athletics


The goal defended by the UMassLowell women’s soccer team hasbeen kept clean of unwantedobjects for an extraordinarily longtime: 12 consecutive shutouts. Intotal, 1,333 minutes have passedwithout a goal scored against theRiver Hawks.

The shutout streak constructedby goal keeper Jamie Gillis and herteammates is an NCAA DivisionII record.

Gillis’ name went into the recordbook, officially, during the secondhalf of the River Hawks’ Oct. 17match against Southern Connecti-cut State University, when thetotal surpassed the previous recordof 1,192 minutes established in1997 by Lynn University goalkeeper Nikki Kalavitis.

“I guess it’s pretty cool. I haveto give a lot of credit to my team-mates,” says Gillis. “I haven’t hadto make too many saves.”

Head Coach Elie Monteirodescribes Gillis as a special player:“The thing that separates Jamiefrom other goal keepers who havehad success in the Northeast-10Conference is that her attitude hasnever changed. She continues towant to get better and to want herteammates to get better,” he says.

The streak began on Sept. 9 dur-ing a 3-1 win against StonehillCollege and ended, 45 days later,in an Oct. 24 double overtime, 1-0

loss to the College of Saint Rose.In between there were 12 consecu-tive shutouts, four of whichincluded two overtime periods.

“It’s about knowing your posi-tioning and where you have to befor the shot,” says Gillis. “If youcan do that, you should be able tomake the save pretty easily. I’mnot really afraid of anything, I’lldo whatever I have to, to makea save.”

The NCAA record book willlist only Gillis’ name, but the goalkeeper refuses to take the creditfor herself. “It’s definitely a teamaccomplishment,” she says. “I’vehad three of the same (defensive)back four since I’ve been here andI think we’ve done a good job witheach other. We know how eachother plays.”

Indeed, this was arguably thebest River Hawk Women’s Soccerseason; the team finished the yearwith a 12-5-3 record and made itsfourth appearance in the NCAAtournament in five years.

Gillis and teammate KathleenStrazerre were named to theNational Soccer Coaches Associa-tion of America Division II AllAmerica Teams. They are thefirst two River Hawks to earnsuch honors in the program’s15-year history.

Gillis also appeared in SportsIllustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd”section in October, the sixth RiverHawk so honored.

UMass BaseballCoach Inducted intoHall of Fame

Former UMass Lowell baseball coach JimStone was inducted into the American BaseballCoaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Famein January.

“I think this is the biggest honor I’ve everreceived,” says Stone. “Something like thisdoesn’t come down road for everyone. I amvery, very fortunate to have had the playersand assistant coachesthat helped make thishappen.”

After joining LowellTechnological Institutein 1965, Stone com-piled an 801-393-7record in 37 seasons.He was inducted intothe UMass LowellAthletic Hall of Famein November 2003 afterhis final season withthe River Hawks. Overhis last 22 seasons, the River Hawkswon at least 20 of the 30 games they playedseven times.

Stone led UMass Lowell to the NortheastRegional Championship and Division II WorldSeries in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, the team fellto St. Mary’s (2-1) and Delta State (6-2). In2002, the River Hawks reached the semifinalround before falling to Cal State-Chico, 8-4.

Joining him at the induction ceremony inwere many family members, as well with severalof his former players, including Joe Luis, SteveBotto and Jon Cahill, along with FluoretteBoutin, mother of the late David Boutin, acatcher at UMass Lowell from 1988 to 1990,who lost his life to cancer in 1990. UMassLowell Director of Athletics Dana Skinnerand Head Baseball Coach Ken Harring alsoattended the ceremony.

A native of Easthampton, Stone and hiswife, Pat, have raised three children and havesix grandchildren. They now reside in NorthFort Myers, Fla.

Jamie Gillis: Keepingthe Net Clean

by Bob Ellis


AlumniEvents

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#1 Sarah Wroblowski ’05, Stacey Pincus ’06, Joshua Carroll ’05 andLaura Petros ’04 enjoyed the recent alumni reception at Grand Canalin Boston in October.

#2 Plastics alumni from the Class of 1980 gathered for a mini-reunionin April. From left: Roger Temple, Andy Routsis, Brian McGregor,Steve Kincaid, Carol Royal, Mike Heath, Jim Dandeneau, Jim Nason,Ralph Guyer and Al Trieber.

#3 Several members of the Lowell State College Class of 1954 metfor an informal luncheon in October at the Old Salt Restaurant inHampton, N.H. Pictured, from left: Larry Marocco, Christine DerbyMarocco, Jane Yarnall Walker, Andy Morse and Joan Young Palmer.Others who attended: Barbara Lyons Arey, Bob Bachelder, MaryLuciano Danahy, Robert Ellison, Gerry Ferronetti, Joan TassinariFrancis, Richard Gesner, Martina Harrington Grover, Esther ConnorHopkins, Rosemary Liston Janis, Mary McLarnon Mansur, MaryLamb Nee and Nancy Taylor Williams. Anyone interested inattending next year’s gathering should call Jane Yarnall Walker at978-692-8646 or Christine Derby Marocco at 978-475-7264.

#4 Engineering Dean John Ting, far right, and Professor NathanGartner, head of the Civil & Environmental Department, second fromright, visited Fay, Spafford, Thorndike recently. With them are FSTPresident Dean Groves, far left, and some of the UMass Lowellalumni who work at FST. UMass Lowell graduates represent nearly10 percent of the company’s staff.

#5 Patricia Sullivan Talty, Chancellor Marty Meehan ’78, Linda Willis,Michael Sullivan and Doug Sullivan gather at Allen House for anevening to establish the G. Douglas and Mary C. SullivanScholarship Fund.

#6 From left, Daniel Dodson; Bob Malloy ’79, professor and chair,Plastics Engineering; Sheila Eppolito, staff writer, Public Affairs;Lois Nangle, assistant to the director of information and donorservices; Heather Makrez ’06 ’08, associate director of programsand alumni services; and Bob Gamache, dean of the school ofmarine sciences.

#7 Gavin Cummings ’88 and John Paganetti ’84 traveled to GampelPavilion in Storrs, Conn., to see the River Hawks basketball teamtake on the UConn Huskies in an exhibition game. At an alumnireception before the game, fans heard from River Hawks CoachGreg Herenda and UConn coaching legend Dee Rowe. 7


A Business Plan to Live By: Bare Feet,Sunshine and an Outdoor Tiki Bar

Theirs was a friendship, like a fair number of friendships at UMass Lowell,that began on the hockey rink. Mark Pandolfo and PeteTormey were aforward and defenseman, respectively, on the River Hawks’ 2004-05 team,which finished that season with 20 wins. Only a year later, by sheercoincidence, they found themselves together again, this time as teammateson the Trenton Titans double-A pro team. They signed up to be roommates –which led to a lot of talking, some of it about what they could do to makea living off the hockey rink. There was some talk about starting abusiness together but, as it is with much ofthat sort of talk, nothingcame of it at the time.

The season ended and thetwo went home for thesummer, Pete to Buzzards Bay,Mark to North Andover.Sometime not long after, Pete,who was known to be handywith a hammer, was asked by afriend if he’d build him a back-yard bar. He did, it was a goodone, and the friend was verypleased. Somewhere along theway a light went off, which wasbrightened in a phone call toMark – and the rest, as the sayinggoes, is history.

Barefoot Bars, the product and company that grew out of that summer’senterprise, is today a household name on the Cape. And, now with custom-made outdoor bars at clubs and restaurants all over New England – the RedSky and Grand Canal in Boston, the Boathouse in Falmouth, the BrickhouseBar & Grill in Woonsocket, R.I. — they are a thriving, growing presence allover southern New England.

“We’re offering people a product to help them escape the daily stress,” saysMark Pandolfo. Our slogan gives you a pretty good sense of what we stand for—‘Get away from the grind, in a barefoot state of mind!’”

There is a bar for every space and need, and almost any budget – from thesmall, portable Barefoot Adventure Bar, which “breaks down in just minutes,”for $749, all the way up through the Barefoot Tiki Bungalow at upwards of$2,000: a four-cornered, faux-Hawaiian number with a thatched roof, customsign and three different colors of paint.

And they haven’t stopped with bars. The company’s website, not muchmore than a year old, is already touting its T-shirts, decals, special events andcatering services (“From upscale corporate events to backyard bashes, yourwish is our command”). They’ve even got something they call the BarefootYacht Club, an outdoor venue on Falmouth Harbor, complete with “wait staff,bartenders and the best live music on the Cape,” whose credo seems a perfectfit for its free-spirited pair of founders:

“No Shirt, No Shoes, No Worries.”

Mazzei’s Book ExaminesParamilitary Groups

Julie Mazzei’s significant research intoparamilitary groups has resulted in publica-tion of her book, “Death Squads or SelfDefense Forces? How Paramilitary GroupsEmerge and Challenge Democracy inLatin America,” by The University ofNorth Carolina Press.

Mazzei ’95, professor of Political Scienceat Kent State University, became interest-ed in how paramilitary groups – sometimescalled “death squads” – get organized andpowerful. According to Mazzei, paramili-tary groups form whenthe wealthy elite,members of the mili-tary and the politicallypowerful pool theirresources to preventreform, and use theirmoney, expertise andideology to organizegroups. In each of thecountries she studied,Mazzei found thatonce a reform move-ment gains momentum and poses a politi-cal threat to entrenched powers-that-be,factions within the threatened groupsbegin searching for ways to defeat reformadvocates. Eventually, they pull togetherparamilitary groups and turn to violenceto combat political change.

Mazzei describes paramilitary groups asinherently political organizations – unlikecrime families – that require politicalstrategies for prevention and demobiliza-tion. In El Salvador, for example, facilitat-ing formation of a political party tocompete non-violently for the agendaof the “threatened” powers resulted in aprocess that delegitimized the use of force.However, Mazzei cautions that of the threecountries she included in her book, thusfar only El Salvador has been able toentirely demobilize a paramilitary groupand shift to a non-violent democracy.

Mazzei’s most recent work is concentrat-ed on the post-conflict era in El Salvador.Her book is available via amazon.com,Barnes & Noble and other booksellers.

Julie (Thomas) Mazzei ’95Pete Tormey ’06, left, and Mark Pandolfo ’06,behind one of their custom-made bars

Alumni

Alumni


He is an author, an educator, a business consultant tomore than 30 companies, a certified healthcare expert,a licensed auctioneer – and brother to one of the mostcelebrated whistle-blowers in U.S. history. And now,since early last summer, he is the dean of a school ofbusiness that has never had one before.

Russell Boisjoly, who graduated from UMass Lowell(then Lowell Technological Institute) in 1972 with adegree in industrial management, has been namedthe first dean of the School of Business at the StateUniversity of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. Hehas served in the same role at two other universities,Adelphi and Fairfield University, and been a memberof the faculty at several others, including UMass Low-ell (by then the University of Lowell), where he taughtbusiness for four years in the 1980s.

“I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen here so far,” says Dr. Boisjoly,part of whose mission at Fredonia is to guide the University through anaccreditation process that will certify it as among the top business schools inthe country.

There is no short or neat way to summarize his career. As an internationalconsultant in finance and business strategy, his clients have included some ofthe biggest names on both sides of both major oceans: GE, Microsoft, Boeing,Verizon, DHL, Deutsche Post, China Eastern Airlines. He has taught coursesin more than 20 countries. The auctioneering, he says, was mostly a sidelight:“I got my license so I could help a friend who owned an antique shop to sellhis antiques.”

His writings have been on an almost limitless range of business topics: mergersand acquisitions, capital structure, bankruptcy prediction, accounting practices,business ethics, shareholder value creation and many more. Perhaps the best-known of these was written in response to an ethical dilemma experienced by hisbrother – then shared with half the world.

Roger Boisjoly, a 1960 graduate of LTI in mechanical engineering (a thirdbrother, Rick, ’73, is also an alumnus), was the aerospace engineer who, in Julyof 1985, famously warned his superiors at Morton Thiokol of a faulty design inthe solid rocket boosters of the space shuttle Challenger. If left uncorrected, hewrote in a memo, the defect could imperil the shuttle’s launch, scheduled forearly the following year. He followed this first warning with later, stronger ones,but ultimately no action was taken. On Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger explodedin midair shortly after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Russell Boisjoly’s article about his brother’s role in all this, “Roger Boisjolyand the Challenger Disaster: the Ethical Dimensions,” appeared more than threeyears later, in the summer of 1989, in the Journal of Business Ethics. It is stilloften cited by researchers and managers, and was named recently by the Interna-tional Library of Management as one of the most important managementresearch articles to be published in the 20th century.

New SUNY Business Dean, an LTI Alumnus,Brings Global Credentials to the Job

Russell Boisjoly, ’72, in hisnew post as dean of thebusiness school at theState University of New Yorkat Fredonia.

Cabrera’s CompanyWins SBA Award

Cabrera Services Inc., an environmentalradiological remediation services firmfounded by Lorenzo Cabrera ’94 and basedin East Hartford, Conn., won the 2009U.S. Small Business AdministrationRegion I Subcontractor of the Yearaward. Following the award ceremonyin Washington D.C., Cabrera and theother winners were honored by PresidentBarack Obama in a brief ceremony atthe White House.

Cabrera Servicesprovides high-tech sci-ence and engineeringsupport, primarily to thefederal government, forremedying sites contami-nated with chemical andradioactive materials.

“The education andtraining I received atUMass Lowell was top notch,” saysCabrera. “The Radiological Sciences pro-gram and, more specifically, my professors,inspired me to follow my dreams. Theyencouraged me to start my own radiologi-cal services company.”

He formed Cabrera Services in 1994and within four years, two other alumni —Steven Masciulli ’75 and David Watters’93, ’94 — joined him.

“With more than 150 of the most talent-ed staff in the industry and more than$100 million in revenue to date, I creditthe success of Cabrera Services to myeducation and experiences at UMassLowell,” says Cabrera.

In 2002 he established a scholarshipprogram, the Dr. Edward Lawson Alexan-der Endowment Fund, for the RadiologicalSciences Department. Cabrera Serviceshas pledged more than $100,000 over10 years to help improve the department’sinfrastructure and provide funds forminority students pursuing a degree inthis field. To date, 25 scholars havebenefited from the program.

Lorenzo Cabrera ’94

Alumna Combines Passion forPlastics and Biomedicine

For more than 20 years, Orpha James ’93 has been combiningher knowledge and experience in plastics engineering andbiomedicine in developing products for the medical device andhealthcare industry. An article that she and Biology Prof. PeterBradley of Worcester State College wrote about determiningthe biocompatibility of thermoplastics with nanomaterialswas featured in the July issue of the industry magazineConvergentTechnologies.

James is a senior validation engineerat Nypro Healthcare, a provider ofplastic injection molding for thehealthcare industry based in Clinton.She also holds a master’s degree in Plas-tics Engineering from UMass Lowell.

“I had a wonderful experience at theUniversity, especially with the PlasticsEngineering Department,” she says.“It has an excellent faculty and wasvery helpful in introducing me to theapplication of plastics to the biotechfield. My education really helped mecombine both plastics and biomedicinein my professional career.”


Alumni

Orpha James

Hoke Bullard ’95 credits hisUMass Lowell education for hisprofessional success. Since 2005,he has been with Church & DwightCo. Inc. — maker of such consumerproducts as Arm & Hammer,Trojan, OxiClean and Orajel —managing the company’s GlobalNew Product Engineering andPackaging Equipment EngineeringDepartments.

“My group designs new mechanical and electrical productsas well as new packaging equipment, and I have teams basedin Princeton, N.J., and Guangzhou, China,” says Bullard,who holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineeringfrom the University.

Bullard previously worked for Rubbermaid in Ohio andthe Netherlands and at Gerber Baby Care in Michiganand New Jersey.

“I continue to lean heavily on my UMass Lowellexperience,” he says. “The education and knowledge Igained there 15 years ago provides me with the tools I needfor world-class success. My UMass Lowell education is thefoundation for my career.”

Secret of Bullard’s Success

Hoke Bullard ’95

As part of its third-annual “most fascinating people ofthe year” feature, The Lowell Sun selected four UMassLowell alumni to join the 2009 list of local luminaries.

Deb Huber ’90, a music professor and director of instru-mental outreach at the University, was lauded for using

her Zuckerberg LeadershipPrize of $60,000 to commissionfive new musical works thatmiddle-and high-school musi-cians can perform.

Also recognized was RubenSanca ’09, who achieved thefastest Division 2 time in thecountry at Boston Uuniversity’sTerrier Invitational (5,000-meter race). He faced a majorsetback when he slipped andcracked a bone at the base ofhis spine. Still, wrote The Sun,

“he pushes forward, volunteeringto teach inner-city kids at theRoxbury Track Club to run.”

Molly (Gleason) Sheehy ’60,’82, ’00, dean of MiddlesexCommunity College’s Lowellcampus, was honored forfunding a trip to the Nation-al World War II Memorialin Washington, D.C., for fourveterans. She paid for the flights andexpenses of the men — all now in their80s — with money left over from the funeralof her brother, who was also a WWII vet.

Also making The Sun’s list was Rebecca Taylor ’05,daughter of Tom Taylor, dean of enrollment and studentsuccess. A pediatric nurse, Taylor was recognized forspending two years on a floating hospital helping Africa’spoorest children; to do so, she raised about $60,000.

Deb Huber ’90

Ruben Sanca ’09

Four Alumni Named ‘Fascinating People’

Alumni


Bathed in excitement aboutthe birth of his baby girlIsabella the previous day, JeffCasey ’02 sat in his doctor’soffice for what was supposed tobe a routine follow-up examineto tonsil surgery. But whatfollowed was anything but.

His doctor delivered thenews: Jeff had non-Hodgkin’slymphoma.

“I really only remember bitsand pieces after the word lym-phoma – it’s not a death sen-tence, upwards of an 85 percent cure rate, my chest X-rays are good,chest CT scan is good, I am young, I am in good health,” says Casey ’02,who earned his master’s degree at UMass Lowell in occupationalergonomics.

Casey, 33, says he set out on an information-gathering crusade, readingall he could about the disease and treatment.

What he discovered was sketchy and sometimes scary, especially whenhe did searches online.

“My doctors at Windsor Regional Cancer Centre in Ontario, Canada,were very helpful, but I’d come home and think of so many more ques-tions,” says Casey.

When an opportunity arose to contribute to libraries within theCentre, he didn’t hesitate. During his year-long chemotherapy treat-ments, he raised more than $9,000 by selling T-shirts. That moneyhelped fund the Learning Resource Centre which celebrated its grandopening in October. Located at the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, itincludes two libraries where patients can search for information abouttheir diseases.

“It’s very scary when you’re faced with a life-and-death diagnosis andinformation can be very empowering,” says Casey.

His giving back didn’t stop there. He put his training as an ergonomistto good use when he noticed that caregivers and nurses in the chemosuite were sitting in harmful chairs. He worked with a local ergonomicchair company and persuaded them to donate the right chairs for the jobso that the health care workers, who were caring for people every day,didn’t get sick themselves.

“Jeff was one of my master’s students – and while I could never havedreamed of something like this happening, especially at his young age, Idid know that he was a hard worker who was very caring of others,” saysProf. Laura Punnett of the Department of Work Environment.

Jeff Casey ’02 with his daughter, Isabella,and wife, Diletta, about a week after his last majorchemotherapy treatment.

While Fighting Cancer, Jeff Casey DoesGood for Others

All the Right MovesSuzanne Page ’80, associate director of

board relations for the world-renownedBoston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), alsoserves as one of three corporate officers.Prior to these roles, Page spent more than10 years as assistant to the managingdirector and manager of board administra-tion for the orchestra.

“I’m very fortunate to be an arts adminis-trator in the BSO family,” says Page. “I’mthankful to the inspiring and supportivemusic faculty for providing me a disciplinedand balanced music and liberal arts educa-tion, and giving me the tools to competewith graduates of other top-tiered musicschools and conservatories.”

Page also credits former voice coachEunice Alberts, a member of the musicfaculty for 29 years, and an internationallyrecognized contralto.

“Studying with Eunice – a working singerof international prominence – was anurturing and formative relationship forme,” says Page. “In fact, Eunice and Ideveloped a friendship that has grownover a 30-year span.”

Page, who holds a bachelor’s degree inmusic-vocal performance, has enjoyed acareer in opera, cabaret and musical theaterin the United States and Austria. Sheserves as an advisory board member forthe College of Fine Arts, Humanitiesand Social Sciences.

Suzanne Page ’80, left, and formervoice coach and faculty memberEunice Alberts have built afriendship that’s lasted decades.

Nursing GradHelped BuildHousesin Louisiana

When Tracy Durkin ’09 arrived in Thibodeau, La., late lastsummer, she was surprised at how much still needed re-buildingin the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

“It opened my eyes to the fact that it has been four yearssince Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana area – and there arestill homes being built, there are still people needing homes,”she says. “I had the opportunity to hear some real stories aboutthe devastation that happened down there.”

The nurse practitioner spent a week working with Habitatfor Humanity, helping to build three different houses on JonBon Jovi Boulevard.

“The homes were in various stages of building,” says Durkin,who lives in Somerville and is a geriatric nurse practitioner inNewton. “I worked on tiling a bathroom floor and kitchen. Iworked on nailing boards to the frame of a house. I helpedbuild the railing to a set of back stairs.”

Giving back is important, Durkin says.

“I feel that I was in a position to help someone else out,” shesays. “I wanted to help out with my time and hands not justdonating money.”

Durkin does not, however, rule out the latter; although anew graduate, she’s already donated to her alma mater.

“I feel that giving back to the community either monetarilyor through volunteering is something I can contribute as arecent UMass graduate,” she says. “In this financial climate,even a small monetary contribution can help someone elsewho is having a hard time paying for college so they canget ahead.”

Kaplo Wins $25,000Teaching Award

Patrick J. Kaplo ’04, a physics teacher at CampbellHigh School in Litchfield, N.H., has won a $25,000Milken National Educator Award for teachingexcellence.

“I’m not at all surprised that he won,” says GraduateSchool of Education Asst. Prof. Michelle Scriber-MacLean, of her former student.

During his undergraduate program in mechanical engi-neering at WPI , Kaplo had to complete an interdisci-plinary project that included some student teaching.

“It really caught my attention and was something thatI loved doing,” he says. “While in industry I continued tothink about teaching and finally matriculated at UMassLowell in 2001.”

He chose UMass Lowell because of the ability to focushis degree on science teaching, he says.

“I learned from some great faculty members like ChuckChristianson and Michelle Scribner-MacLean,” he says.“The methods they taught were put into practice andthat modeling was a powerful lesson for me.”

As a student, Kaplo had “an innovative approach toassignments and even co-authored an article abouttechnology in the classroom with me,” says Scribner-MacLean, who hosted Kaplo recently when he came tocampus to speak to some of her students.

Kaplo says winning the award “was definitely a greatfeeling and one that I'll always remember.”

So, too, will his children: “I have a 5- and a 3-year-old,so I’m thinking that a college-savings plan is in order,”he says. “What’s tuition up to these days anyway?!”


Alumni

Elizabeth Lorrey ’93 and Dave Fitzgibbons ’93certainly got their money’s worth from their SoundRecording Technology degrees. Both recentlyreleased CDs – Lorrey’s first as a solo artist, asecond for Fitzgibbons and his band – that theypersonally produced and engineered.

Lorrey’s CD, “Awakening,” showcases her signifi-cant musical skills: she wrote all of the originalsongs and played every instrument on the albumexcept drums. Described as “edgy, intense acousticrock,” the music is instrumentally lush, a blendreminiscent of Suzanne Vega crossed withThe Cure.

The Rafters, an acoustic duo comprised ofFitzgibbons and his wife Miki (Bryan) Fitzgibbons’93, released their second CD, called “With theSun,” which Fitzgibbons describes as a “collectionof 10 melodic songs about real people and realthings, delivered through melody and lyrics over ablend of folk and pop influences.”

The Rafters joined forces with Lorrey for a dualCD release party and sold out show at the Bull Runin Shirley. Both acts employed full bands made upalmost entirely of alumni: joining the Rafters werekeyboardist Greg Compagnone ’93, drummer RobD’Amico ’96 and bassist Brian Alfond ’93.

Lorrey’s band included bassist Kris Lucander ’93and keyboardist Bob Murphy ’95, with DaveFitzgibbons doing double duty on guitar.

To hear a sample of Lorrey’s music or to purchaseher CD, go to www.elizabethlorrey.com orwww.cdbaby.com/artist/elizabethlorrey. To hear asample of The Rafters music or to purchase theirlatest CD, go to www.theraftersband.com orwww.cdbaby.com/artist/therafters2.

Lorrey’s Musical RangeShowcased on New CD

Alumni Sweat it Out for a CureEleven dedicated alums have joined forces with a local

organizer in an annual Lowell event that has raised nearly $1.5million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis,Tenn. Sherri Sarrouf put 25 years as a fitness instructor to gooduse in creating a benefit event – called “Fitness for a Cure” – ahigh-energy, fully choreographed series of fitness dance routinesperformed live on stage by the St. Jude Performance Team,a group of 75 children and 25 adults, including the alumnivolunteers.

This year, Fitness for a Cure is planned for March 27 at theLowell Memorial Auditorium, and will include an elegantsemi-formal evening event with both live and silent auctions.The afternoon performances will be simulcast live to patients inthe hospital. Sarrouf is hoping to raise $500,000, bringing hertotal support to $2 million.

Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude’s is a pedi-atric cancer center that covers the cost of everything – includ-ing food, travel, lodging and uncovered insurance expenses –for each patient and a family member.

Alums involved in Fitness for a Cure include:

Nanci (Heffernan) Bolduc ’83; Deborah (McHale) Bushnell’89; Karen Freitas ’08; Joe Hennessey ’85; Philip Joseph ’81;Shelagh (McHale) Hennessey ’86; Valerie (Natsios) Wood ’78;John Osgood ’90; Heather (McLean) Rozen ’92, ’95; MaureenSakakeeney ’01; Lisa (Jason) Tenczar ’85.

To sponsor the event, make a donation or purchase tickets,visit www.fitnessforacure.com.

Members of the St. Jude performance team work out during a recent“Fitness for a Cure” event benefitting St. Jude Children’s ResearchHospital. From left, Heather Rozen, Sherri Sarrouf, Dannie Miller,Amanda Jordan and Michelle Hartman.


Alumni

Elizabeth Lorrey’s recentlyreleased debut CD showcasesher musical talents.


Bodyof Work:Arno Rafael Minkkinen

Asked to share some of his most difficult shots, Prof. Arno Rafael Minkkinen chose these, taken,from left, in Jamestown, R.I.; Grand Canyon, Ariz.; Hite, Utah and Kajaani, Finland.

Prof. Arno Rafael Minkkinen – world-renowned photographer known for self-portraits set in natural surroundingsunder seemingly impossible conditionsand positions – has recently shared hiswork in the shadow of one of the world’sartistic masterpieces, Michelangelo’sfamed statue “David.”

Minkkinen was invited to deliver alecture, appropriately called “Art is RiskMade Visible,” in the Galleria Dell’Ac-cademia in Florence as part of a RobertMapplethorpe Foundation sponsored lec-ture series. In his work, Minkkinen pho-tographs his body – or a single arm, legor foot – in snow, underwater, in thelimbs of a tree. Still using film, he worksalone – without assistants, and withoutmanipulation.

“In the 1970s, there was no Photo-shop, so I learned to make pictures in thereality of the moment,” says Minkkinen.

“I have always been fascinated by thegeometry of the physical self – volume,shape, line, proportion and balance,” hesays. “By placing the self in the contextof nature rather than in portraits madein someone’s home or a studio, I can

build an equation between what is natu-ral and what is human.”

Teaming up with art school programsin Finland, Switzerland and Italy,Minkkinen has inspired UMass Lowellstudents and young photography scholarsaround the world through workshopsheld in Oaxaca, Mexico; Tuscany, Italy;St. Petersburg, Russia and Prague, CzechRepublic. The touring exhibitions of thestudents’ photographs to each institutionare featured in a new book titled “SpiritLevel.”

Minkkinen’s artistic reach is substan-tial – his work has been featured in hun-dreds of books and journals, and is thesubject of a documentary film titled“Still Not There” by Finnish directorKimmo Koskela, scheduled to bereleased this year. His work is collectedby museums worldwide, including theMuseum of Modern Art in New York,the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, theMusée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzer-land and the Tokyo Metropolitan Muse-um of Photography.

“I see the image, or what I think willbe the image, in my mind. Then, I frame

the shot using my mind’s picture as aguide. I set up the shot, get the cablerelease ready, and have 10 seconds topush the bubble, toss the cable asideand capture the image. Sometimes, thephoto is not up to my mental sketch;other times, it’s better. Reality providesthe overlay,” he says.

The art, for him, is the process – thespontaneity, the image frozen, the wit-ness it provides to a moment. Nobodysees the image until he processes thefilm in the darkroom. Until then, hesays, he has an idea of what it mightlook like, but nobody is looking throughthe lens, so nobody sees the shot. Afterit reveals itself, he doesn’t manipulatethe image at all. “Reality,” he says,“has a greater imagination than we everthought possible.”

Minkkinen has taught photographyin the Art Department at the Universityfor 20 years. �

by Sheila Eppolito

FeatureStory


Managing partner of GoogleVentures Richard Miner ’86, ’89,’97 kicked off the Power of Possi-bility Alumni Showcase, a speakerseries highlighting successful alum-ni as they return to campus to sharetheir wisdom and career stories.Miner, who received his bachelor’s,master’s and doctoral degrees fromUMass Lowell, spoke about his 25years of experience growing businesseswith innovative communications andinterface-intensive applications. Hejoined Google Ventures, the venturecapital division of the Internet searchgiant, after Google acquired Android,a mobile platforms company thatMiner co-founded.

Miner encouraged the students inthe 150-member audience to followtheir passion, befriend like-mindedinnovators and create strategicnetworks to induce “smart luck.”

He talked about the qualities need-ed to be an entrepreneur, includinghaving the “fire in the belly.” Heenjoyed being a part of the processof starting and growing a company,expanding the breadth of his skillsand creating a company culture.“Building something is a greatfeeling,” he said.

Later in the series, more than 200people received a back-stage pass tothe Broadway theater industry whenBonnie Comley ’81 and her husbandStewart Lane screened their docu-mentary “Show Business: The Roadto Broadway” at a Power of PossibilityAlumni Showcase Talk.

“This was a labor of love,” saidComley, who is vice president ofStellar Productions.

The documentary told the story ofthe race for the 2004 Tony Award for

Best Musical, following three of thefour nominees: “Wicked,” “AvenueQ” and “Caroline, or Change” plusthe not-nominated, but controversial,“Taboo.” The production team filmedevery play and musical that openedduring the 2003-2004 season, andedited down more than 400 hours offootage from casting calls, rehearsals,previews and opening night, culmi-nating at the Tony Awards.

Another speaker in the series wasScott Waugh ’90, rehabilitation coor-dinator, physical therapist and athlet-ic trainer for both the Red Sox andBruins, who told the audience he dis-covered the passion for his professionat UMass Lowell, thanks to the rela-tionships he created as a student.

“Twenty-three years ago, when Ifirst came here, I sat in these sameseats,” said Waugh to the severalhundred students, alumni, facultyattendees. “I made some strategicdecisions back then that set somethings in motion for me so that I canenjoy the success that I have now.”

These days, Waugh said, his timetreating ordinary people at his clinic,Sports and Physical Therapy Associ-ates, is what he treasures the most.“I will never take myself out ofpatient care,” he vowed, even as hisclinic grows to treat thousands of

people. Everyone who enters hisclinics gets “a hug,” even if thatmeans just listening to their problems.

His advice to students: “Makepatients part of their rehabilitations.You can never lose the human sideof this.”

Waugh remains committed to theUniversity that helped him on hissuccessful career path. (“I’m in aposition to send my kids anywhere [tocollege]. I would send them here in aheart beat,” he said as an aside.)

At the end of his talk, which wasthe fourth in the Power of PossibilityAlumni Showcase, the AdvancementDepartment announced that Waughhas made a gift to fund two SportTherapy Fellowships each semesterfor the Athletic Department. The$3,000 fellowships will be awardedto second-year physical therapystudents who show an interest inand commitment to pursuing a careerin sports medicine.

Alumni SpeakAbout ‘Powerof Possibility’

Alumni

Alum Rich Miner ’86 ’89 ’97 of GoogleVentures spoke to students aboutfollowing their passion.

Bonnie Comley ’81and Stewart Lane


1964Ann Chandonnet of Vale, N.C., a poetand editor, has signed a contract withWinoca Press of Wilmington, N.C., towrite a non-fiction book about the CivilWar. The book, the working title of whichis “Write Quick: War and a Woman’s Lifein Letters, 1836-1867,” is based on nearlytwo hundred letters written by Ann’sancestors and the extended kinship net-work in New England. The 600-page book,to be published this spring, will includefifty illustrations as well as two infantryrosters and three family trees. A formerreporter with the The Anchorage Timesand the Juneau Empire, Ann is the authorof a travel guide, “Alaska’s Inside Passage,”and a food history, “Gold Rush Grub,” pluscollections of poetry. She was born in Low-ell and grew up in Dracut. Bobbi Pevear ofExeter, N. H., co-author of “Write Quick,”is descended from one of the main charac-ters in the book.

1965Mike Connolly’s book, “What TheyNever Told Me in Principals’ School,” waspublished by Rowmanand Littlefield Publishersin October and is avail-able at amazon.com. Heis also co-author, alongwith colleague SophieMason of an articlecalled “Why EducationNeeds the Arts,”published in theNational Associationof Secondary SchoolPrincipals PrincipalLeadership journalin November.

1970Michael J. Nirs-berger has retired after a37-year career with Ciba Geigy Corp. Atthe time of his retirement, Michael was asenior staff scientist in the AnalyticalChemistry Research labs at Ciba's Tarry-town, N.Y., research center. After graduat-ing from Lowell Tech, he entered theAir Force and was assigned to the USAFEnvironmental Health Lab in San Anto-nio, Texas. Over time, he earned master’sdegrees in physics, computer science andchemistry. He will live near Troy, N.Y.

1974John Murphy, a UMass Lowell baseballHall of Famer and current Atlanta, Ga.,resident, returned to Massachusetts thispast summer as a special guest of theBoston Red Sox. He and several colleagueswere invited onto the field at Fenway Parkto attend pre-game batting practice. Johnis director of purchasing operations forMikart, Inc., a Georgia-based pharmaceuti-cal manufacturer.

1976Mike Andrew has moved to Dubai to workwith one of his former clients. He is thesenior group director for executive develop-ment for the top 120 executives of EmiratesTelecommunications Corp., the largestnon-banking firm in the United ArabEmirates and the largest telecom in theMiddle East. His book, “How to Think likea CEO and Act Like A Leader: PracticalInsights for Performance & Results,” hasbeen translated, edited, published andlaunched throughout South Korea.

1978J. Brian Imhoff of Wakefield, R.I., joinedCitizens Bank in Providence as a mortgageloan officer. An experienced originator of awide range of mortgageprograms, includingconventional andgovernment loans,jumbo loans, construc-tion loans and first-timehome buyer loans,Brian has been in themortgage business for18 years. He joinedCitizens from Bank of America HomeLoans, where he had been a loan officerfor 14 years.

1988Bill Herenda has joined Positive CoachingAlliance as executive director of its Sacra-mento-area operation. He will lead thenon-profit organization’s effort to provideall Sacramento-area youth and high schoolathletes with a positive, character-buildingsports experience. A key member of the1988 NCAA Division II Champion UMassLowell basketball team, Bill has coachedyouth and high school athletes and con-ducted basketball camps and clinics. Healso serves as color analyst on the UCDavis radio network, Comcast SportsNetand as an on-air contributor to sports talkradio. Bill’s brother, Greg, is head coach ofthe River Hawk men’s basketball team.

1989Alice Bonner recently became director ofthe bureau of health care safety and qualityat the Massachusetts Department of PublicHealth after a long career as a nurse practi-tioner. She specialized in caring for theelderly and was executive director of theMassachusetts Senior Care Foundationbefore trading in her stethoscope for policybriefs as leader of the bureau.

1990Chris Boyd is a director of business devel-opment for Cisco Systems. He moved tothe west coast in 1997 to work for theSutherland Group as a sales manager,then worked at SAIC Science ApplicationsInternational Corp. for five years.Hobbies include sailing, sea kayaking,beach volleyball and traveling with hisgirlfriend, Cassie.

ClassNotes


1992Anne Manning, a Peabody city councilor-at-large, spearheaded the formation ofGreen Peabody, a group of city and schoolofficials and community members workingto promote recycling, make city and schoolbuildings more energy-efficient, andsecure grants. The group also will makerecommendations to the council on waysto make Peabody greener.

1993Mark Carlson, the head coach and generalmanager of the United States HockeyLeague's Cedar RapidsRoughRiders, was thehead coach of the 2009U.S. Junior Select Teamthat competed at theWorld Junior A Chal-lenge in November inSummerside, P.E.I.

1994Scott Boyle, whoconsistently broughtout the best in histeams during his timeas Lowell High School'shead football coach,was the new defensivecoordinator for BentleyUniversity’s footballteam this past season.

Leo J. Ryan has been named businessdevelopment manager by Boston-basedEnerNOC, Inc., a leading provider ofclean and intelligentenergy solutions.Leo uncovers energyefficiency opportuni-ties for large facilitiesthroughout New Eng-land with EnerNOC’sMonitoring BasedCommissioning(MBCx) solution andthe CarbonTrak® information, analysis andmanagement system. Before joining Ener-NOC in 2009 as a business developmentassociate, he was the sole proprietor ofEcoLogiq. Prior to that, he was a seniorconsultant at Arthur D. Little, and then afinancial adviser at Ameriprise Financial.Leo lives in Natick with his wife andthree children, and is a dedicatedtriathlon competitor.

1997Sean Harrington joined Harvard Universi-ty in 2009 as part of the wrestling coachingstaff. A native of Dracut, Sean has beeninvolved in the sportof wrestling as anathlete or coach fortwenty years. He wasa two-time NCAAAll-America DivisionII champion at UMassLowell and latercoached for theRiver Hawks in 1997and 1998.

1997Spencer Peavey, director of StudentActivities and Orientation at Alfred StateCollege, recently gave a presentation at theNational Orientation Directors annualconference on the topic, “Expecting MoreOut of Your Orientation Program: A GreatWay to Incorporate Service into Your Ori-entation Program.” Spencer, who devel-oped New Student Service Day four yearsago, reviewed the program. More than 35representatives from colleges throughoutthe United States and Canada attended thesession. Spencer is upper New York Statecoordinator for the National OrientationDirectors Association. In his role at AlfredState, he implements and assesses studentextra-curricular activities and new studentorientation programs. Prior to joiningAlfred, Spencer served in a similar capacityat St. Bonaventure University in Olean,N.Y. He also has been a therapist for PortPsychological Services in Port Allegany,Penn.; coordinator/therapist for BeaconLight Behavioral Health Services in Brad-ford, Penn., and therapist in the MentallyIll Chemically Addicted unit of the Brad-ford Regional Medical Center.

Sandra (Blute) Koch, a 1992 graduate ofGreater Lowell Technical High School,is a new instructor of cosmetology at theschool. She owns Cut, Color andCompany in Lowell.

1998John Ware is the assistant vice president,business relationship manager of Cam-bridge Savings Bank, responsible for thedevelopment of the smallbusiness market segment.John previously served asvice president, manag-er/commercial lender atBank of America. He haseleven years of experiencein the banking industry.He lives in Reading.

1999Irene Revis is a learning specialist in theUpper School (grades 6-9) in Pepperell.She has certifications in Special Needs,Orton-Gillingham and Project Read, andhas worked at The Carroll School as amath and science teacher, and at the ByamElementary School in Chelmsford as aneducational specialist.

2004Diana Brown and Jeffrey Belair weremarried on April 18, 2009 in GreatBarrington. They live in Denver, Colo.,where Jeff is an accountant for EKS & H.Diana graduated from law school, passedthe Colorado bar and is an attorney andvolunteer CASA.

ClassNotes

Justin R. Ward married Ann-MarieKaye last October in Hamilton, Bermuda.In attendance from UMass Lowell, fromleft in photo, were Chris Cannon,Jay Coolidge, Doug Rexrode andPete Makros. Also attending but notin the photo was Brian McGoldrick.The couple lives in Milton.


Nate Jenkins ran in theIAAF World Track &Field Championship inBerlin, Germany, as partof the U.S. MarathonTeam. He is a formerstandout distancerunner (1999-04) andassistant coach (2004-08) at UMass Lowell.

Patrick Joyce earned his Ph.D. in statisticsfrom the University of Connecticut lastAugust, having written his dissertationon "A Multivariate Spatial Point ProcessModel: Theory, Simulation and Applica-tion." As a research mathematicalstatistician at the U.S. Census Bureau inSuitland, Md., he is researching aspectsof sampling methods and spatial statisticsin connection with the AmericanCommunity Survey.

2005Carly Hopkin and Kyle Burson were mar-ried in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where herfamily operates a service group. The daybefore the wedding, Carly says, she and Kyle

helped build two houses for two needy fami-lies in the hills outside Tegucigalpa. Carlyand Kyle met and both played soccer atUMass Lowell. They live in Iowa, whereKyle is an administrative manager forNew York Life and Carly is a permanencyspecialist for the Department of HumanServices.

Jenn Ski creates retro-modern paintings,prints, totes and cards under her eponymouslabel and blogs about turning retro to

modern. Ski was featured in the BostonGlobe under the headline, “It’s a mod modmod mod world. Designer embraces theretro in a mid-century N.H. house.”Ski and her husband, Al Koury ’04,live in New Hampshire.http://www.jennskistudio.blogspot.com

2006Bobby Robins playsprofessional hockey forthe Belfast Giants inIreland and was inter-viewed on YouTube bysome Giants fans.

2008Ben Bettez is engaged to Dana Jones.They live and work in Boston. AnOctober wedding is planned in SouthPortland, Maine.

ClassNotes

The Charitable Gift AnnuityA smart plan for today… a lasting impact on the University of Massachusetts Lowell

Contact the Office of Gift Planning to obtainpersonalized information on the income and taxbenefits of your gift: 1-877-775-1992 or [email protected].

Supporting UMass Lowell’s future — and yours — can bemutually beneficial with a charitable gift annuity. Here’s how itworks: you make a gift to UMass Lowell. In exchange, you receivea fixed income for life, with your payments guaranteed and securedby UMass’s assets. Your annuity rate is based on the age(s) of thebeneficiary(ies), and locked in when the annuity is established.You also receive an immediate income tax deduction.

Annuity rates and tax benefits of a $25,000 charitable giftannuity at sample ages*

Single Life

Age Annuity Rate* Income Tax Deduction

70 5.7% $9,772.50

75 6.3% $11,219.75

80 7.1% $12,687.50

85 8.1% $14,209.25

*Rates subject to change. Assumes an IRS discount rate of 3.4%.

48 U M A S S L O W E L L M A G A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

UMassConnectsAs theWorldConnects,

International Interest Alumni Survey

We want to find outmore about our alumniand their internationalexperiences as we workto help our studentsinternationalize theireducation. We wantto share stories ofthe importance ofglobalization with ourUMass Lowell communityand you can help!

We want to hear from you!Please fill out this brief survey and return it to us.

Do you work with international colleagues now? Any comments?

Have you or are you conducting research with an international colleague or on an international topic?Any comments?

Did you have an international experience as a student (study abroad/internationalinternship/exchange/etc.)? Please, tell us about it.

Did you have an exchange student in your class and/or as a friend? Any comments?

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the most important), how valuable do you think an internationalcomponent is to a college education? �1 � 2 �3 � 4 �5

Finally, do you have any photos/videos/blogs you would like to share?

Do you have a quote on the importance of international education for us to usein future materials?

Please give us some information about yourself.

Name

Year of Graduation

Major

Email Address

Current Home Address

Current Employer

You can also email this information to [email protected].

Please send to:UMass LowellOffice of Alumni Relations

Southwick HallOne University Ave.Lowell, MA 01854-3629Fax: (978) 934-3111E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook- UMass Lowell Office of Alumni Relations As a UMass Lowell alumnus/a many of you already connect with college friends via Facebook. NOW…UMass Lowell has a central meeting place there. You can find long-lost friends, reconnect with people you may have forgotten to look up when you created your account, learn about events on campus, see how you can reengage with the University,discover what services we offer that might help you with the next phase of your life and, if nothing else, help supportand promote UMass Lowell’s growing River Hawk pride.

Want to stay in touch?4 simple ways!

HOW TO: Just type “UMass Lowell Office of Alumni Relations” in your search box at the top of your home page and become a fan or visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Lowell-MA/UMass-Lowell-Office-of-Alumni-Relations/61402692126?ref=s

HOW TO: Go to groups and search for UMASS LOWELL ALUMNI or visithttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=55178. You must have a LinkedIn accountto access and join the groups. Both are easy to do.

HOW TO: http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/membersonly/UMCL/mypage.jsp

HOW TO: Here is the master site of them all: http://www.uml.edu/twitter

Alumni Network This is a simpler social networking site on the UMass Lowell website that will get better the more people use it. Right now, we are trying to help alumni from all over the system connect with one another in a more cohesive way! A bigger UMass network is a better UMass network for everyone who gets involved.

Twitter For those of you who have been brave enough to try the waters of Twitter, UMass Lowell has feeds you can follow. The UMass Lowell alumni office is teaming up with the UMass Lowell Tweeter to send updates to our alumni.

LinkedInAre you LinkedIn and connected to other professionals? Why not connect with other UMass Lowell Alumniand expand your network. UMass Lowell has an alumni group for you to join: “UMASS LOWELL ALUMNI.”Where people post discussions, suggest readings and advertise job opportunities. The bigger we grow it, the better.

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Office of Alumni RelationsSouthwick HallOne University Ave.Lowell, MA 01854-3629

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LOWELL, MA 01854

The Power of PossibilityTheAnnualCampaign forUMassLowell

A Powerful CombinationJust as the mighty Merrimack River powered the Industrial Revolution, so the University on its banks isempowering the next generation of thinkers and dreamers, innovators and doers. UMass Lowell is aworld-class institution that creates possibilities for thousands of students each year. The Power of Possibility:The Annual Campaign for UMass Lowell will support four essential areas: student scholarships, facultyresearch, facilities and athletics.

Your gift to The Power of Possibility: The Annual Campaign forUMass Lowell provides critical resources to the University on an annual basis.

Calendar of EventsMarch 16-20, 2010One Day UMass, Palm Beach, Fla.Mar-a-Lago Reception, Palm Beach, Fla.One Day UMass, Naples, Fla.Naples Alumni and Friends ReceptionRed Sox Game, Ft. Myers, Fla.

March 31, 2010Young Alumni Reconnection Road TripThe Fours, Quincy

April 3, 2010UMass Red Sox Day at WashingtonNationals GameWashington, D.C.

April 7, 2010Criminal Justice Scholarship Awardand Alumni ReceptionAllen House, UMass Lowell

April 10, 2010Celebrate Professor Dean BergeronUMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center

April 15, 2010Young Alumni Reconnection Road TripLawrence

April 28, 2010One Day UMass & ReceptionWashington, D.C.

April 29, 2010Professor Nick Minton Retirement PartyAlumni Hall, UMass Lowell

April 30, 2010UMass Lowell Red Sox Day atBaltimore Orioles GameBaltimore, Md.

Visit www.uml.edu/alumni for more information.

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