MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS UMass Lowell State ...People like Billy Joel, who chose to visit UMass Lowell over hundreds of other colleges clamoring for him. Or alum - nus Greg

UMassLowellMAGAZ INE FOR A LUMN I AND FR I ENDS

SPRING 2012

Page 20The Company We Keep

Page 31Designing Woman: Taniya Nayak ’97

Page 34The Dreammaker

Page 38Face of Philanthrophy

UMass Lowell State of MindPage 22

Billy Joel Takes the Stage at Durgin Hall

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A Message FromChancellor Martin T. Meehan ’78

Spring 2012

The UMass Lowell Alumni Magazine is published by: Office of Public AffairsUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell One University AvenueLowell, MA [email protected]

ChancellorMartin T. Meehan

Vice Chancellor of University RelationsPatti McCafferty

Vice Chancellor for University AdvancementEdward Chiu

Director of Publications and PublisherMary Lou Hubbell

Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of AdvancementDiane Earl

Director of Alumni RelationsHeather Makrez ’06, ’08

Communications ManagerNichole Carter

EditorSarah McAdams

Staff WritersEdwin AguirreKaren AngeloGeoffrey DouglasSheila EppolitoJill GambonJulia K. GavinChristine GilletteElizabeth JamesJack McDonoughDave PerrySandra Seitz

UMass Lowell is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action, Title IX, H/V, ADA 1990 Employer.

Please send address changes to:

University of Massachusetts Lowell Office of University Advancement Southwick 250, One University Ave.,Lowell, MA [email protected]

This edition of the UMass Lowell Magazine for Alumni and Friends couldeasily be called “The Music Issue.”

In the following pages, you’ll meet many people who have brought music to campus and the world at large. People like Billy Joel, who chose to visitUMass Lowell over hundreds of other colleges clamoring for him. Or alum-nus Greg Maloney ’05, who helps create the scores for major projects like the“Men in Black” films and Cirque du Soleil productions. Or Symphonic Band Camp founderMary Jo Leahy ’37, a great friend to the University, who passed away in November.

Right here on campus, meanwhile, the century-old Department of Music (the first publicschool of music education in the country) is preparing our students to win Grammy Awards,perform on Broadway and work with artists like The Rolling Stones.

But this issue also celebrates some lesser-known stars outside of the music industry—students, alumni, corporate partners and faculty members who have been instrumental inhelping the University continue its unprecedented trajectory of growth in all areas.

The generosity and hard work of these people are resulting in everything from millions ofdollars in research grants, to new buildings on campus, to scholarships and top-tier jobs for hundreds of our students. I couldn’t be more grateful and proud to be part of this trulyspecial community.

Read about all of our exciting developments in these pages, and learn even more at www.uml.edu.

Learning with Purpose

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

June 28 Cross Country and Track & Field Sunset Social @ Bellegarde Boathouse

Aug. 3-4 Alumni Musical Theater Production @ Durgin Concert Hall, South Campus

Aug. 13 Sig-O Annual Golf Tournament @ Merrimack Valley Golf Club in Methuen

Sept. 21 Plastics Engineering Golf Tournament @ Connecticut National Golf Club in Putnam, Conn.

Oct. 11-14 Fall Festival 2012: Including Homecoming, Celebration of Philanthropy, Family Day, Jennifer’s 5K Run in Lowell

Oct. 12 Hockey Opening Night: River Hawks vs. University of Vermont Catamounts,

Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell

Martin T. Meehan ’78Chancellor

3 OUR WORLD

16 SPORTS UPDATE

S P R ING 2 0 1 2 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE 1

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UMassLowellMAGAZ INE FOR A LUMN I AND F R I END S

A L U M N I L I F EC A M P U S L I F E

LOWELL TEXTILE SCHOOL • MASSACHUSETTS STATE NORMAL SCHOOL • STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE AT LOWELL • LOWELL TEXTILE INSTITUTE LOWELL TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE • MASSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGE AT LOWELL • LOWELL STATE COLLEGE • UNIVERSITY OF LOWELL

F E AT U R E S

V O L U M E 1 5 N U M B E R 1

Editor’s NotePlease send comments to Editor Sarah McAdams [email protected] class notes to: ClassNotes Editor, Southwick 250, 1 University Ave., Lowell, MA01854 or www.uml.edu/ad-vancement/classnotes.

44 EVENTS

48 CLASS NOTES

61 IN MEMORIAM

Corrections and ClarificationsThe person responsible for nurturing women’s sports in the 1970s at the University, along with Denise Legault, was Claire Chamberlain. We regret that we incorrectly identified her in our “Soaring With Pride” story in the Winter 2011-2012 issue. In that same issue, the In Memoriam listings included Robert Moran ’71, leadingto confusion among readers such as the very much alive-and-well Robert Moran ’71. There were two Mr. Robert Morans in the class of 1971. Robert Paul Moran, an engineering graduate and a retired Navycommander of Moorpark, Calif., was the one who died in September 2011. The other Robert Moran received a degree in plastics engineering and currently lives in Hampstead, N.H.

10 LAB NOTES

13 STUDENT SCENE

Robert Moran: still with us

Honored in Stone 8Engineering Building renamed for benefactor Barry Perry ’68.

The Company We Keep 20UMass Lowell and Nypro: partners from the same mold.

UMass Lowell State of Mind 22Billy Joel takes the stage at Durgin Hall.

From Sunflowers to Swanky 31HGTV host Taniya Nayak ’97 got her start in Fox Hall.

The Dreammaker 34Patricia Foley Karl ’64, ’95 is changing thousands of lives with her Lawrence charter school.

Face of Philanthropy 38The generosity of John Pulichino ’67 and Joy Tong will result in $4 million in student scholarships.

2 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE S P R ING 2 0 1 2

CampusLife 3 OUR WORLD

10 LAB NOTES

13 STUDENT SCENE

16 SPORTS UPDATE

Inside...

Grammy-nominee J. Coleplayed to a packed house oncampus March 30.


C A M P U S N E W SOurworld

The Charles Dickens exhibit includes a section onthe author’s interest in phrenology, the study of theemotions in relation to the skull.

Visiting the “Oracle of Omaha” was AngelaPasquarello’s most memorable college experienceto date, says the senior accounting major.

Pasquarello, along with 19 of her ManningSchool of Business classmates, was invited bybillionaire investor Warren Buffett to fly toOmaha, Neb., to meet with him.

Each year, Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hath-away, invites select groups of students from acrossthe country, most of them MBA candidates, tomeet for a question-and-answer session and thenlunch. Management Prof. Ravi Jain had writtento Buffett twice, asking that his finance studentsbe included. This year, the invitation came.

“I couldn’t imagine having a better experiencethrough school,” says Pasquerello, who is enrolledin Jain’s Portfolio and Security Analysis class. “Ilearned so much and made so many friends. Itwas a great group.”

The students from UMass Lowell and sevenother universities met with Buffett at the FieldClub, the oldest country club west of the MississippiRiver. At Jain’s urging, the group arrived at theauditorium an hour early and got front-row seats.Jain’s students prepared several questions inadvance and three of them were chosen to posetheirs to Buffett. Pasquerello asked him how hemaintains a positive outlook. His response surprisedher: His optimism is unyielding.

Buffett told the students that their bestinvestment is in themselves and said thebest way to prepare for the business world isto sharpen their written and oral communi-cation skills.

“He’s as sharp as a tack. He told storiesthat students could understand,” says KevinKohr, a senior finance major who helped planthe trip.

Buffett even gave Kohr a ride to the restaurant,Piccolo Pete’s, where the group had lunch. Buffett,who drives himself everywhere, offered to chauffeurfour students in his Cadillac and Kohr was chosenas one. “It was like talking to someone’s grandfa-ther,” Kohr says. “He’s so down-to-earth. Hemade it about us. He asked us what we are doingnow and where we see ourselves in 10 years.”

After lunch at the downtown Omaha restaurant,Buffett posed for pictures and chatted with thestudents.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” saysJain. “Buffett is a pure financial genius. He has adifferent way of looking at finance, a commonsense approach.”

Jain’s students are well-acquainted with Buffett’s approach to investing. They oversee theUniversity’s Student Managed Fund, one of fourinvestment funds set up by the UMass Foundationon the Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowellcampuses. The UMass Lowell fund has won theintercampus competition three out of four yearsusing Buffett’s value investing philosophy.

Manning School alumni supported the trip, donating about $7,000 to help pay the travelcosts.— JG

Students Get Advice, Lunch—and a Cadillac Ride—From Warren Buffett

The Return of DickensIn 1842, Charles and Catherine Dickenssailed to North America for a five-monthvisit, landing first in Boston, whereCharles was greeted like a Victorian-erarock star. Feted at fancy dress balls andformal dinners, Dickens also made apoint of touring American prisons, hos-pitals, mental institutions and orphan-ages—and the model textile mills thathad recently opened in Lowell. Dickenslater called his day in Lowell "the mostpleasant I spent in the country." To markthe bicentenary of Dickens’ birth and tocommemorate his trip to Lowell, UMassLowell and its partners are throwing aparty—a seven-month slate of perform-ances, speakers, family programs and alandmark exhibition exploring Dickens’life, work and travels in America.


BIKES, CARPOOLSAND SHUTTLES, OH MY!UMass Lowell’s efforts to increase bike-sharing, ex-pand shuttle bus service andbroaden carpooling optionsfor students and employeeshave earned it an Excellencein Commuter Options awardfrom the Massachusetts De-

partment of Transportationand MassCommute, a non-profit association of trans-portation-managementagencies. In December, theUniversity released its first-ever transportation plan,outlining recommendationsto improve mobility andpromote long-term sustainability on campus.

A group of residents, students and alumni from the Community Social Psychology Program make a colorful declaration of love to the city of Lowell.

Uncommon LearningA brand new O’Leary Library opened in February, featuring modern décor, plentyof areas for collaboration and easy access to Venti Americano. The newly namedO’Leary Learning Commons offers a new reference and research center with anopen computer lab with more than 75 workstations. There are new tutoring andadvising rooms, and a new writing center. The fourth floor features more than 100seats for quiet study and room for the University’s reference and fine-arts bookcollections and circulation desk. A Starbucks café makes its home on the first floorand there’s wireless Internet access throughout the building. New lighting, ceilings,carpeting and furnishings create a welcoming and comfortable place to learn.

A Lot to Love

Ourworld

PROFESSOR NAMEDSTATE DEPARTMENTFELLOWNuclear engineering Prof.Gilbert Brown was recentlyappointed a William C. Foster Fellow by the U.S.Department of State.

Brown will be involvedwith the Office of NuclearEnergy, Safety and Securityin the State Department’sInternational Security andNonproliferation Bureau.

“I look forward to work-ing with the State Depart-ment, helping the agencyimplement and support thediplomatic efforts of theUnited States toward peaceful nuclear coopera-tion throughout the world,particularly in the areas of nuclear education andtraining,” he says. “I alsoaim to gain real-world, international experience tobring back to UMass Lowelland my students.”


C A M P U S N E W S

How UMass Lowell Is Helping U.S. KidsGet Better at Mathand Science

Sophomore Laura Laranjo’s long-term goal is to becomea physician, but she thinks a career as a high schoolscience teacher may be a good backup plan.

When the opportunity to pursue teacher certificationwhile continuing her pre-med studies came up, shedecided to give it a try. Training to be a teacher whileearning a biology degree offers an alternative careerpath in a field she is passionate about. “It opens up anopportunity to still do something that I like,” she says.

Laranjo is among the first group of UMass Lowellstudents enrolled in the UTeach program, an initiativeto prepare a new generation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers. In December, the state awarded the University a $1.6million grant to fund the program, part of a nationwideeffort to improve STEM teacher training.

In recent years, concern has been mounting aboutthe quality of STEM education in the U.S. and students’preparedness to compete in a technology-driven globaleconomy. For instance, in its most recent Global Com-petitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum rankedthe quality of math and science education in the UnitedStates 51st out of 142 countries.

The UTeach program is designed to change that.Founded at the University of Texas Austin 15 yearsago, UTeach aims to attract a wide range of STEMmajors to teaching careers. Central to the program areintensive classroom experience and extensive feedbackand support from faculty. The program has been introducedat 29 colleges across the country, with UMass Lowellthe only university in New England to offer it.

“With the shortage of science and math teachers,STEM teaching provides a stable career path,” saysInterim Dean of the Graduate School of EducationAnita Greenwood, who is a co-principal investigatorfor the UTeach grant. “It gives our students anotherstring in their bow.” —JG

ALL MED LABGRADS GET JOBSOne hundred percent ofgraduates from both Med-ical Laboratory Science andClinical Sciences programshave been successfully em-ployed after graduation, inspite of the economy, withmany receiving multiple job offers.

The reason? It is an es-sential medical profession.

“Seventy percent of aphysician’s decisions aboutpatient diagnosis, prognosisand treatment are based onaccurate and precise med-ical laboratory tests,” saysProf. Kay Doyle, director of the medical laboratoryscience program in theClinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences Department. “This criticalfunction will continue togrow as the baby boomergeneration retires.”

The demand is so greatthat students are receiving

multiple job offers duringtheir laboratory internships.Before Aaron Stella gradu-ated, he was offered posi-tions at Lahey Clinic, Harvard Vanguard MedicalAssociates, Anna JaquesHospital and CambridgeHospital. He ultimately accepted a position at Mayo Medical LaboratoriesNew England in Andover.

“The internship is likelike a ‘try-out’ for a sportsteam,” said Stella, who re-ceived a bachelor’s degreein 2008 and a master’s de-gree in 2010 and is current-ly enrolled in the Universi-ty’s biomedical engineeringand biotechnology Ph.D.program. “Each student hasfive weeks to demonstratetheir skills in front of po-tential employers. You end

up getting so many careeroffers that you have to turnsome of them down.”

The 2010 national accreditation report andsite visit from the NationalAccrediting Agency forClinical Laboratory Sciences resulted in theMedical Laboratory Scienceprogram’s fourth straightperfect accreditation scoreswith the site visitor teamleader stating “the UMassLowell’s program is one of the very best in thecountry.” This is supportedby the program's 100 percent employment forgraduates and the 95 percent pass rate on the national board certificationexams, compared to lowernational averages in thehigh 70s to low 80s. —KA

JOHN DUFFY: LEAVING OUR VILLAGEThe Lowell campus won’t be the same without mechanical engineering Prof. John Duffy—and nei-ther will Peru. The longtime director of the Centerfor Sustainable Energy, who retired in January, hasmade 28 two-week trips to Peru as part of the Village Empowerment Project. While there, hehelped design and install more than 100 systems in60 villages—addressing basic needs like medicalcare, water supply and purification, food produc-tion, communication, housing, heating and trans-portation. “Every time we go, we come back withmore requests," says Duffy, who’s taken more than165 students and volunteers to the Andes over the past 15 years. “There’s no end to the need. It'simpressive to see that the students can make sucha difference.“

Pettibon’s Art:WHAT PUNK LOOKED LIKE, 1978-86

For just under a month,punk ruled at the Univer-sity Gallery in McGauvranHall. The work of Raymond Pettibon was affixed to the gallery’swalls, from flyers to album covers, some 200 pieces in all.

Pettibon’s early work, so fastened as a visualrepresentation to the blunt burst of the WestCoast’s hardcore punk movement, had always been stapled and taped to telephone poles, bulletin boards and club walls. And here it was, in a gallery.

According to Bill Kaizen, Pettibon’s work hasbeen embraced by the “taste-making class” who will now pay hundreds of thousands foran original, later-day Pettibon work. Kaizen, a former UMass Lowell professor now withthe art history department at NortheasternUniversity, booked the show.

The exhibit was designed to “appeal toboth music and art majors as well as anyonewho knows the bands,”said Michele Gagnon,gallery coordinator.

Pettibon, whose posters, flyers and adver-tising for punk bands and their shows weredrawn from his homemade comic books and spread through his brother’srecord label (SST) and band (Black Flag) are rooted in Los Angeles. His worktouted records and performances by such bans as Circle Jerks, Minutemen,Dead Kennedys and a slew of others best known for an in-your-face, body-

slamming style that placed them far outside the bounds of theworlds of pop charts and arena-rock.—DP


UMass Lowell and Merri-mack Repertory Theaterwill stage the world pre-miere of Jack Kerouac’sonly full-length play inOctober.

“Beat Generation” willbe the centerpiece of the2012 Jack Kerouac LiteraryFestival, which will be heldOct. 10 through Oct. 14.The theme of this year’sfestival—held every twoyears by the University andcommunity partners—willbe “writing and music.”

Kerouac wrote theplay—which tells a story offriendship and karma thatdraws from lives of Beatwriters like Neal Cassadyand Allen Ginsberg—in1957, the same year hisiconic “On the Road” wasreleased. The manuscript

was found in a warehousein 2005.

“At midcentury, JackKerouac and his fellowBeat writers posed a seriesof pertinent questions regarding the assumptionsof the Cold War, the attractions of suburbanfamily life, the costs ofconspicuous consumptionand what they saw asAmerican spiritual deprivation,” says Todd Tietchen, a UMass LowellEnglish professor and ex-pert on Beat Generationwriters. “Those questionstake center stage in ‘BeatGeneration,’ as the princi-pal figures of this impor-tant literary movementreaffirm their friendship in a search for alternativeapproaches to life.”

The play’s premiere—a staged reading for eightperformances only—is being presented with thesupport of Kerouac LiteraryEstate representative John Sampas.

Auditions for “BeatGeneration” will takeplace this summer; infor-mation will be released on www.merrimackrep.org,once dates have been selected.

The Next Big Thing NeedsYouAs Steve Jobs said, “To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a companythat can continue to innovate for years requires a lot of discipline.”

It also requires a lot of money.

A group of UMass alumni—including John F. Kennedy ’70—understands that. And togive the best chances to the most innovative ideas from the across the system, they’re hopingto raise $6 million to create a University of Massachusetts Seed Fund.

The fund will provide approximately $250,000 to $500,000 to each early stage venture, in exchange for an equity position.

Want to help make it happen? Contact Bill Rosenberg, executive director of University of Massachusetts Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property, at [email protected] 617-287-4088.

Kerouac Play toPremiere in Lowell

Ourworld


C A M P U S N E W S

Everyone was talking aboutthe weather at the 116thBoston Marathon on April16—but a group of meteor-ology students and facultyfrom UMass Lowell were the experts, providing liveweather reports along theroute of the 26.2-mile race.

“This is the first time theBoston Athletic Associationhas asked an outside groupto do weather monitoring asfar as we know, so we’repretty excited,” says Prof.

Frank Colby of the Environ-mental, Earth and Atmos-pheric Sciences Department(EEAS), who headed theteam.

“Our students were posi-tioned at five locationsalong the route—at thestarting line in Hopkinton,the 10K mark in Framing-ham, the halfway mark inWellesley, the 30K marknear ‘Heartbreak Hill’ inNewton and the finish linein Boston,” says Colby.

The team gathered real-time data—tempera-ture, relative humidity, windspeed and direction as wellas local sky and road condi-tions—and relayed it to the event media center atBoston’s Fairmont CopleyPlaza Hotel. In previousyears, the BAA receivedweather reports from a vehi-cle that preceded the raceleaders and also utilized data from Logan Airport andHanscom Field.

Temperatures that dayrose to 89 degrees, forcing anumber of participants—including 2011 championGeoffrey Mutai—to dropout. It was one of the top-10hottest days in the history of the Boston Marathon.

Some areas were hotterthan others. “It was reallyinteresting to see the weath-er’s variability throughoutthe race course,” says gradu-ate student Chris Hoyt.

The EEAS Departmenthas proven to be a greatspringboard for launchingthe careers of researchersand TV weather forecasters.Many of the big-city TV stations across the countryhave UMass Lowell gradu-

ates on their weather teams.They include Danielle Niles’06 at New England CableNews (NECN), SarahWroblewski ’05 at Fox 25News Boston, Barry Burbank’72 at WBZ-TV and ShiriSpear ’07 at NBC 6 Miami.

Students Report on WeatherFrom Boston Marathon Route

Prof. Frank Colby conducts a dry run with his students.

The University broke ground in April on the $54 million University Suites, the first residence hall to be built on campus in more than two decades. The 148,000-square-foot hall will provide 472 students with amenities unheard of a generationago: larger rooms, suite-style apartments, quiet study rooms, cafés and more inspired architecture and landscaping. Slated to open in 2013, the brick facility will be built around a courtyard that faces the Campus Recreation Center.

ALUMNI STAR IN NEW TV ADThe spectacular successes of UMass Lowell alumni—who’ve invented AstroTurf, run Fortune 500 com-panies, produced Broadway plays and served asambassadors to other countries—are front and cen-ter in a 30-second TV spot now airing on major regional networks. The ad, first in a series ofalumni-based spots, features Rich Miner (Androidco-founder and Google Ventures partner), LynneSamuelson (chief scientist of�U.S. Army Natick Sol-dier Research) and Adam Ayan (Grammy-winningsound mastering engineer). View the spot atwww.uml.edu/about/TV-spot-Alumni.aspx.

‘Suite-est’ Dorm in Decades


When last we visited with Barry Perry ’68, two years agoin the pages of this magazine, he was setting off on afishing trip to Belize with his about-to-be 40-year-oldmiddle daughter. This time when we called, it was hisyoungest daughter’s turn to hit 40, and the trip—herchoice—would be down the Colorado River on a raft.

“It’s a tradition,“ he explains. “All three of my girls,on their 40th, I try to do something really special.”

Doing special things for people—daughters, companies,UMass Lowell students—has become, for Perry, a traditionin itself. The son of a prison guard father and a textileworker mother, Perry says his Lowell Tech education waspossible only through scholarship aid. He is now six yearsretired from his job as CEO of a $5 billion chemical firm.

It’s a very active retirement. In addition to the fishingand rafting with his daughters—and the quail huntingand target shooting he finds time to do for himself—hetravels the country as director on four corporate boards,spends at least as much time on the phone on those com-panies’ behalf (“it’s the best way I know to keep yourhead in the game”), and—increasingly, as time goes by—contributes an ever-larger portion of his wealth to assuringthat young, qualified engineering students aren’t deniedaccess to a UMass Lowell education.

His latest contributions are his largest to date. In October, he pledged $1.25 million to the University forrenovations to the Engineering Building, support for thenew Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center andfunding to double the size of his endowed scholarshipfund. In appreciation of this latest gift, on April 19 theUniversity renamed the engineering building Perry Hallin his honor.

“Since 1952, this building has been at the forefront ofinnovation and industry in Lowell, first as a laboratoryand classroom space for students in the paper and leatherengineering fields, and later, in chemical engineeringand biomanufacturing,” said Chancellor Marty Meehanat the event. “Today, we celebrate a new beginning.Under the Perry Hall name, the building will be a catalystfor student achievement in engineering and fields wecan only imagine.”

Achievement is something Perry knows about. Aftergrowing up in Dartmouth, Mass. (he now lives in Newtown,Penn.,), he earned his bachelor’s degree in plastics engi-neering at what was then Lowell Technological Institute.He began his career at General Electric and retired in2006 as the chairman and CEO of New Jersey-based Engelhard Corp., a chemical and metals company.

Barry Perry’68, joined by hiswife, Janice, daughter KimberlyPerry, granddaughters Alix Perry Madden and Chase Madden Perry and son-in-lawBrian Madden, celebrates the re-dedication of the UMassLowell Engineering Buildingwith plastics engineering students, faculty and staff.

By Geoffrey Douglas‘An Unwavering Commitment’—Honored in Stone

Ourworld


C A M P U S N E W S

Engineering students, top right, watch as the newly named engineering building is unveiled. Posing under the new Perry Hallsign are, in back row, from left, Plastics Engineering Department Chair Robert Malloy, Brian Madden, Barry Perry ’68 and Janice Perry. In the front row are, from left, Francis College of Engineering Dean John Ting, Executive Vice ChancellorJacqueline Moloney, Chase Madden Perry, Alix Perry Madden,Kimberly Perry and Chancellor Marty Meehan.

These days, he’s focused on helping younger gener-ations find such success.

“Having my name on the building is very nice,” saysPerry—who concedes that it was his wife, Janice, who“really put me over the top” in deciding to make therecent gift. “And maybe one day, my grandkids will seeit and think good things of me. But that’s not what’simportant.

“What matters to me is what’s always mattered—toencourage our young students, as much as possible, topursue their careers in engineering, as opposed to, say,the service industries. Because it’s a value-added field—it’s where real wealth is created. And if I can give somedeserving kids, who might not otherwise have the re-sources, the opportunity to pursue that—well then,that’s what I’ll try and do.”

All this is in addition to his past support of thePlastics Engineering Department, the College of Engi-neering’s Dean’s Discretionary Fund, and the UMassLowell Fund—as well as the time he gave, for sevenyears, as advisory board member to the College, andhis role several years ago as a member of Plastic Engi-neering’s $11 million capital fund drive.

“Barry Perry has demonstrated an unwavering com-mitment, over many years, to the Engineering programat UMass Lowell,” says Vice Chancellor for UniversityAdvancement Edward Chiu. “It is more than fittingthat we recognize his generosity through the naming ofPerry Hall.”

The Perry Endowment Fund, valued last Novemberat nearly $192,000, was enough this year to fund $1,600scholarship awards to four UMass Lowell engineeringstudents.

“With this recent donation, Barry Perry will helpsupport the upgrading of student and faculty space inthe College of Engineering, and provide aid for studentscholarships,” says Engineering Dean John Ting. “Do-nations such as this are vitally needed at a time whenour students are shouldering an increasingly largefraction of their tuition costs.

“The generosity of alumni like Mr. Perry helps usprovide our students with the highest-quality education.On behalf of all our faculty, staff and especially our stu-dents, we couldn’t be more grateful.” �

“If I can give some deserving kids, who might not otherwise have the resources, the opportunity to pursue engineering careers—well then, that’s what I’ll try and do.”

—Barry Perry ’68


The Sun, whose light andheat have made life possiblehere on Earth, has beenstudied in great detail sincethe invention of the tele-scope in the 17th century.But fundamental questionsremain about the nature of this star nearest to ourhome planet.

One of them is the puzzleof the heating of the Sun’stenuous outer atmosphere,known as the corona, whichis composed of charged parti-cles and extends millions of miles into interplanetaryspace. In the late 1930s andearly '40s, scientists discov-ered that the corona is extremely hot—about 2 million degrees. And yetthe Sun’s visible surface,called the photosphere, is a “mere” 6,000 degrees.

For years, scientists havedebated: how can the photo-sphere heat the surroundingcorona to such incrediblyhigh temperatures?

“This has been a long-standing problem in solarphysics and astrophysics,”says Prof. Paul Song of thePhysics and Applied PhysicsDepartment. “If the photos-phere is indeed responsiblefor heating the corona, thenit contradicts the second lawof thermodynamics, whichstates that heat flows from

higher-temperature regionsto lower ones, and not viceversa.”

Song, who directs UMass Lowell’s Center for Atmospheric Research,recently helped propose anew theory that might help explain this apparent anomaly and lead to the final resolution of the coronal heating problem.

“Many people realize theSun is very turbulent andthe energy associated withthat turbulence—similar tomany atomic bombs goingoff everywhere on the Sun—can provide the requiredheat energy,” notes Song.“However, the question ishow motional energy can beconverted to thermal energy.Previous theories are able tocome up with only a smallpercentage of the requiredthermal energy based on theobserved turbulence energy.”

Song and co-authorVytenis Vasyliunas, distin-guished research professor atthe Center, analyzed the per-turbation (disturbance) ofAlfvén waves as they propa-gate from the solar surface to the corona through thechromosphere, a rather difficult and complex mathematical-physical task.Alfvén waves are low-fre-quency traveling oscillation

of the charged particles andthe Sun’s magnetic field.

Song and Vasyliunasfound that the waves’ pertur-bations are heavily damped,and that the motional ener-gy of the perturbation can beconverted to heat in regionswhere the magnetic field isweaker. The damping andheating is much less in re-gions of stronger magneticfield, they say.

“Conventional wisdomhas been to focus on regionsof stronger magnetic fieldbecause these are wherestronger perturbations areobserved,” explains Song.“Now everything becomesclear: stronger perturbationsare observed in stronger fieldregions because they are notdamped, and vice versa. Ourtheory is thus able to convertthe observed level of turbu-lence energy to the requiredthermal energy.”

Why are these findingsimportant? Since coronalheating is essential to under-standing the formation ofthe corona and solar winds,which are the cause of allspace-weather phenomena,the new theory will substan-tially improve our currentknowledge about solarstorms and space weather. — EA

The sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, is easily seen with the naked eye during a totaleclipse. This view of the corona’s delicate structure was photographed by our staff writer Edwin L. Aguirre during the July 11, 2010 total solar eclipse, which he observed from theSouth Pacific, on Tatakoto Atoll in French Polynesia’s Tuamotu Archipelago.

Solving the Mystery of the Researchers Find Early Indicator forAlzheimer’s Disease UMass Lowell researchers—along with collaboratorsat Boston University, MassBay Community Collegeand Veterans Administration Medical Center—havediscovered an early indicator for Alzheimer’s disease.

Assoc. Prof. Garth Hall of UMass Lowell’s BiologicalSciences Department and his former Ph.D. studentsSudan Saman and WonHee Kim helped find thathigh levels of a biomarker for the tau protein inexosomes can indicate early stages of Alzheimer’sdisease. Exosomes are tiny bubble-like membranousstructures released from cells that can be found in thecerebral spinal columns of patients.

“The idea is that tau secretion probably occursbefore the neurons, or brain cells, die in Alzheimer’spatients, and, if so, the levels of secreted tau in thecerebral spinal fluid—and possibly blood—might beable to predict whether a person would get Alzheimer’sbefore he or she actually starts to show symptoms,” ex-plains Hall.

He believes this will assist in diagnosing peopleearly enough so that existing medicines can help them.

“Most importantly, it would permit the identificationof Alzheimer’s patients while they are cognitively in-tact—that is, before they lose a lot of neurons—sothey can be enrolled in clinical trials for drugs thatmight cure Alzheimer’s disease,” he says. “This hasbeen one of the biggest obstacles to finding a cure forAD; our study marks a big step forward in removingthat obstacle.”

Garth and his team have filed a patent applicationon the secreted tau biomarker and are looking to partner with a large biopharmaceutical firm todevelop a commercial diagnostic for AD based ontheir research. —EA

SuperhotSun

Labnotes


C A M P U S N E W S

SPIDER SILK:STRONGER THAN STEELYou know that elaborate spider web decorating theupper corner of your frontporch? It’s made of nature’swonder fiber—it’s tougherthan steel or Kevlar, butweighs much less and can bestretched up to three timesits length without breaking.

“Spider silk is importantfor many reasons,” explains Biology Asst. Prof. JessicaGarb, who is studying thegenetics behind spider silksand venoms.

Because spider silk hasextreme toughness, hightensile strength and elastici-ty, is lightweight andbiodegradable, scientists areinterested in understandingits composition and produc-tion. It can potentially beused in diverse applicationsrequiring high-performancematerials, including body armors, bandages, surgicalsutures, artificial tendons or ligaments, ropes, fish nets,seat belts, airbags and para-chutes.

“Spiders have evolvedmany specific uses of silk:different web types, adhesive

silks, Velcro-like silks, silksjust for egg cases, et cetera,”says Garb, who has pub-lished her findings in manyprofessional journals. “Also,spiders always rely on silkthroughout their lives, andsilk has played a key role inspider evolution.”

NEW METHOD IMPROVES CANCERSCREENINGIf we want to increase can-cer patients’ survival rates,we need to improve earlyscreening techniques.

A team of UMass Lowellresearchers is doing just that.Led by Soumitra Satapathi,a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics andApplied Physics and a re-searcher at UMass Lowell’s

Spiders have undergone400 million years ofevolutionary history toperfect the biochemistryof their silk, which isan incredibly strongand versatile biomateri-al. Here a spider spinsits silk to wrap its prey.

Center for Advanced Mate-rials, the group has devel-oped a novel method of examining cancer cells inthe laboratory that couldsomeday help in the earlydetection and diagnosis ofthe disease.

“Our technique providesa unique way for non-inva-sive, high-contrast imagingof cancer cells,” he says.“This process can potential-ly be extended as a tool toreplace conventional en-doscopy and colonoscopyprocedures.”

Satapathi, a native ofKolkata, India, presentedthe team’s findings in February, during the American Physical Societymeeting in Boston.

HEADS OF STATE TO LEARN FROM RESEARCHERS’REPORT ON TOXICSThe production and use ofchemicals in developingcountries is skyrocketing, resulting in significant harmto human health, especiallyfor children living in pover-ty, says a new report writtenby staff and faculty of theUniversity’s Toxics Use Reduction Institute and theLowell Center for Sustain-able Production.

The Global ChemicalsOutlook report, commis-sioned by the United Nations Environment Programme, will be a majorsource of reference at an international meeting, theRIO +20 U.N. Conferenceon Sustainable Develop-ment. The June conferencein Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,will attract more than 200heads of state and govern-ment officials who will setgoals for worldwide sustain-able development.

Rachel Massey of theToxics Use Reduction Insti-

Ph.D. candidate Soumitra Satapathi

tute (TURI) and Prof. KenGeiser of the Work Environ-ment Department and co-di-rector of the Lowell Centerfor Sustainable Production,played leading roles in theinternational process thatled to this report.

“It is very empoweringand refreshing working withrepresentatives from differ-ent countries,” says Geiser.“The work that we beganhere at Lowell with the Toxics Use Reduction Act20 years ago will now haveinternational presence. We believe that the samestrategies of finding safer alternatives and reducingtoxics at the source ratherthan dealing with clean-upand health effects can be applied worldwide to fostereconomic growth while protecting health and well-being.”

70 Million of Us Can’t SleepAs many as 70 million Americans suffer from sleepdeprivation—which does a lot more than just makepeople groggy. It increases the risk of obesity, cardio-vascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, mood disor-ders and cancer, says Prof. Geoffry Phillips McEnanyof the Nursing Department.

Phillips McEnany is co-author of a new book“Sleep Disorders and Sleep Promotion in NursingPractice” that was recently recognized as a Book ofthe Year by the American Journal of Nursing.

His No. 1 piece of advice?

“Raise the issue of sleep with your primary careprovider, whether that person is a nurse practitioneror a physician,” he says. “If a sleep medication is of-fered for a sleep complaint, then ask for a broadersleep assessment. The important question is ‘What’sthe cause of my sleep problem?’ If obesity is a clinicalissue, then discuss snoring and daytime sleepiness,which is the best indicator of poor or inadequatesleep. Bring sleep into the light of day in any clinicalvisit.”

To help clinicians better diagnose and treat sleepproblems, Phillips McEnany established an onlinegraduate certificate program in Sleep and Sleep Disorders. Offered through UMass Lowell’s Division ofOnline and ContinuingEducation, it is one ofthe first programs of itskind in the United States.—KA

Ken Geiser


Sexting has been the cause of some high-profile scandals, inspiring a flurry of newlaws and prosecutions and raising the anxiety of parents across the country.

But what exactly is it?

“The teens who we interviewed were unclear as to what sexting means andwhether their own activities constitute sexting,” says Andrew Harris, assistantprofessor of Criminal Justice and Criminology. “Was it safe sex as opposed to realsex, just a normal part of a romantic relationship or a coercive move? As investigators,we need to ask, what is old behavior—just part of teen relationships—and what isnew with the new technology?”

The study Harris is leading, Teens, Sex and Technology, focuses on how teensthemselves perceive sexting. Funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and DelinquencyPrevention in the U.S. Department of Justice, the study involves researchers inthree states (Massachusetts, Ohio and South Carolina) and from several disciplines

(including clinical psychology), nine schoolsystems and more than 120 teens who wereinterviewed in focus groups based on age

and gender. Focus groups of parents and edu-cators were conducted.

“The old behavior includes the typicallypoor judgment capacity of the teenage brain,

heightened sexuality and desire for inti-macy,” says Harris. “The new behavior

is that teens have spent their lives asdigital natives. They are living, learning

and relating with new media.”

In a digital environment, private and public spheres have changed dramatically.

“Social media enable teen relationshipsto be insulated from parents and other

adults,” says Harris. “They have extraordi-nary autonomy and independence. At the same time, their peer relationshipsare played out in a public domain, putting

them in a minefield of potentially real problems.”

Younger teens are experimenting with technologyand with relationships, researchers found, and might

send explicit images just because they can. Older teensperceive a continuum that ranges from intimate and caring

communications to peer pressure and de-liberate cruelty.

As to gender, boys are perceived as at-tempting to compete and show off, while

girls are said to be seeking attention.

“The personal and social consequences arequite different,” says Assoc. Prof. Judith Davidson of

the Graduate School of Education, who is analyzing theteen narratives and supervising a team of UMass Lowell

student researchers. “For boys, status is enhanced by sexting.For girls, status is diminished and they are subjected to name-calling and insults.”

The bottom line, says Harris, is that “sexting is not going away. We need to teachteens how to navigate in a responsible way.” — SS

Teen Sexting: ‘Not Going Away’ COMING SOON: IMPROVED PRIVACYFOR YOUR MEDICALRECORDSFederal laws regulatinghealth care records aim toprotect patients’ privacy andkeep personal informationsecure. But those restrictionscan limit the utility of thedata for research purposes.

Two Manning School ofBusiness professors are work-ing to develop cutting-edgetechnology that improvespatient confidentiality protection while makinghigh-quality data availableto health care researchers.

Professor Xiaobai Li isleading a team that receiveda $700,000 grant from theNational Institutes of Healthto develop data-maskingtechnology. Also involved in the three-year project areManning School Prof. LuvaiMotiwalla as well as Prof.Patricia Franklin and Assoc.Prof. Wenjun Li, both ofUMass Medical School.

“It is difficult to strike abalance between privacyprotections and providingthe best data quality possi-

ble,” says UMass Lowell’s Li.“By developing a data-mask-ing system, we can betterprotect privacy and at thesame time we can make the data more useful.”

The availability of quali-ty information contained inmedical records has broadimplications for policy, treatments and health care finance, says Motiwalla.

The data can be used byphysicians who are searchingfor new treatments as well ashealth care economists whoare seeking to control thecost of care.

New data-masking technology willprovide health care researcherswith the best data possible.

BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS ON THE FASTTRACK TO COMMERCIALIZATIONEvery year, there’s an unspoken competition between researchers at the five UMass campus-es—all of whom are hoping to win one of a smallnumber of grants given by the UMass President’sOffice to professors with the best chances ofturning their technologies into commercial success.This year, UMass Lowell professors snagged a thirdof those grants. Keep an eye out for cool new inventions (involving a blood poisoning sensor,biodegradable surfactants found in householdcleaning agents, and a living-cell-based biosensor)coming down the pipeline. Three teams—led by Assoc. Prof. Sanjeev Manohar of Chemical Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Joel Therrien of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Asst.Prof. Ramaswamy Nagarajan of Plastics Engineer-ing—will receive a total of $75,000.

Labnotes


C A M P U S N E W SStudentscene

STUDENTS ‘CAN’T GET ENOUGH’ OF J. COLEStudents packed the house at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell to hear Grammy-nominatedrapper J. Cole perform hits like ”Can’t Get Enough” on March 30. UMass Lowell is becoming a top venue in the region for rap and hip-hop acts. Since the arena was acquired by the University in 2009, Drake, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa have all performed at the site, which was named one of the top 20 in the world by Venues Today magazine.

Some students spent springbreak working on their mar-garita-lifting muscles. Otherslearned how to paint a room,where to get the best deal on fried chicken near campus—and how to make a difference.

As part of the Alterna-tive Spring Break Club’s

Lowell Immersion project, a group of five UMass Lowell students spent theweek helping out local non-profits, meeting communityleaders and learning aboutthe city.

Throughout the week,the students knocked ondoors in city neighborhoods

to let residents know abouthome energy assessmentsthat could help improve theenergy efficiency of theirhomes and save money. The result? They signed up38 homeowners.

They also made phonecalls to Lowell TransitionalLiving Center donors tothank them for their supportand they helped the LowellFood Security Coalitionwith its community needsassessment, visiting neigh-borhood bodegas and mar-kets to gather informationfrom storeowners (and taste their chicken).

They met with neighbor-hood leaders to learn abouttheir work in the communityand painted rooms at theUnited Teen Equality Cen-ter in downtown Lowell.They traveled to Boston tohelp out at CommunityServings, a not-for-profit

group that provides nutri-tious meals to people copingwith serious illnesses.

The students camped outfor the week at the historicPawtucket CongregationalChurch, sharing meals andplanning their activities to-gether. To thank the church,which also hosted the Low-ell Immersion group lastspring, the students did somepainting inside the building.

Alternative Spring BreakClub President Kevin Cop-son, a senior criminal justicemajor, said volunteeringwith other students creates ashared sense of purpose thatis sometimes missing fromthe daily routine. Last year,he traveled with other club members to Mississippito help with hurricane clean-up.

“So many people get intothe rut of eat, sleep, work,”

he said. “The sense of camaraderie and self-development that you canattain through volunteeringis invaluable.”

Also participating this yearwere sophomores EamonLightning and Deborah Paul and juniors Savannah Marshall and Becca Walsh.

UMass Lowell studentsare devoting more time tocommunity service thanever, with the number ofhours recorded doublingover the past year from50,000 to 100,000. The University was recentlynamed to the 2012 Presi-dent’s Higher EducationCommunity Service HonorRoll with Distinction, a prestigious recognition forcolleges and universitiescommitted to volunteering,service-learning and com-munity engagement. — JG

A Life-changing Spring Break

Student volunteers spent part of spring break painting inside thePawtucket Congregational Church.


While the members of the student theater group Off-Broadway Players werenot yet in high school dur-ing the 1999 Columbine,Colo., shootings, they’velived with its aftermath.

Emergency drills, anti-bullying programs and thefaces of the victims havebeen part of their schoolexperiences. And highschool remains a difficultordeal for many.

As they took the stageto present “columbinus,” aplay based on the tragedy,the students’ own experi-ences and feelings aboutthe horrifying event shonethrough.

“We chose to do thisplay because we wanted to

put on a meaningful andemotional play,” says Kate Munoz, vice presi-dent of the Off-BroadwayPlayers and an actor in the play. “Production wasemotionally taxing for castmembers because of thecharacters we had to em-body and the content weused. But we helped oneanother get through andColleen Rua, our director,created a safe environ-ment. Even when we were rehearsing the mostuncomfortable scenes, itwas never unbearable.”

The actors expressedhope that encouraging students to talk and em-pathize with one anothermore could decrease violence in schools.

“This play challengesus to really think aboutthe ways in which our actions affect others andreminds us that in manyways, we are more alikethan different,” says Rua,artistic director at the Arlington Children’s Theatre. “This applies toall of us, not just students.These concepts seem sosimple, so basic, yet wecontinue to see tragedieslike the recent shootingsin Ohio and Florida. Theater like ‘columbinus’asks us to consider ourown culpability as a society, but also offers ushope for change.” — JKG

‘columbinus’ Calls for Culpability and Change

The Off-Broadway Players recently performed “columbinus,” a play based on the 1999 schoolshooting tragedy in Colorado.

The student clubSteppin’ in Unity enthralled a crowd in Durgin Hall with rousing danceperformances onMarch 31.

Studentscene


C A M P U S N E W S

When she heard aboutthe Mr. UML contest hap-pening on campus a fewmonths ago, sophomorefine arts major Trudy Ulmstead decided she wasthe best man for the job.

“They didn’t specifythat you have to be maleand I met the other crite-ria,” says Ulmstead, whois a resident advisor, ori-entation leader and OffBroadway Players officer.“I'm a prominent studentleader on campus, so Ithought it would be a

fun thing to add to my involvement here.” Shewas surprised as anyonewhen she won.

“I think I won becauseI was trying to convey an important message …that if you want some-thing, go for it. Take achance,” she says. “I fullyexpected to not be takenseriously or not allowedto compete because of mygender. But I was allowed,and clearly got the sup-port of the UMass Lowellcommunity.”

Angelina Jolie and UMass Lowell studentCarolina Barreto have something importantin common. They both won Cinema forPeace awards at the Berlin InternationalFilm Festival in February.

Barreto, a native of Nicaragua and adoctoral student in the University’s solarenergy engineering program, played a keyrole in the documentary “Burning in theSun”—one of five films that won what isoften called the “German Oscar.”

“They recognize filmmakers who areinvolved in making a difference in theworld. We won the Cinema for Peace In-ternational Green Film Award sponsoredby the German automaker Opel,” she says.

The critically acclaimed “Burning inthe Sun” tells the story of Daniel Dembélé,a 26-year-old bartender in Ams-terdam who decides toreturn to his homelandin Mali, an impoverished,landlocked country inWestern Africa, and starta local business building solar panels—the first of its kind in the sun-drenchednation.

Dembélé’s goal is to electrifythe households of rural com-munities, 99 percent of whichlive without power. His first customers are the residents of thetiny village of Banko.

“In the film, I’m shown training Danieland other Malians how to assemble andinstall solar panels,” Barreto says. “Danieldidn’t have any background in solar energy,but he wanted to find a way to help hiscountrymen. This solar energy trainingprovided him with the skills, job and busi-ness opportunity to do it.”

Barreto was also interviewed on-cameraand gave her views about rural electrificationin developing countries.

You can view a 22-minute clip of the docu-mentary, which had its national broadcast pre-mier on PBS on Jan. 29,on YouTube.— EA

Student Wins ‘German Oscar’

INTRODUCING MR. UML (YES, THAT’S HER)

About a dozen students are building a greenhouse and community garden on campus this spring, in part thanks to a grant from the Deshpande Foundation.The group hopes to donate vegetables and flowers to local organizations.

Carolina Barreto pauses duringthe installation of solar panelsin a Peruvian village.

Trudy Ulmstead

Good Will Growing


‘A Wonderful Player, a Wonderful Person’—River Hawks Forward Beats the Odds By Geoffrey Douglas

He was 18 years old, a standout forward for his JuniorLeague team in Ontario, just days away from the start of his first year playing Division I college hockey atUMass Lowell. He was out to breakfast with his familyand some friends—they’d thrown him a party the nightbefore to celebrate and say goodbye—when he began to feel, he remembers, “really weird.”

He went home and went to bed. When he awoke, theroom was full of paramedics. Then he was in an ambulance,then a hospital bed. The doctors told him he had atumor on his brain. There would be no Lowell, noDivision I hockey. His odds of even surviving, they said,were roughly two to one. “I felt,” he would tell a reportertwo years later, “like someone just came and took meaway.”

That was nearly five years ago. Today, Matt Ferreira isthe third-leading scorer on the River Hawks team, with14 goals and 18 assists this season. He appeared last yearin 33 games, ranked third on the team in scoring. Overthe past three-and-a-half years, he has played in 122games, with 29 goals and 30 assists. He will graduate this spring.

“It’s been an unbelievable story,” says River Hawkscoach Norm Bazin. “He plays well both with the puck

and without it—which I can’t say for every player. He’sone of the true leaders on the team.”

For Ferreira, it has been an extraordinary five years.With the tumor removed and three metal plates in hishead, he returned for a year (2007-08) to play for hisjunior team in Ontario, struggling mightily at first beforehe found his stride—all the while getting visits from hisUMass Lowell coaches and emails from River Hawksplayers he didn’t know if he would ever meet.

“I have nothing but praise for the staff and the teamfor seeing him through that ordeal,” says Bazin, who wasnot at UMass Lowell at the time. “That made all the dif-ference, I think.”

By the fall of 2008—a year later than originallyplanned—he was on the ice in Lowell. A fourth-lineplayer at first, he saw limited minutes, though that beganchanging within weeks. “He’s a Lowell player—he’s tena-cious, he’s thorough,” then-coach Blaise MacDonaldwould say of him before his freshman season was done.

“He’s [already] played to our expectations. I know,over his career, he’s going to amplify those.”

And so he has—off the rink as well as on. “He’s awonderful player,” Bazin says of Matt Ferreira today. “Butan even better person. I’m proud to be his coach.” �

Matt Ferreira

Sportsupdate


C A M P U S N E W S

UMass Lowell hockey earnedits first NCAA Tournamentbid since 1996, winningagainst Miami (Ohio) in theopening round on March 23,before falling just a gameshort of the Frozen Four afterlosing to Union College.

Led by the 2012 HockeyEast Coach of the Year, NormBazin, the team finished itsseason with a 24-13-1 record,a tie for second-place inHockey East. It was the sec-ond largest turnaround inNCAA Division history with19 more wins than last year. Itwas the largest turnaround by

a first-year head coach, earn-ing Bazin a nod as finalist forthe Spencer Penrose Award,given by the American Hockey Coaches Associationin memory of the ColoradoSprings benefactor who built the Broadmoor HotelComplex, site of the first 10NCAA championship hockeytournaments.

Sophomore Doug Carralso snagged kudos, beingnamed one of two Division IAll-Star goalies and the PaulHines Most Improved PlayerAward winner.

JUST THE TICKETMike O’Connor ’87, a sales executiveat Dassault Systemes, has saved everyticket from every sporting event he’s attended—including all of thesefrom River Hawk hockey games. The excitement over the currentteam, he says, reminds him of “thedays at the Tully Forum back in the’80s, when games were always verycrowded and high spirited.”

SNOW DAY! Hockey players Malcolm Lyles, William Eiserman, Stephen Bucoand Tim Corcoran spent time on their off-day on March 1 shovelinglocal driveways and inviting fans to that weekend’s home gameagainst Providence College. (They won 4 to 2!)

Hockey Team LandsFirst NCAA TournamentBid Since 1996

GORIVERHAWKS.COM GETS NEW LOOKThe Department of Athletics debuted a new website, www.goriverhawks.com,in March. A cutting-edge design and flash headers are featured, along with anenhanced version of live stats, better integration of Facebook and Twitter, andlarger windows for viewing video highlights.

The site was created in conjunction with Sidearm Sports, replacing CBS Inter-active, which served as the University’s athletics website provider since 2009.

“We place great value on the importance of first impressions and are excitedto partner with Sidearm Sports to create a more dynamic, user-friendly website,”says Director of Athletics Dana Skinner. “Our new site will also drive more rev-enue by providing new content for corporate sponsors.”

Send Her InSenior pitcher and designated hitter Elyssa Boris, number 14, became UMass Lowell’scareer RBI leader as the River Hawks defeated Saint Michael’s College in a Northeast-10 Conference softball doubleheader at Doc Jacobs Field on April 3.


UMass Lowell’s Junior EvanWhite and seniors Angus Mac-Donald and Jeff Wundt earnedAll-America honors in twoevents at the NCAA DivisionII Indoor Track & Field Cham-pionship at Minnesota State-Mankato’s Myers Fieldhouse.

UMass Lowell scored 23points to place a best-everninth in the 40-team field.MacDonald added to the mile-stone weekend by becoming

the University’s most decorat-ed athlete: He earned All-America honors for the eighthand ninth times in his career,and still has one more outdoor season of eligibility.

“We obviously achievedmost of our goals for the week-end by placing ninth as a teamand coming back with 10 All-Americans,” says head coachGary Gardner. “That this wasthe team’s best finish ever,

having two national runner-upfinishes. And Angus earninghis eighth and ninth All-America awards made it a very special weekend.”

White captured All-Ameri-ca honors in both the 200 meters and 4X400 meter relaywhile MacDonald earned All-America in the distancemedley relay and the openmile. Wundt was a part of both relay teams.

Junior Evan White, left, receives the batonfrom senior Jeff Wundt, leading the 4x400team to second place.

Pho

to b

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ave

Egg

en

Run, Hawks, Run!

RUNNER SNAGS SCHOLAR AWARDSenior Angus MacDonald received the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award for indoor track and field,making him one of seven winter season stu-dent-athletes conference-wide to receive thedistinction. To be eligible, student-athletes musthave completed two consecutive years of full-time enrollment and athletic eligibility whilemaintaining a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. This is the second time MacDonald received the honor. He was also the men’s cross-country recipient for the 2009 season.

Senior Angus MacDonald, center, received a 2012 NE-10 Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award.

Sportsupdate

Features 20 THE COMPANY WE KEEP

22 COVER STORY

31 DESIGNING WOMAN

34 THE DREAMMAKER

38 FACE OF PHILANTHROPHY

Inside...

Just a few weeks after testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee onForeign Relations about the atrocities he witnessed in South Sudanwhile on a mission there with actor George Clooney, John Prendergastspoke to students on campus about why he is “wildly optimistic” aboutAfrica’s future. The human rights activist, who co-founded the advo-cacy group Enough Project, is UMass Lowell’s 2012 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies. Prendergast said he came to UMass Lowell becausethe University’s commitment to service is a natural fit for what hedoes. “All the students, or many of them, are trying to do something inthe world or in the backyard or in the local community,” he said.



THE COMPANY

WE KEEP.

By David Perry

Featurestory


F E A T U R E S T O R Y

mployers dream of college graduateswho are trained well enough to plungeright in to work. For educators, in-ternships offer a bond with industry,a practicum of sorts. And for students,a seamless transition from classroomto work clothes is a particularly good

deal, especially in a tough economy.Since 1955, UMass Lowell’s Plastics Engi-

neering Department and Clinton-based plasticsmanufacturer Nypro have been fused at thehip. The University has produced so manyinterns and full-time employees for Nypro thatsome UMass Lowell alumni working there saythere’s an unspoken bond between them.

But the relationship between the Universityand the plastics company is perhaps best per-sonified in Amber Zapatka, a 23-year-old Lowellnative. A full-time Nypro employee since July1, the 2011 graduate is working toward hermaster’s degree in plastics engineering. She firstjoined Nypro as a scholar-intern following herfreshman year and never left. She is training tobecome a quality engineer.

“It’s pretty well-known that a lot of UMassLowell plastics engineering alumni go to Nyproto work,” says Amber, “whether it’s a startingpoint or a final destination.”

“There’s a very rich and deep history betweenus,” says Louise Griffin, director of corporateand foundation relations for the Office of University Advancement. “The histories of theUniversity’s Plastics Engineering Departmentand Nypro parallel one another and are veryimportant to us. They’ve been generous, as well.”

One of the most visible examples is in BallHall, on North Campus. That’s where, in 2003,Nypro and its Chairman of the Board GordonLankton funded the renovation of a laboratoryto create the Nypro Precision Injection MoldingLaboratory. The lab houses $500,000 worth ofequipment, including an injection-molding ma-chine from Nypro.

UMass Lowell Plastics Engineering Depart-ment head Robert Malloy says it’s not much ofa stretch to say one might not exist as it doeswithout the other.

“It’s pretty close to the truth,” says Malloy.“managers there will tell you a lot of theirsuccess is due to their people, and they get a

trained workforce from UMass Lowell. And it’snot just plastics engineering, though we’ve cer-tainly supplied the largest numbers to them.They are hiring mechanical and chemical engineers from UMass Lowell, too.”

The programs grew up together. UMass Low-ell’s plastics engineering program dates back to1954, when the school was known as LowellTechnological Institute. Nypro was born thefollowing year.

“There are only so many ways a universityand a company can interact, and I’d say we’veengaged in just about every one of them withNypro,” says Malloy.

In a rambling former carpet mill refurbishedas its Clinton headquarters in 1971, Nypro isone of the 10 largest employee-owned companies,anticipating sales of $1.2 billion this year. Thecompany has 17,000 employees, at 41 sites in14 countries, according to Nypro spokesmanAl Cotton.

In various parts of the building, you’ll findthose who bleed River Hawk blue. Alan Maran-ian ’79, is a business development manager atNypro, and recalls taking classes here withMalloy. After school, he worked for Xerox andgot to know Nypro as a supplier.

“I started dealing with Nypro in 1983, andI’ve been here for 10 years,” says Maranian, 54.“So many UMass Lowell graduates work here.There’s a strong association between the twoplaces.” He has a senior from the University’splastics department working for him as an intern, and plans to hire him after he gradu-ates.

“I remember hearing the name Nypro whenI was there,” says Tina Downey ’92, a Nyproproject manager who has been with the companyfor 13 years. “Now I hear UMass Lowell a lothere.”

Sometimes, a rich program can bring infolks from other majors, too, such as ChrisBussiere ’92, a mechanical engineering graduate.

“I started here cleaning molds for three months,”says Bussiere, in his office overlooking Nypro’svast tool shop. “And I’ve been designing moldsfor the past seven, eight years. I found out theyjust hired my college roommate.”

Nypro maintains a presence on UMass Low-ell’s North Campus.

The plastics engineering department’s advisoryboard includes a Nypro representative, “whoseinput helps us keep abreast of what is going onin the larger plastics world and how we shouldapproach it,” says Malloy. “We don’t necessarilychange our program for everything they say,but when they say something, we do listen.”

Nypro also provides scholarship support.Malloy says the Nypro scholarship began in1979 and in 2005, “turned into an endowedscholarship.”

“UMass Lowell prepared me in all sorts ofways for the real world,” says Amber Zapatka.“There was such a broad range of things welearned. You really end up with an in-depthknowledge, one that gives you a really goodbase to stand on.

“There were times in class where I was themost knowledgeable because of what I wasdoing at work. I would have that practicalknowledge and be able to use it in class. Thetwo complement one another so well.” �

UMass Lowell Plastics and Nypro:Partners From the Same Mold

Editor’s note:As some smart person once pointedout, no one can whistle a symphony. It takes anentire orchestra to get it right. In our new sectionThe Company We Keep, we’ll profile some of ourown first-chair players—the partners who arehelping to make this time of unprecedented growthat UMass Lowell possible.

“It’s pretty well-known that a lot of UMass Lowell plastics alumni go to Nypro to work, whether it’s a starting point or a final destination.”

— Amber Zapatka ’11

Alumni, from left, Alan Maranian ’79, Chuck Henry’86 and Tina Downey ’92 chat at Nypro headquarters.

E

22 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE S P R I N G 2 0 1 2

Continued

UMass Lowell State of Mind.B I L LY J O E L TA K E S T H E S TAG E AT D U R G I N H A L L

By David Perry

s a drummer, Savannah Marshall’s tastes run towardforce-of-nature heavy metal, or the rumbling thunder ofjazz and big band.

Yet there she was, backstage at Durgin Hall, about toshake hands with rock star Billy Joel. Marshall was one

of three UMass Lowell music majors joining Chancellor MartyMeehan and a handful of others in greeting Joel before his Dec.14 appearance at the South Campus performance center.

A

Coverstory

C O V E R S T O R Y

Billy Joel, playing a section of “Piano Man” oncampus in December, joked, “This is a hit record?It’s a drag. The lyrics are all limericks. And there’s 30 minutes of them.”

S P R I N G 2 0 1 2 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE 23


“THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT’SFASCINATING.IT’S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.STUDENTS CAN ASK, ‘HEY, WHAT’S IT LIKE?’”

—John Shirley, chair ofthe Department of Music

Joel emerged to shake handsand exchange pleasantries witha short line of fans. He smiledand chatted briefly with eachperson, posing for a few photos.He’s 62 and bald. Marshall, aUMass Lowell junior fromMethuen, is 20, with hair thecolor of pink bubblegum. Shewas accepted at Boston’s BerkleeCollege of Music, but financialconcerns helped her opt forUMass Lowell, a choice she

“couldn’t be happier” to have made. Joel, meanwhile,had flown in by helicopter, a black-bladed chariot thatawaited him near the softball field.

Though he has continued to perform, notably in amuch-acclaimed tour with Elton John and as the lastconcert at Shea Stadium, the Piano Man released his lastpop album, River of Dreams, in 1993.

Savannah Marshall was 2.What might these two have in common? What could

she learn from him?As it turns out, plenty.

A MASTER CLASS ON BEING A ROCK STARJoel strolled onto the Durgin Hall stage, following theleanest of introductions. The crowd of 1,000, mostly stu-dents, roared.

For more than two hours, he enchanted, educated andentertained the long sold-out audience.

The evening was a master class in the art of beingBilly Joel, leavened with humor and spiced with music toflesh out the artist seen on stages and screens all over the

world. Sometimes, he played a verse or two. Sometimes,he performed an entire song.

The crowd met the songwriter, the businessman, thereluctant celebrity, the modest, self-deprecating “rockstar.” He seemed at odds with pretense, and completely athome fielding questions that ran from the technical torequests for personal mementoes.

He was also happy to share inside stories.He theorized on Keith Richards’ longevity (when the

bomb drops, “it will be just cockroaches and KeithRichards left,” he joked) and revealed that “And So ItGoes” was written for supermodel Elle MacPherson duringtheir “doomed relationship”:

“She was 19, I was 30, she’s 6’2” and I’m 5’7,” he said.“I saw a picture of us walking on the beach and I lookedlike Bubbles the Chimp.”

Launching into one tale with “Bono’s gonna kill mefor this...” Joel recalled attending a U2 show in New Yorkand wondering how just four guys were making all of thatsound. He said he discovered a secret backing band ofmusicians bolstering the sound from beneath the stage.

Although Joel served up plenty of laughs, he alsoshared life lessons he’s learned,some of them hard-won.

Stardom, he told students,does not come overnight.He played around on thepiano before he was tallenough to reach the keys,then took lessons at 6.By third grade, he wasearning weak-kneed

Billy Joel shakes handswith junior SavannahMarshall.

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C O V E R S T O R Y

HE TOLD THECROWD ATUMASS LOWELLTHAT HE HADPROMISED HIMSELF WHILEA STRUGGLINGMUSICIAN THATIF GOOD FOR-TUNE EVERSMILED UPONHIM, HE WOULDTRY TO HELPOTHERS.

screams from fourth-grade girls, crooning “Hound Dog”in the cafeteria.

But before he saw any real success, Joel said he workedon the side making ink for typewriter ribbons, as an oys-terman, a freelance writer and landscaper. He forged acareer beginning in the garages of Long Island’s seminalsuburban tracts, pumped on rock power trios, then scaledback to piano bars before finding his voice as akeyboardist/troubadour and, eventually, an arena draw.

He told the crowd at UMass Lowell that he hadpromised himself while a struggling musician that if goodfortune ever smiled upon him, he would try to helpothers. “I wanted to be able to help people do this job,”he said, to wade through the often “treacherous” and“larcenous” waters of the music business.

Those audience members with their hearts set on thesame business appreciated his insights.

“You know, this is really cool for me,” said Marshall. “I mean, how often do you get a chance to see such anaccomplished musician, right on your own campus, in aplace this small?”

JOEL PICKS UMASS LOWELL FROM HUNDREDSJoel was the latest in a series of award-winning artists tovisit the campus. The six-time Grammy winner, recordsales titan and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame memberjoined a growing list of folks celebrated and accomplishedfor their work, and willing to share tips and experienceswith UMass Lowell audiences. (See sidebar.)

It had already been a pretty good week for the PianoMan. Two days earlier, at the Steinway Hall of Fame inNew York, the piano maker had unveiled Joel’s portrait.Captured on canvas wearing a leather jacket, he becamethe lone non-classical performer to be inducted.

Joel’s legend had just been handsomely boxed, too, inthe form of Legacy Recordings’ 14-disc “Billy Joel–TheComplete Albums Collection.” Remastered and re-imagined as a hefty brick of all things Billy, it is a careercaptured.

But his proudest achievement, he said, is his daughter,Alexa Ray. His career highlight? Playing the SovietUnion in 1987 and feeling his personal vision of theCold War melt.

The morning of his trip to Lowell, the University’sBoard of Trustees voted unanimously to award Joel anhonorary doctorate of human letters.

Landing Joel was a high-water moment in the culturallife of UMass Lowell, one that Chancellor Meehan hopes draws due attention to the University’s music pro-gram, which has all too quietly produced a steady streamof sound professionals, nestled into jobs as teachers, mu-sicians and recording engineers in everything from sportsto film to pop music. More recently, Sound RecordingTechnology (SRT) grads have been bringinghome Grammy Awards.

“It’s important, as a university that pridesitself on offering real-life educational experience,that we bring to our students people who

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have been recognized for their hard work and innovation,”says Meehan. “And we want to offer students a glimpsebehind the curtain. Billy Joel, thanks to his highstanding in his profession, is perhaps the best-known ofour visitors, but by no means does he stand alone in ac-complishing great things. Of course, just about everyonecan sing along to his songs.”

The University’s bid for Joel was crafted in thesummer, but it took months for him and his team towade through hundreds of proposals and notify threewinners. (Joel also visited UConn and Cornell in theweeks before he came to Lowell.)

‘BETTER THAN THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME CONCERT’Though he hasn’t recorded a new pop record in nearlytwo decades—his latest is a 2001 classical recording—Joel maintains enough pop music cache to easily sellout the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. But thisevening was about connecting with a college crowd.The agreement between Joel’s camp and the Universitycalled for dedicating 85 percent of Durgin’s 1,000 seatsto students, the rest to faculty and staff.

Volunteers moved through the audience with hand-held microphones, and Joel playfully picked his questionersby marking them with the beam from a green laser pen.Two pianos, a gong and a stool graced the stage. Thestool was never used.

“This is the kind of thing that’s fascinating,” saysJohn Shirley, chair of the UMass Lowell Department ofMusic. “It’s a great opportunity. Students can ask, ‘Hey,what’s it like?’”

While answering audience questions, Joel continuedto share stories of his personal and professional highsand lows. Looking back has its joys, he said, but Joelalso winces at the past. He completed but scrapped thepublication of his autobiography, “The Book of Joel,”when he learned it would be marketed as a tell-all.

“I’m not a kiss-and-tell kind of guy,” he told thecrowd. He returned the publisher’s $3 million advance.

If there is one rear view mirror he enjoys, it isusually attached to a motorcycle. He recently openedhis own motorcycle shop, 20th Century Cycles, inLong Island’s Oyster Bay.

Joel illustrated his points with snippets of songs,even allowing two students to accompany him. Hisvoice warmed as the evening went on, to where he wassinging such younger-man’s songs as “Innocent Man”to perfection.

Joel’s sound is infused with Fats Domino, the Gersh-wins, The Beatles and Tin Pan Alley. He is a master ofmelody. He told the UMass Lowell crowd he writesmusic before lyrics “99 percent of the time ... I’m amusic guy.” His still writes, but only music. No words.

Bradford Swanson, a 32-year-old graduate studentin the University’s Sound Recording Technology program,knows a pro when he sees one.

Swanson is the front-of-house engineer for The BadPlus, an acclaimed, jazz-rooted trio with major labelrecordings under its belt. He also worked as a sessionplayer and teacher in a private school in Virginia beforedeciding to earn his master’s degree at UMass Lowell.

“I dug Billy Joel more than I expected,” he said later.“And I expected to like it. The guy was so honest andearnest about things. He handled the lightest questionsbetter than I could ever imagine. It’s funny, but thenight before I was watching him on this Rock and RollHall of Fame anniversary concert film and it was coolenough. But I much preferred what he did here.”

A STUDENT BECOMES THE STARJoel doesn’t need to do this, nor did he need to selectUMass Lowell from the hundreds of schools that appliedto host him. UMass Lowell’s rich musical history mayhave held sway. The University is home to the nation’sfirst public music education school and over the yearshas produced more music teachers in Massachusettsthan any other institution.

“Obviously, we love having Billy Joel at UMassLowell,” said Meehan after chatting with the star back-stage. “It’s a tribute to the world-class music departmentwe have and an opportunity for the students to learnfrom a master. But I hope this puts the music departmenton the map, too. They’re deserving of it.”

Indeed, the UMass Lowell Sound Recording Tech-nology program has produced Grammy winners, infusedthe radio, TV and film worlds with talent, and hashosted international recording summits, including onein 2008, where the keynote speaker was Phil Ramone,one of Joel’s producers. Just weeks earlier, Frank Filipetti,the producer, engineer and sonic pioneer whose creditsinclude work with Joel and Ramone, had visited SRTclasses. (See sidebar.)

The evening crystallized near the end, when Joelheaded to the piano to render “Leningrad” after discussinghis Soviet tour. He searched for the key.

“I know it! It’s in D!” It was a voice from the floor seats. Joel peered into

the crowd. “You know it?”The young man said he did. Joel waved him toward

the stage. Like a sort of dueling Ferrante and Teicher, Joel and

the kid saddled up on the benches of the two pianos,facing one another. It could have been a rough ride hadthe kid been bluffing. He was not.

Joel and David Schockett, 22, glided through whatsounded like a flawless version of “Leningrad,” a Joelsong that celebrates human similarities hidden by fear.

And the star became a teacher and accompanist.The kid became a star for a moment, realizing amusician’s dream. And the 40 years between the twomusicians melted away. �


“IT’S AN OPPORTUNITYFOR THE STUDENTS TOLEARN FROM A MASTER. BUT I HOPE THIS PUTS THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT ON THE MAP,TOO. THEY’REDESERVING OF IT.”

—Chancellor Marty Meehan

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C O V E R S T O R Y S I D E B A R

Billy Joel was a huge catch,no doubt. But the Univer-sity has been landing someformidable names over thepast couple of years, cut-

ting a wide swath across popularculture and academics. The futureholds one of the literary world’sbiggest rock stars, Stephen King.The latest visiting scholar, JohnPrendergast, has been makingthe rounds with George Clooneyin the name of justice.

The University landed an im-pressive member of the ObamaCabinet for commencement thisyear in Ken Salazar, secretary ofthe U.S. Department of the Inte-rior. With Lowell’s status as anurban National Park, Salazar wouldseem an especially fitting choice.Before accepting his current postat the dawn of 2009, Salazarserved as Colorado’s 35th U.S.Senator and was known for hispart in bipartisan efforts. Long ac-tive in conservation efforts on thestate level, Salazar is an importantvoice in the balance of land useand energy needs.

The campus is buzzing aboutthe upcoming Dec. 7 appearanceby King, who’ll open the 2012-13Chancellor’s Speaker’s Series with“A Conversation and a Reading”at the Tsongas Center at UMassLowell. The evening event with thewriting icon will take place in amore intimate setting than is usualin the Tsongas. King and his wife,

Tabitha, have generously donatedthe honorarium as the seed moneyfor a Stephen and Tabitha KingScholarship at UMass Lowell,which will benefit deserving stu-dents who need financial support.Professor Andre Dubus III will facilitate the onstage conversationwith King.

Students will be admitted free,while staff, faculty and the publicwill be able to buy tickets. (Detailsto come.)

At one point, author and activist John Prendergast, UMassLowell’s 2012 Greeley Scholar forPeace, was less visible. His humanrights work, including toiling forpeace in Africa for more than aquarter-century, has largely beendone out of the spotlight. Not thatit didn’t earn some recognitionalong the way (“60 Minutes” andThe New York Times are amongthe media outlets that have fea-tured Prendergast). A veteran ofthe Clinton White House, amongother posts, Prendergast co-founded the Enough Project,which aims to halt genocide andhuman rights violations. And then,in early March, he became public,thanks to his role in the very viralKony 2012 video. The half-hourproduction by human rights groupInvisible Children Inc., calls for thecapture and trial of warlord JosephKony, who turns girls into sexslaves and boys into child soldiers.The unprecedented viral success

has cast a bright light on Prender-gast as well. He pops up near the14-minute and 24-minute marks.

Other guest speakers to takethe microphone at Universityevents over the past few years:

Laymah Gbowee shared the 2011 Nobel Prize with Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman andLiberian President Ellen JohnsonSirleaf. Gbowee, the Liberianpeace activist known to many asthe centerpiece of the documen-tary “Pray The Devil Back to Hell,”was a 2011 Greeley Scholar atUMass Lowell. She told studentshere of the need for conflict resolution in April. In December,she was in Oslo, to receive theNobel Prize.

Doris Kearns Goodwin andher husband, Richard Goodwin,held court in a Q&A session, onthe eve of 2010 Commencement.And there was a big score the nextday, with Roger Goodell, NationalFootball League commissioner,serving as 2010 Commencementspeaker. Other recent Commence-ment speakers included Sen. JohnKerry in 2009, Rep. Harold Fordin 2008 and Rep. John Lewisin 2007.

Lynda Barry, the cartoonistand author whose weekly ErniePook’s Comeek strip drew a legionof devout followers, was the Fall2011 Artist in Residence for theCenter for the Arts & Ideas.

Poet Kay Ryan, the nation’s16th poet laureate (2008-2010),visited the University on April 26,2011, during National PoetryMonth. It was also just a weekafter she was named 2011 PulitzerPrize winner in poetry. In Septem-ber, Ryan was named one of theyear’s MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” recipients. Other writers: Dennis Lehane,sportswriter Jackie MacMullanand Russell Banks.

Since the University formallytook ownership of the TsongasCenter in February 2010, the arenahas played host to pop music lumi-naries from Bob Dylan to Drake,from the Dropkick Murphys toChicago and Selena Gomez.

And Phil Ramone, familiar to Billy Joel (it was Ramone whoproduced Joel’s smash album, “The Stranger” as one of popmusic’s premier producers, was the keynote speaker when theUniversity hosted the InternationalArt of Record Production confer-ence in November 2008. Ramonehas been nominated for 33Grammy Awards, and taken home14. Last fall, the Joel-Ramone relationship came full circle, whenFrank Filipetti, the producer, engineer and sonic pioneer whosecredits include work with Joel andRamone, visited SRT classes. �

SOME OF WORLD’S GREAT VOICES GRACE STAGES AT UMASS LOWELL

n its infancy a century ago, UMass Lowell’s musicprogram produced a long line of music professionalsof the day. They were prim and proper, trained toteach the basics of a music education to elementaryschool children.

If the direction of music education was differentthan it is now, then so was the tempo of campuslife.

When Norma Lajoie arrived from Gardner to major inmusic in 1965, she lived in Allen House, then a dormitory.About 30 women lived there, and no males were allowedabove the first floor. A housemother oversaw the residents,a cook prepared meals and students cleared the table andwashed dishes. In your room at 9 p.m., lights out at 11.

“And don’t get caught roaming around with curlers inyour hair!” Lajoie remembers.

At that time, Durgin Hall—now home to the Depart-ment of Music—didn’t even exist.

“Where we’re sitting right now?” says music Prof.Emeritus Stuart Smith, during an interview in his officein Durgin. “This wasn’t even here when I got here in1967. There were rows of cottages built for World War IIvets. This building was a big field. There was still a barnstanding on it.”

In those days, after their studies were complete, musicgraduates fanned out across the region to add a taste ofthe arts to the days of elementary school students. Theywere, in their time, world-ready. And they were a part ofthe nation’s first public music education school. UMassLowell has produced more music teachers in Massachusettsthan any other institution.

“We were primarily a teacher-preparation program,”says Smith, who arrived at Lowell State in the spring of1967, a degree in music theory and composition fromBrandeis still warm in his hand. “We were not too far re-moved from Lowell Normal School, or at least that mind-set.”

But eventually the landscape changed, transformed byforces far beyond the diatonic scale. The University wasready with an intensive program designed to attract andmold music professionals of a decidedly different stripe.

SRT: ‘A SONIC HAIL MARY PASS’The Sound Recording Technology (SRT) program beganas a sonic Hail Mary pass, an attempt to resuscitate a music program that seemed doomed by fiscal belt-tightening.

In 1980, amid a sweeping national anti-tax movement,Massachusetts voters passed the Proposition 2½ ballot



“THEY’RE READY WHENTHEY LEAVEHERE.”

—Music Prof.William Moylan

I

By David Perry

The Music Department’s New Composition: Teachers,Gamers and Grammy-winners

measure, which limits rises in local property taxes, themajor source of funding for local school districts. Themeasure went into effect in 1982.

“With 2½, suddenly parents were thinking, ‘are theregoing to be music education jobs out there?’ ” says Lajoie,who became the music department’s secretary and stayedfor 41 years, until she retired in June 2010. “And theywanted their kids to be able to work after graduating,knowing there was a profession there.”

Enrollment in the Department of Music took an almostimmediate hit.

“After the passage of Proposition 2 ½, the enrollmentat the college of music just plummeted, from 500 toalmost nothing,” says music Prof. William Moylan.

Meanwhile, engineering was ruling the academic roostat UMass Lowell. With the high-tech boom spreadingacross the area, and companies such as Wang establishingroots locally, enrollment in engineering programs doubledduring the decade beginning in 1975.

Prof. Stuart Smith saw the writing on the wall, and—as chair of the college curriculum committee—joinedwith Dean of the College of Music Dr. Tom Elliot toput together a proposed curriculum that meldedmusic and engineering in hopes of saving the de-partment. They designed and gained approvalfor both the SRT and Music Business programs.Both were among the first in the nation oftheir kind. SRT is the first to offer a masterof music degree in the field.

“It was a no-brainer,” says Smith, whoretired in 2002, but still teaches a pair ofclasses. “Everybody wanted to be in the recordindustry. But it was so competitive.”

A BRIDGE BETWEEN ARTS AND SCIENCESThe SRT proposal became a reality but Smith creditsMoylan, who arrived in the fall of 1983, with “making itwhat it became.” Moylan put flesh on the bones of theSound Recording Technology program. “He deserves thecredit,” insists Smith.

“The idea was to create a program that would bringtogether the rich heritage of music, and meld it with theheritage of engineering on our campus,” Moylan says.

It was a bridge across the Merrimack, from North toSouth campus, spanning arts and sciences. And if itwould become a way of making the studio an instrumentitself, SRT also had to feature an ensemble of players.

“It needed to take a broad view of things,” says Moylan,a soft-spoken man whose passions include the music ofThe Beatles. “It was a program to appeal to young folksand create a program to educate people and further therecording industry. And my vision of the recordingindustry was not solely the recording studio. I was alsotalking about TV, radio, film. I insisted there be twoother faculty members. I did not want us to produceclones of me and my approach.”

But he did want students to have proper productionfacilities. The equipment went from, he says, “boxes in acloset when I got here, to state-of-the-art” rooms andproduction and mixing facilities that have since beenfeatured in national publications.

It was a rigorous major, designed to bring in studentsbut also not to short-change them.

“The first enrollment group had seven students, andtwo actually stuck with it,” says Moylan. “I think it scaredsome of them once I started teaching and they figuredout it was not going to be sex, drugs and rock and roll. Infact, only rock and roll got into the studio. It’s very inten-sive.”

Over time, it has become the Department of Music’smost popular of four concentrations (the others are musicbusiness, music studies and performance). Today, the pro-gram has 140 students, an enrollment that had stayed“remarkably steady” over the past two decades, saysMoylan. “We graduate between 20 and 30 a year.”

They include multi-Grammy-winners like Adam Ayan’97, one of the mostly highly regarded mastering engineersin the business. They include several who work in the

gaming industry, putting the sound to the action. Andthey include sound engineers who work in mobile

units making sure TV viewers hear the sportingnation’s biggest events.

“They’re ready when they leave here,”says Moylan. �


“IT WAS A NO-BRAINER.EVERYBODYWANTED TO BEIN THE RECORDINDUSTRY. BUT IT WAS SO COMPETITIVE.”

—Prof. Stuart Smith, on the creation of theSound Recording Technology program

Grammy-winner Adam Ayan ’97 has been the mastering engineerfor such clients as the Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stonesand Keith Urban.




f the thousands of benefactors whohave contributed over the years tothe life of this University, there areprobably none whose generosity hastouched more lives, as personallyor directly, as Mary Jo Leahey ’37.

It may have been the memoryof the opportunity she once passedup herself, decades ago, as a stu-

dent—a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox—toreturn to Lowell and marry her sweetheart. Or it mayhave just been her love of music. Whatever the reason,

much of her life and wealth would bededicated to a single cause: the right ofevery boy and girl who loves music asshe had, and was willing to work for it,to have the means to the same opportu-nity.

“She wasn’t just a benefactor, one ofthose who just gives and walks away,”says Debra-Nicole Huber ’89, who, forthe past 17 years, has served as executivedirector of the Mary Jo Leahey SymphonicBand Camp, an annual, residential, week-

long summer instructional camp for high-school musicstudents, based on the UMass Lowell campus—which,over the years, has afforded nearly 2,000 of them thechance to pursue their musical dreams.

“She talked with the students,” Huber says. “She wouldwant to know, from me, how things were going, where thestudents were coming from, if we were getting them thehighest-possible level of instruction we could, all thosesorts of things. She cared, she really, really cared. Sheloved music, and she loved teaching—and that’s somethingwe had in common. It was a beautiful partnership.”

Leahey: singer, teacher, mentor, visionary, philanthro-pist—and member of the Lowell State Teachers Collegeclass of 1937, from which she earned her bachelor’s degreein music—died in late November at her home in Florida.She was 95.

The Band Camp, which began with 53 students in1997 and is now enrolling 130, is not the only legacy ofLeahey’s generosity. Other beneficiaries over the years in-clude the University’s Center for the Arts, the UMassLowell String Project and the Chancellor’s EducationalExcellence Fund for Student Scholarships. Not long beforeher death last year, she was honored, as one of just 11benefactors, as a member of the University’s newly formedCircle of Distinction.

“Mary Jo was a very special, really beautiful person,”says Chancellor Marty Meehan. “Her generosity continuesto provide for the educational experience of young peoplefrom diverse backgrounds. It’s a wonderful legacy.”

But the Band Camp was her trademark. And herpassion. Ever since her student days in the 1930s, and thewar-time years that followed when she sang and dancedfor the wounded troops, and the years later, on Martha’sVineyard, as music supervisor of the island’s public schools—it was always the music that drove her.

“It was her inspiration,” says Huber. “Her passion for itwas contagious. At the same time, though, she never losther dignity. Or her capacity to love, to reach out. She wasa remarkable lady. A true role model. I will miss her verymuch.”

A memorial is planned: on July 21, in the finale concerton the final day of this year’s Band Camp, the orchestrawill feature a world premiere of “Sounds of Courage” byRobert W. Smith, a composition based on the life ofAmelia Earhart. It will be dedicated to the memory ofMary Jo Leahey, the camp’s visionary founder. �

Mary Jo Leahey ’37helped 2,000 studentspursue their musicaldreams.

OBy Geoffrey Douglas

Mary Jo Leahey (1916-2011): She Lived for the Music

From Sunflowers toSwanky: Alum’s DesignsCaught on Camera

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By Sheila Eppolito

S P R I N G 2 0 1 2 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE 31


aybe it didn’t start with the sun-flowers, but they were certainly aclue.

On freshman move-in day, ashundreds of other eager studentsloaded up parents and siblings withmicrowaves, beanbag chairs andcases of Ramen noodles to populatetheir new homes in Fox Hall, Taniya

Nayak ’97 had a different array of must-have items. “I brought a table I had painted with sunflowers, and a

matching window valance I’d sewn,” she says. Asked if the curtain was of the oft-derided “balloon”

style, she’s horrified.“Never!” In fact, Nayak’s good taste is becoming legendary in

home and commercial design circles.Born in Nagpur, India, Nayak moved to Weymouth

with her family as an infant. Nayak says she was alwaysconsidered the “creative” child, although she is quick topoint out that her scientist-turned-marketing executivesister Yoshika demonstrates some “serious creativity” inthe way she interacts with her children.

“Every Valentine’s Day creation, every school projectshe works on with her kids is fabulous,” says Nayak. “Shethinks of things I never would have come up with.”

“My father is an architect—he’s had his own businessfor years,” she says. “He’s amazing—I still call him all thetime for advice.”

A marketing major, Taniya lived in Fox Hall on the7th floor. She fondly recalls watching “Friends” withfriends, dancing on the dance team and celebrating her21st birthday in Lowell.

After graduation, she attended the Boston ArchitecturalCenter, intending to follow in her dad’s career footsteps.Instead, she pursued design, earning top honors in the In-ternational Interior Design Associations’ Student SketchProblem Competition.

“One day, an instructor told us that ABC Family washolding auditions for hosts of a design program called‘Knock First,’ a show targeting hip, ambitions teens,” shesays. “I had no idea what I was doing. I had never been ontelevision, and hadn’t been involved in such large-scaledesign decisions, let alone on camera!”

She nailed the audition, and was hired.“Being on television is a sort of happy accident,” she

says. The happy accident went viral.After “Knock First” came an opportunity on HGTV’s

“FreeStyle” which ferrets out items already in people’shomes and repurposes them for a fresh look. Then came

M“I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING. I HAD NEVERBEEN ON TELEVISION, AND HADN’TBEEN INVOLVEDIN SUCH LARGE-SCALE DESIGNDECISIONS, LET ALONE ON CAMERA!”

Taniya Nayak, center, unloads her U-Haul on move-in day in 1993.Her Fox Hall room was the site of her first interior design effort.

Featurestory



an offer from “Designed toSell,” a show that helps peopleget their homes sold with $2,000of improvements and a lot ofsweat equity. Unlike other homeimprovement shows, “Designed toSell” puts everyone to work, evenlovely designers. Nayak gets rightin the thick of it—from design todemo—with a nearly constant smileon her face.

Bolstered by her success, Nayakcreated her own design firm, TaniyaNayak Design LLC , to create “affordable and inspirational”spaces. Her client list includes everyone from regular Joesto A-list customers like Jesse Metcalfe of “Chase” and“Dallas,” Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Tyler Christopherof “General Hospital.”

Yet no matter how big the job or famous the client,Nayak is unflappable.

“I was walking with my design assistant today and wewere going over the laundry list of business items, and asthe list got longer, she got kind of wired,” says Nayak. “Irealized that I wasn’t anxious—I probably should be, I’mjust not!”

Her good karma may be related in part to her recentmarriage to Brian O’Donnell, head of a successful Bostonrestaurant group, which boasts such Boston hotspots asPetit Robert Central, Julep, McGreevey’s and a new, asyet unnamed, spot next to the W Hotel in the TheaterDistrict, all of which feature Nayak’s design imprimatur.

“I was a bartender for 13 years, so I have a soft spot forrestaurants,” she says. The soft spot—and the restaurateurhusband—opened up another creative door for her.

After consulting on restaurants ownedby O’Donnell, Nayak has become the go-to designer for hot eateries. As design ex-pert on Food Network’s “Restaurant Im-possible,” Nayak works with colleagueRobert Irvine, host and chef, to developa plan to save foundering eateries with$10,000 and two days’ work. The teamhas spiffed up a variety of venuesacross the country, including the

Meglios in St. Louis, Coffee’s Boilin’ Potin Madisonville, LA., and dozens of others in between. In each case, it’s Nayak’s job to create a theme, plans

for seating, tables, lighting, flooring—basically everything“front of house.” And if saving a business in just two daysweren’t enough, her pressure-cooker job is all caught oncamera.

One look at her, though, and it’s clear the camera isthis woman’s friend.

In addition to a keen eye—courtesy of genetics orgood fortune—her success may be tied to her authenticity.Whether she’s on television or on the telephone, she isherself. Interactions with crew members on any of hershows reveal a cast of friends, with nary a prima donna insight. During a phone interview for this story, Nayak isapproachable and warm, even offering up free suggestionsfor a writer’s tired, brass wall sconces. (“Paint them anice matte nickel, and put some simple Edison bulbs in.Don’t use little shades—they’re just dust collectors.”)

She has recently developed her own lighting line forwayfair.com, and expects to add more product lines soon.

Before signing off to board a plane for her latest designconsultation, she asked if there are any other designdilemmas she can help with. Fame, it seems, has notgone to her head. �

TANIYA ON THE AIR

• Oprah

• Knock First

• FreeStyle

• House Hunters on Vacation

• Restaurant Impossible

• Destination Design

• Designed to Sell

Petit Robert Central in Boston’s Downtown Crossing featuresinterior design by Taniya Nayak ’97.


Patricia Foley Karl ’64, ’95 helped found the LawrenceFamily Development Charter School, where 100 percent of students learn to read by first grade.

Featurestory


The Dreammakeratricia Foley Karl ’64, ’95 is aforce to be reckoned with.

Entering the LawrenceFamily Development CharterSchool (LFDCS) with Karlis like walking with a celebrity.Every student, teacher, aide,receptionist and custodian

lights up upon seeing her, and she responds in kind,knowing every person’s name.

Karl—who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees fromthe Graduate School of Education—founded the charterschool in 1995 in Lawrence, her hometown. An educatorher entire adult life, Karl taught for five years in Andover,followed by 13 in Lawrence. She and husband Russell(longtime University professor of Legal Studies) raisedthree children, all of whom have had roles in education.

After the Massachusetts Education Reform Act passed,creating fertile ground for the formation of charterschools, Karl was tapped to write a plan for a one inLawrence.

After talking to scores of parents in the community,Karl discovered one important thing, she says: Despitehaving a reputation for refusing to get involved in theirchildren’s educations, plenty of Lawrence parents simplywant their children to be given a chance at the AmericanDream.

That’s no easy task, given the hard realities of theeconomic situation. Nearly a third of residents are lowincome and 74 percent are Hispanic, and for manyEnglish is their second language. According to the U.S.Census Bureau, Lawrence has poverty rates twice thenational average, and the unemployment rate of 17percent is three times the state average. The high schooldropout rate exceeds 40 percent, and several high-profile misdeeds by City administrators have hurtLawrence Schools when they can least afford it.

Weaker souls would have walked (or run!) awayfrom the proposition of attempting to create an excellentschool against such a daunting backdrop.

Karl is no shrinking violet.“We determined that our charter school would be

different. Instead of viewing the high Latino populationas a ‘problem’, we embrace the cultural differences.Instead of seeing our students as poor, we view them asgifts with overwhelming promise. Instead of viewingparent involvement in education as a distraction, ourview is that embracing and supporting parents—respectingtheir culture and their part in their child’s future—is amuch more effective outlook,” she says.


SHE’S SUPPOSED TO BE RETIRED. RELAXING. RIGHT.

P“Instead of viewing the highLatino population as a ‘problem,’ we embrace the cultural differences.”

—Patricia Foley Karl

The Lawrence Family Development Charter School houses 640students in pre-k through eighth grade.

Continued

By Sheila Eppolito


Months of meetings, research and writinglater, the plan was written by Karl, and submitted.

It worked. And Lawrence Family Develop-ment Charter School was born.

Almost.There was the problem of finding a facility.

And hiring teachers. And getting books. Andrecruiting students. And all the rest of it.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COMEKarl dove right in, meeting every challengewith determination, seemingly superhuman en-ergy and the support of the organization’s boardof directors. First, the facility.

“R. Kingman and Dean Webster—formerowners of the Blue Seal Feed Co.—helped con-nect us to the new owners, who donated thebuilding and land to us, which was the foundationof everything thing you see today,” she says.

The vacant factory was transformed. Dona-tions supported the changes—garage bays wereturned into classrooms; today, a gazebo sits atopthe site of a former grain silo.

“We received the property in June, andopened in September—it was a whirlwind, andwe nearly didn’t make it,” Karl admits.

On opening day, Sept. 6, 1995, 180 studentswaited anxiously in the yard outside their newschool. And Karl—waiting for the Certificateof Occupancy from the City—greeted eachchild enthusiastically, a curriculum back-upplan at the ready in the event they couldn’t usethe building.

Miraculously, at 8:15 a.m., the certificatecame, and the doors were opened.

LOTTERY OF A LIFETIMEStudents at the charter school are admittedthrough a lottery, held annually in the school’sgym. On lottery night, Karl says, students andtheir extended families gather, and celebrationabounds when names are called. But demand

exceeds supply in this special place: there arecurrently more than 1,200 students on a waitinglist.

The lucky ones admitted benefit from LFDCS’four-pronged approach.

1. Parents are important, too. The schooloffers ESL, citizenship and computer classes tointerested parents, and their involvement intheir children’s education is encouraged, notdismissed.

2. Excellent teaching is a must. Class sizesare limited to 20. Teachers pursue professionaldevelopment through graduate courses andworkshops. Every single student is monitoredfor performance in key areas—teachers collab-orate to ensure no student fails.

3. Culture is respected. Dual-language profi-ciency for students is a must.

4. Partnerships open doors. Science andtechnology-related partnerships with collegesand Universities, including UMass Lowell’s Me-chanical Engineering Department, present richopportunities.

THE PROOF IS IN THE EYESThe statistics, facilities and strategies are im-pressive. But in this place, the kids are the truestars.

“Just look in their eyes!” she says. “You don’tsee poverty here. You don’t see failure. You seepossibility.”

As kindergarten students file by in theircomfortable navy blue uniforms—the parents’request—they dutifuly hold “one hand on lips,and one hand on hip,” per the instruction of asmiling teacher.

They move, a happy line of beautiful children,getting closer to their best selves.

A HISTORY OF BUILDING COMMUNITYThis wasn’t the first time Karl made an enormousdifference in the community.

She was previously executive director ofboth the Lawrence Youth Commission and theLawrence Family Development and Education

LFDCS Success by the Numbers100%: graduates accepted to one or more admission-based schools

60%: graduates received scholarship and financial aid totaling more than $700,000

3: LFDCS buildings—the former St. Anne’s School, the former Blue Seal Feed Co. and the Maria Del Pilar Quintana Family Center

640: students enrolled at LFDCS

10: number of grades—pre-k through grade 8

100%: students reading before first grade

2: languages (English and Spanish) are spoken by all students

20: the largest class size; many number just 15

$10 million: estimated worth of LFDCS properties

$0: debt owed by LFDCS

$1,000,000: the goal of the Patricia Foley Karl Scholarship Fund to support continued academic success of LFCDS graduates

Featurestory


SUPERINTENDENTS:Curtis Bates, Boxborough

Lisa Dana, Danvers

James Scully, Haverhill

Kevin Lyons, Hudson

Judith Scannell, Methuen

Marc Kerble, Newburyport

John Doherty, Reading

The Power of FamilyIt’s clear that respect for family and culture are deeply ingrained in Patricia Foley Karl—she chalks it all up to her own upbringing.

“As a senior in high school, my dad had the opportunity to attend to MIT, and had a sponsor who was going to cover the costs,” she says.But his own father’s illness made MIT impossible, so he decided to educate himself.

“Every Saturday morning, my dadwould spend hours at the LawrencePublic Library—he started with the A encyclopedia, and read his waythrough the alphabet, says Karl.” “He was the most knowledgeable man I knew.”

And if he held himself to a higheducational standard, he and his wife,Genevieve, were also committed tothe best for their eight children. Noteasy on a policeman’s salary—he laterbecame head of Lawrence PublicSafety— but not impossible.

The Vincent and Genevieve FoleyLibrary in the school’s family centerhonors the value of books. “We weretremendously blessed,” says Karl. “Ourparents were enthusiastic believersin us, and believers in education.”

All eight Foley children graduatedfrom college.

The GSE: Breeding Ground for School Leaders


Educating teachers like Patricia Foley Karl (see accompanying story) is an art that runs deep at UMass Lowell. When Lowell Normal School was founded in 1894, the schoolof education was at its core. Finding a product of the program isn’t much of a challenge. The Graduate School of Education (GSE) began producing those with master’s anddoctoral degrees in 1987 and 25 years later, the results are overseeing districts and classrooms across the region.

Here’s a look at some of the GSE products:

PRINCIPALS:

Donna Georges, Amesbury Academy Charter Public School

Stephen Murray, Andover West Middle School

Ryan Plosker, Executive Director of New England Academy (Beverly)

William Downing, Thomas Ditson Elementary (Billerica)

Eileen Roake, Eugene C. Vining Elementary (Billerica)

Roland Boucher, Marshall Middle School (Billerica)

Deborah Koniowka, Joseph A. Campbell Elementary (Billerica)

James Scully, Greenleaf Elementary (Haverhill)

Mary McCarthy, C.R. Hubert Elementary School (Hudson)

Ellen Baranowski, Frost Middle School (Lawrence)

Michael Fiato, Humanities & Leadership Development High School (Lawrence)

Christina DiBenedetto, High School Learning Center (Lawrence)

Ada Ramos, John Breen School (Lawrence)

Margaret McDevitt, Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School

Marianne Bond, Joseph McAvinnue Elementary (Lowell)

Anthony Volpe, Curtis-Tufts High School (Medford)

Joan McQuade, North Andover Middle School

Mary Lou McCarthy, Franklin Elementary (North Andover)

Christine Balzotti, Frederick J. Dutile Elementary (North Billerica)

Anne O’Bryant, Chelmsford High School

Joseph Dillon, Lunenberg High School

Richard Cowdell, Thurgood Marshall Middle School (Lynn)

Dorothy Flaherty, Masconomet Regional High School

Brandi Kwong, Comprehensive Grammar School (Methuen)

Richard Beshara, Marsh Grammar School (Methuen)

Michelle Zottoli, Wyman Elementary (Woburn)

Thomas Cornacchio,West Memorial Elementary (Peabody)

Pauline Cormier, Peter Fitzpatrick Early Childhood (Pepperell)

Cindy Evans, Rumney Marsh Academy (Revere)

Renata McFarland-Bateman, Bentley School (Salem)

Sharon Bird, Central Elementary (Stoneham)

Angela Kimble, North Street Elementary (Tewksbury)

Denise Arvidson, Col. John Robinson (Westford)

Kevin Regan, Norman E. Day Elementary School (Westford)

Frank Ferriero, North Immediate Elementary (Wilmington)

Eileen Mills, Daniel P. Hurld Elementary (Woburn)

Ernest Wells, Linscott-Rumford Elementary (Woburn)

“There is no education like adversity; it is the best teacher

for willing pupils.”— Maria Encarnacion, LFDCS Class of 2011

Fund, a group formed in 1992 to supportprograms in youth education and careerdirection, empowerment of urban parentsand leadership development.

Thanks to the group’s efforts, YouthBuildLawrence was born, one of the first fiveAmeriCorps programs in Massachusetts.Under YouthBuild, up to 25 participantswork toward GEDs while learning jobreadiness through instruction in construc-tion and management skills. The programhas graduated more than 140 young peopleand helped more than 90 earn their GED.The program is housed in the historic Or-ange Wheeler House—a donation fromthe family’s estate.

YouthBuild has worked with the GreaterLawrence Habitat for Humanity to construct18 units of housing and has owned anddeveloped eight units of housing constructedby the program’s students.

“YouthBuild helps participants rebuildneighborhoods as they rebuild their ownfutures,” says Karl.

But they don’t do it alone. When itcomes to rebuilding futures, people likePatricia Foley Karl are the constructionmanagers. �

By Geoffrey Douglas


A ‘Late Bloomer’ Hits His Stride—

and Remembers Where it Started

The generosity of John Pulichino ’67 and hiswife, Joy Tong, will resultin a $4 million scholarshipfund to benefit the ManningSchool of Business, whosemain building will be named in their honor.

Faceof Philanthropy



e was from northern New Jersey,the middle child of Italy-born par-ents. A mediocre student in highschool, he says, “I was just tryingto figure out what I could be goodat.” His father guessed that hemight make a decent engineer—“because I was better at math thanEnglish.” So, without any better

ideas, he applied, as a senior, to Lowell Tech. That was nearly 50 years ago. His path since

then has not featured many stops related to en-gineering. Nor has there been anything mediocreabout it.

“I was a late bloomer,” says John Pulichino’67 “But if you believe in yourself and set at-tainable goals, it’s amazing how it’ll all cometogether for you.”

He enrolled at Lowell Tech in the fall of1963, an outsider in important ways: “I wasone of the few who lived in a dorm, who didn’tgo home on weekends; and my black shirts andslacks—the North Jersey look—were kind of aclash with the white shirts and loafers I saw allaround. I was a little different, I guess.”

But he adjusted—pledged a fraternity, builta social life, formed friendships that wouldendure to graduation and a few that would lasta lifetime. “There was a sense of communitythere. I came to see it as home,” he says.

In the course of all this, he says, “I began tounderstand that engineering wasn’t for me. Itwas a process of discovery, of just better under-standing myself.” He graduated in the spring of’67 with a degree in industrial management.

The 70s found him at Polaroid, where hewould spend 11 years—first in industrial engi-neering, later in planning and finally in mar-keting.

“It was a wonderful experience and providedme with a strong managerial foundation forwhat was to come,” Pulichino says. “But it wasalso the time when digital imagery was enteringthe market, ultimately replacing Polaroid’s filmchemistry format. That, among other things,would prove to be the company’s demise.”

In the early 80s, a recruiter came calling.The company was American Tourister, amongthe country’s best-known manufacturers ofdurable, mid-priced luggage. Pulichino, thoughstill a young man, brought a broad backgroundto the table; in less than three years, he waspresident and CEO.

“Here I was, still in my 30s, running a $100million business, involved with distribution,sales, planning and marketing—a lot of theareas I’d been active in at Polaroid,” he says.“We opened over 150 retail outlets and createda Special Products Division to market accessory

bags for hand-held video devices. It was quite achallenge.”

In 1993, American Tourister was sold toSamsonite, and a year later Pulichino movedon. This time the company would be his own:Innovation Luggage, a New Jersey specialtyluggage chain with 60 retail stores. The companyprospered, and expanded west, adding 40 morestores in seven years.

Then 9/11 happened.“In four days, revenue dropped in half and

stayed there,” he says. “We lost our store in theWorld Trade Center. There was a ripple effectacross the whole economy. People just stoppedtraveling.”

The company went into Chapter 11, down-sized, rebounded, then was sold in two parts.Pulichino, who had been living in New YorkCity, moved to Florida. And life took on awhole new direction.

His wife, Joy Tong, an industrial designerwhom he’d married 12 years before, had founded,in 1984, Group III International Ltd., a smallboutique wholesale company that marketedfashion travel bags. It was a nice, successfulniche business, he says, but with limited growthpotential.

“I thought I had retired—until one day shesaid to me, ‘Come help me with my business.’So I said, ‘Okay, fine, I can do that’,” he says.

The result was a partnership that mergedTong’s design skills with her husband’s businessexperience and the retail contacts he had de-veloped over the years. It didn’t take long tobear fruit: a 2003 licensing agreement betweenGroup III and Wenger, maker of the 100-year-old Genuine Swiss Army Knife brand, has gen-erated a company that, since 2003, has donemore than $400 million in sales. With officesin Florida, Taiwan and mainland China, GroupIII now distributes more than 60 productsthrough Target Stores alone.

“We started out as a small entrepreneurbusiness,” says Pulichino, “that’s now grown tothe point where we’re approaching $100 milliona year in sales. And the great part is, I get towork side-by-side with my wife.”

The couple recently sold a majority share ofGroup III to a Florida-based private equityfirm, though the company remains intact—with Pulichino still in the CEO’s seat and hiswife still the creative director. In the meantime,he says, the two of them have widened theirscope to support other causes. Ranking highamong these has been his alma mater and itsstudents.

“For the longest time, years and years after Ileft, I never paid much attention,” he says.

He has come to see things differently—partly through recent visits to the campus andpartly, he says, as a result of his lifelong friendshipwith fellow alumnus, Phi Gamma Psi fraternitybrother and one-time Polaroid colleague CharlieHoff, a long-time major donor to the University,whom he credits as “probably the number-oneinspiration” behind his choice to become activeas a donor.

“Joy and I started out small, but we alwaysknew that when the time was right we wouldmake a more significant commitment,” he says.When we made the decision to sell the company,we knew that time had come.”

He had realized in the meantime, he says,that things aren’t as they used to be: “The stateisn’t paying what it once did. The students Italk to today, they’re all strapped—20, 30, 40,50 thousand dollars in loans, that’s a hugeburden to take on before you even see yourfirst paycheck. We just felt we needed to dosomething to help these kids get through school.”

They have indeed done something. ThePulichino/Tong Family Foundation ScholarshipFund, established this January, will dedicate$4 million to supporting students of UMassLowell’s Robert J. Manning School of Business.The fund will be open to non-residents andresidents alike, freshmen as well as upperclass-men—a nod, says its alumnus donor, to “thatNew Jersey kid, all those years ago, who had topack his bags to come to school.”

The University, in turn, has agreed to namethe new building for the Manning School inhonor of the couple: the Pulichino/Tong BusinessBuilding.

Having his and his wife’s names on thebuilding will be “an honor, a very nice hon-or—it’s hard not to appreciate something likethat,” Pulichino says. “But the real point, thebiggest reward, will be to see a number of de-serving students graduate from the businessschool with the assistance of our scholarshipfund.” �

“THE STUDENTS I TALK TO TODAY, THEY’RE ALLSTRAPPED—20, 30, 40, 50THOUSAND DOLLARS INLOANS, THAT’S A HUGE BURDEN TO TAKE ON

BEFORE YOU EVEN SEE YOUR FIRST PAYCHECK.”

H


Building a New Future.

The Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC)—slated to open in the fall—will keepUMass Lowell at the forefront of discovery and innovation. The state-of-the-art facility will be a hub of manufacturing technologies: preparing students for emerging job sectors, fostering industrypartnerships and offering cutting-edge research in nanomedicine, plastics, clean room technologiesand more. Located on the corner of University Avenue and the VFW Highway, the ETIC will be agateway to North Campus. It will bring together world-renowned research leaders to develop solutions to complex scientific challenges.

Help support the intersection of ingenuity and industry.

Go to www.uml.edu/givenow and designate a gift to the Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center Building Fund.

For information about room and laboratory naming opportunities, recognition packages and leadership gifts, please contact John Davis, assistant vice chancellor for principal gifts: 978-934-2223 [email protected].

How You Can Help


Alumni Life 42 FEATURE

44 ALUMNI EVENTS

48 CLASS NOTES

61 IN MEMORIAM

Inside...

Drum studio owner Zach Field ’01 says helearned to be a well-rounded percussionist—and a grown-up—at UMass Lowell. Read thefull story on Page 55.

He’s Got the Beat


ifty years ago, the University gaveRaymond Anstiss a job as an adjunctprofessor of accounting. Today, thecompany he went on to found—re-cently ranked by the Boston BusinessJournal among the largest accountingfirms in the state—hires new UMassLowell graduates every spring.

“We owe so much to our ties with UMassLowell,” says Anstiss’ son, Ray Jr., who is oneof the partners running the Lowell-based Anstiss& Co. today. “As far back as I can remember,we’ve hired at least one graduate every year.It’s just such a strong [accounting] programthey have there—because of it, we can competeon an equal footing with the firms in Boston.That just wouldn’t be possible otherwise.”

Of the firm’s 38 employees, nearly a quarterare alumni. Two are directors—Jayne Andrews’90, director of the company’s not-for-profitservice group, and Jason Khalil ’99, director ofaudit and technology-based businesses. Thereare also four CPAs, two tax seniors, and AlyssaMaloney, the intern who answers the phones.

One of the nine is Mark Gearin ’96, a CPAand manager with the firm—“I’m a generalist,”he says, with a background in audits, tax work,corporate planning and more—who’s beenthere since 2005. His recollections of his UMassLowell years are a strong endorsement of hisboss’s sentiments, from the alumni side of thefence:

“It’s a really, really excellent program, withquality professors, tough but almost always fair.What I especially remember, though, is howapproachable they were. Prof. Carter [KathrynCarter, now dean of the College of Manage-ment]—we got to know each other pretty well,

and she went to bat for me more than once.And Bernie Shapiro [retired in1996 after morethan 40 years]—a great math teacher, he gotto be a friend. He’s a client of ours today. I’vestayed in touch with them both.”

At least some of the credit for the UMassLowell-Anstiss connection, says Ray Anstiss,belongs to a single man: Prof. Stephen Collins,chair of the Accounting Department and amember of the faculty since 1986, who, priorto his time at UMass Lowell, was an auditorhimself, with two different Boston firms, aswell as an assistant professor of accounting atBoston College. Every year, Anstiss says, Prof.Collins compiles a book of his graduating

seniors and sends it around to all the accountingfirms in the region.

“It’s been an amazing asset for us,” saysAnstiss. “This year alone, we interviewed fivegraduates from that book, and hired one ofthem. To have world-class educated studentsright in our backyard—it’s been a very bigreason for our growth. It’s like they say: you’reonly as good as your people, and we’ve had theadvantage of drawing from the best.”

The man responsible for the original con-nection to the University—the senior Ray—isgone now. He died two years ago, though hispresence at the firm continues to be felt. RayJr. still remembers, as a boy, arriving at his

father’s office after school—“sharpening pencils,doing my homework, just to be near my dad.”

But it wasn’t handed to him, he says. “Mydad, he didn’t even offer me a job when I gotout of school. He made me earn my wingssomewhere else”—four years at Peat Marwickin Boston as a member of the audit staff,followed by an MBA at Notre Dame, where hefinished with highest honors. “And even then,when he did bring me onboard [in 1993], heonly gave me one client. Because that’s whathe believed—that the idea is to hold on towhat you have, take care of what you have,and grow from there. That was a core beliefwith him. It’s how he grew the company. It’show we’ve grown ever since.”

He thinks often, he says, especially sincehis father’s passing, of the half-century of tiesbetween his firm and the University that onceemployed its founder and now helps feed itsgrowth:

“My dad was such a proud member of thefaculty there all those years ago—and now tosee some of his old students as business leadersin the region [among them Enterprise BankPresident Richard Main ’69 and CommunityTeamwork CFO William Reis ’66], and allthese new UMass Lowell graduates adding somuch to our staff.

“It’s been a wonderful relationship, I think,for us both.” �

F“To have world-class educatedstudents right in our backyard—

it’s been a very big reason for our growth.”

—Raymond Anstiss

Anstiss & Co.: A Father, a Sonand a 50-Year Connection

The UMass Lowell Crew at Anstiss, picturedabove, from left, are: Jason Khalil CPA, director;Kim Leczynski, tax senior; Liz Paquin, audit staff;Ray Anstiss, Jr. CPA, partner; Matt Kalil, CPA,manager; Mark Gearin CPA, manager; RichardDionne CPA, partner; Tiffany Jack, audit senior;Alyssa Maloney, intern and Jayne Andrews CPA,director. (All but Anstiss and Dionne are alumni. Not shown: Bill Dion, tax senior.)

By Geoffrey Douglas

Featurestory


Don’t miss this fun-filled weekend for alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends and family.

Fall Festival is an event-packed weekend to remember. Enjoy campus events during the scenic fall season and see the major changes happening on campus!

Activities will include a Celebration of Philanthropy, reunions, live entertainment, the Hockey East home opener: River Hawks vs. University of Vermont Catamounts, other athletic events, Jennifer’s 5K Run and tours of new buildings.

More details to come. For more information, [email protected] or visit www.uml.edu/fallfestival.

Save the Date! Oct. 11-14, 2012

Homecoming | Family Day | ReunionsFall Festival 2012


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1 Alumni and friends enjoy the 10th anniversary Wine & Dine Epicurean Extravaganza, at Ricardo’s Café Trattoria, arranged with the help of Garrett Thurston ’90, ’95. 2 Attendees young and old watched the UMass Lowell River Hawks take on the Boston University Terriers during the annual Alumni Appreciation Night and hockey game inNovember. 3 Alumni at the Cross Country and Track & Field Reunion Reception and hockey game. Back row, from left: Michael Hurton ’80 and Jim Murray ’85. Frontrow, from left: David Quintal ’85, Leslie Whiting-Poitras ’82 and Dave Dunham ’87.

4 UMass Lowell alumni and officials assembled at the PlastIndia Conference in New Delhi, India, where a signing and reception for a new Plastics International Universitytook place in February. 5 UMass Lowell alumni employees of EMC Corporation gather during an alumni reception and reconnection event in November. From left: Anas Hussin ’05, Retired Professor Giampiero Pecelli, June Odongo ’05 and Randy D’Souza ’06.

6 Alumni and friends at the Delta Kappa Phi reunion. 7 In January, UMass Lowell Alumni Relations and Athletics welcomed more than 200 alumni, season ticket holdersand supporters to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to skate at Fenway Park. 8 Jeff and Anne Jackson ’11 at the Fenway Park skating event.

9 Independent University Alumni Association at Lowell members and friends gather at a hockey game in February. From left: Chet Szablak, Bernie Shapiro ’56, ExecutiveVice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney ’75, ’92, Walter Dawson ’59, Chancellor Martin T. Meehan ’78, Drucilla Fitzgerald ’92, Richard Donaldson ’67, Director of AlumniRelations Heather Makrez ’06,’08 and Thomas Vaughn ’77.


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5 The Stanley Cup visited the Tsongas Center in December. Kevin Kotyluk ’02, center, former River Hawks hockey player, with his wife and child; and Marc Salsman, former River Hawks player, and his child. 6 Former hockey coach Billy Riley with his grandchildren (from left): Kyle and Drew Bouley and Brookand Riley Moulton with the Stanley Cup.

3 Alumni and friends of the women’s basketball team join for a reunion in January. Back row, from left: Head Coach Sarah Behn, Dominique Pagan, Brianna Wilson,Marsha Blalock ’99, Emily Kordas ’07, Bridgette Hooker ’09, Revital Quintana ’09, Tamaria Menefee, Demetria Bell, Shaina Berry ’09, Megan Berry ’11, Briana Szidat,Nyachuol Biliew, Danielle DePierro and Gia O’Connor. From left, front row: Brianna Calver, Bianca Simmons, Krissy Little, Sha’Nay Bushner, Jen Valenti, Liron Asher’09, Whitney Wilson, Lauren Fiola and AJ Guidi.

1 Alumni and friends of the men’s basketball team gather for a reunion and memorial for B.J. Romanoski. Back row from the left: Zechariah Zegarowksi ’99, John Cavalieri’83, Chris Cavalieri, Brent Oakleaf ’96, Mike Gore ’08, Todd Boyle ’94, Jim Borodawka ’97 and Malik Curry ’00. Second row from left: Peter Monfort ’08, Rob Breckenridge ’08, Jamael Lynch,Terrel Randle and Head Coach Greg Herenda. Front row from left: Joseph, Jill, Kelly and Megan Romanoski; Ken Jankowski and Director of Athletics Dana Skinner. 2 & 4 February’s third annual Student Leader Reunion Reception. From left (in photo 2): Doug Seed ’04, James Gleason ’03,Rowdy the River Hawk, Kristen Gleason ’04 and Kristin Higgins Seed ’05. From left (in photo 4): Alicia Leonard, Alex Amado and Liron Asher ’09.


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5 Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney ’75, ’92, far left, and Executive Director of Major Gifts and Gift Planning Mark Reimer, far right, visit with Anne Shih and Chialoo Louis Shih ’72 of Hong Kong. 6 UMass Lowell alumni and friends take part in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Naples, Fla. From left: Vice Chancellor of University Advancement Edward Chiu, Stuart Pearce ’64, Dick Dauksys ’62, Carol Dauksys, Janet Netishen ’59, Tom McAvinew ’63, Karen McAvinew, Chris Hoeske,Jerry Lydon ’66, Lorraine Lydon and Mary Cimini.

3 University Independent Alumni Association Scholarship Banquet in January. From left: Arthur Miller ’51, Richard Donaldson ’67, Walter Dawson ’59, Kevin Shanahan’70, Drucilla Fitzgeald ’92, Dr. James Swartz ’64, Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney ’75, ’92, Mary Ann Kitrosser ’87 and Thomas Vaughn ’77. 4 Attendeesof a UMass Lowell Alumni Reunion in Taipei, Taiwan, in November with visiting professors and staff: Asst. Prof. TzuYang Yu, Dean of Engineering John Ting, Prof. FrancisLai, Executive Director of Major Gifts Mark Reimer and Prof. Edward Chen.

1 Rowing alumni and students enjoy an alumni appreciation night and hockey game in February. From left: Irene Cassidy ’12, Rachel Paquette ’15, Melinda Neale ’13, Megan McLaughlin ’14, Jenna Bueno ’15, Brittany Smith ’15 and Meredith Swan ’15. 2 Sigma Phi Omicon reunion.


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7 8

1

6 Charlie Hoff ’66, Dick Denning ’66, Rick Hoeske ’66 and Frank Spinola ’66 at a reception in Naples, Fla. 7 Assistant Vice Chancellor of Advancement John Davis,right, presents a gift to Eamonn Hobbs ’80, keynote speaker at the annual Plastics Engineering Alumni & Friends Dinner during NPE2012 in Orlando, Fla. 8 Plastics Engineering Professor and Department Chair Robert Malloy ’79 presents the Russell W. Ehlers Award to John E. Quinn ’69 for his lifetime of service in plastics engineering at the annual Plastics Engineering Alumni & Friends Dinner during NPE2012 in Orlando, Fla.

4 Plastics industry professionals and UMass Lowell alumni, faculty and staff enjoy the UMass Lowell Plastics Alumni Dinner in Orlando, Fla., during NPE2012: William Carteaux, president, Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI); Gail Bristol and James Griffing of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE); UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan ’78; Robert Malloy ’79, plastics engineering professor and department chair and Willem DeVos, chief executive, SPE. 5 SPI 2012 Hall of Fame inductees gather with plastics industry professionals during NPE2012. From left: Timothy Womer, Hall of Fame inductee; Jim Buonomo, chief financial officer, NYPRO;Robert Malloy ’79, UMass Lowell plastics engineering professor, department chair and Hall of Fame inductee; William Carteaux, SPI president and Jay Gardiner, Hall of Fame inductee.

2 3

1 Enjoying a sunset champagne reception at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., are, from left: Justine Quimby ’69, Edwin Quimby and Ann Marie Clark ’74.2 & 3 Mary Jo ’66 and Frank Spinola ’66 (photo 2) and Chancellor Marty Meehan and Maureen and Arnold Lerner (photo 3) visit at a reception for alumni and friendshosted by the Lerners in Naples, Fa.

Classnotes1967James Healy sat on the boardsof three joint ventures compa-nies in Japan, Korea and Germany and has been hon-ored in Asia for his work inexecuting joint ventures whileat Engelhard (later acquiredby BASF). He has had morethan 10 years of executive ex-perience in Asia. He retired aspresident of Grace China, asubsidiary of W.R. Grace &Co., in 2008. During his four-year stint as president, heworked with Chinese compa-nies to expand distribution.Earlier in his career, he formeda joint venture between En-gelhard and Kallie Chemie,directing global business oper-ations with manufacturing facilities in the United Statesand European Union. Jameshas lived and worked in five different countries inNorth America, Europe andAsia. He is a proven entrepre-neur, having founded a company and a consultingbusiness at different points in his career.

1970George Anastos has beennamed international sector

director of op-eration/projectdelivery for theEnvironmentalService Busi-ness Group ofCH2M HILL.

John Kennedy was one ofnine members of the consult-ing committee involved inhiring the new head footballcoach at UMass Amherst, animportant decision as the uni-versity makes the transitionfrom the Football Champi-onship Subdivision level tothe Mid-American Confer-ence of the Football BowlSubdivision. The universityselected Charley Molnar, whowas offensive coordinator atNotre Dame the last two sea-sons. Kennedy is an alumnusof both UMass Lowell and the UMass Amherst IsenbergSchool of Management.

1974Peter Barrett, a partner at Atlas Venture in Weston, hasbeen elected to the board of directors of PerkinElmer Inc.,which produces analytical

instruments,genetic testingand diagnostictools in thefields of healthand the envi-ronment.

1975Susan Crocker Houde, associate dean of the School

of Health andEnvironment at UMassLowell, is co-editor of the 2011 AJN Book of the Year

Award “Geropyschiatry and Mental Health Nursing.”

1976James Evans is now facilitiesengineer at UMass Amherst,working on a variety of campus engineering issues. While now an employee ofthe Minutemen, he is still aRiver Hawk at heart.

Paul Marion ’76, ’05, execu-tive director of Community

and CulturalAffairs forUMass Low-ell, has beennamed winnerof the 2012Thomas G.Kelakos Kiwa-

nis Community Spirit Awardfor his many years of work “tohelp make Lowell a specialplace.” The late Thomas Ke-lakos, admired for his compas-sion and wisdom, owned asuccessful medical supply firm

and supported many charita-ble causes, including the Ki-wanis Club of Greater Lowell,for more than 50 years. In2009, Paul was named co-director of the UMass LowellCenter for Arts & Ideas. Heand his wife, Rosemary Noon,and son, Joseph, live in an1860’s mill agent’s house inLowell. He is the author ofseveral collections of poetry.He founded Loom Press in1978 to publish books abouthis region by writers from the area.

1978Stanford Who’s Who, an elite organization of selectedexecutives, professionals andentrepreneurs from around the world, has recognizedAlan P. Hicks for his workand achievements in the fieldof software engineering. In

ROBERT GREENE ’68 challenged President Barack Obama in the recent New Hampshire primary, focusing his campaign on raising awareness and encouraging discus-

sion of energy policy. Bob, a physicist, had a long and distinguished career with firmssuch as Compugraphic, HewlettPackard and Gerber Scientific.His campaign, called “ProjectThor,” was based on his beliefthat thorium, a molten salt,

presents a solution to the country’s energy problems. According to Bob, Thorium is more abundant—and safer—than uranium. “The country continues to thrash aroundfor a comprehensive energy plan,” he says. “Thorium is thegreenest, cheapest and perhaps most abundant option.”While Bob received only 213 votes, his energy platform was publicized in several media outlets. A Lowell native, he and his wife, Martha, live in Mountain View, Calif.

1976

Leon Grande ’76, ’89 spent decades inspiring countlessteenagers to make music. Now, the retired supervisorof fine and performing arts at Dracut High School isturning his touch to professionals. Leon, along withwriter Jack Neary ’73 and choreographer PhyllisGeorge, have formed the Greater Lowell MusicTheatre. Their first production, a concert version ofMeredith Willson’s “The Music Man” (which willfeature nationally acclaimed performers), is slatedfor Aug. 3 and 4 at Durgin Hall on UMass Lowell'sSouth Campus. It will be a sweet return for Leon,who received both bachelor’s and master’s degreesin music education here. “The University providedme with a solid background in both music andteaching,” he says. “It also gave me a tremendousnetwork of professionals who continue to be mycolleagues and friends.”

The Music Man


Continued on Page 50


A L U M N I L I F E

In 1983, Shawn Lang placed a phonecall to her mother. At the time, the1982 University of Lowell social sciences graduate was working deepin the dark and heartbroken side ofLowell, at the battered women’s shelter Alternative House.

Lang, now 56 and director of theHartford-based Public Policy for theConnecticut AIDS Resource Coalition(CARC), had just visited her first national conference on violenceagainst women. She had a revelation,and shared it with her mom.

“I know that all my life you’ve toldme I can’t change the world,” shesaid. “But I can, and I am.”

Lang has been changing the worldwith CARC for nearly 21 years, coordi-nating Connecticut’s public policy andadvocacy activities. She also co-chairsthe AIDS LIFE (Legislative Initiativeand Funding Effort) campaign, thestate’s AIDS policy group, and sits onseveral boards, including the nationalAIDS Housing Coalition.

Her work bridges the worlds of those affected by HIV/AIDS andthose impacted by violence againstwomen. She is also a single mom to Corbett Eamonn Lang, 14.

The road to the job she loves began here.

“It really was the perfect place forme,” says Lang. “One of the things Iloved about Lowell is that in takingwomen’s studies, there was the home of labor history right there. It was like living in the laboratory,particularly learning about the history of women and labor.”

She arrived in Lowell on her owntime. A 1974 graduate of King PhilipRegional High School in Wrentham,Lang was the oldest of five children.She didn’t plan on attending college,so after graduation, she worked in a warehouse in Walpole. She later became a nurse’s aide.

“Then my mom told me I was going to need to get a job with insurance,” she says. “So there I was,four years after high school, takingthe SATs. That was no picnic.”

State schools fit her budget, and a university with strong programs inwomen’s sports fit her interest. TheUniversity of Lowell it was.

She didn’t waste time impactingcampus life. Early in her freshmanyear, Lang co-founded G.O.A.L.S., a campus-wide association of gay andlesbian students. She also played fieldhockey, landing a partial scholarshipafter her freshman season.

After graduating in 1982, she tooka job at Alternative House, but aftershe began dating a woman in Con-necticut, the pull became too much.“Commuting between Lowell andHartford got old fast,” she says,laughing. So she moved to Connecti-cut. The relationship didn’t last, buthelping others did.

Lang worked in daycare beforefinding work as director of a batteredwomen’s shelter in Middletown,Conn. Eventually, she noticed moreand more people in Middletown living with HIV or AIDS—“yet therewere no HIV services there,” she says.“They had to travel to Hartford orNew Haven to even find a supportgroup.”

After helping establish a full-service AIDS service organization in the town, Lang was offered therole of interim executive director of the Hartford-based AIDS ResourceCoalition, “and I’ve become the thing that never leaves.”

Though Lang loves her job—“I get to do what I want to do for the people I want to do it for”—shestill feels strong ties to Massachusetts.And though she shares custody of sonCorbett with a former partner, Lang makes certain he is raised “right.”

“I have raised him as a completeBoston sports fan,” she laughs.

Shawn Lang: AIDs Activist Found Calling in Lowell

u CLOSE-UP CLASS OF 1982

By David Perry


Classnotesannouncing this honor, the organization said Alan “hasearned his place among themost excellent professionalfigures as a result of his impressive achievementsthroughout the 35 years of his experience, as well asthrough his position as principal software engineerwith GSI Group Inc.”

Karen Devereaux Melillo,professor and chair of the Department of Nursing atUMass Lowell Lowell, was

co-editor of the 2011 AJNBook of theYear Award“Geropyschia-try and Mental HealthNursing.”

1980

Kerri Howell has been elect-ed mayor of Folsom, Calif., byher fellow city council mem-

bers. Kerri hasbeen on thecouncil since1998 andserved as vicemayor in 2002and 2006. AFolsom resi-

dent for 26 years, she alsoserved on the planning com-mission for four years. A civilengineer, she is president ofAtlantic Consultants Inc., afirm specializing in civil andcorrosion engineering.

David Rardin, who workedhis way up from associate tofull membership, now has hisname on the door of a patentlaw firm in Nashua, N.H.Once known as Vern Maine& Associates, the firm is nowMaine, Cernota & Rardin.Dave, a graduate of FranklinPierce Law, joined the firm in 2006 as a patent agent. Before launching his legal career, he served in the AirForce and, for more than 20years, was in the science andtechnology field.

1981Stephen McWhirter wasawarded a U.S. patent thatprotects confidential data on any technology system.Stephen’s risk protection pro-grams are designed to protectdata across large-scale globalwealth management networks.

1983Mary Ann McCann, orches-tra director of Wellesley Middle School and Wellesley

High School,has beennamed Or-chestra Direc-tor of the Yearby the Massa-chusetts chapter of the

American String Teachers Association. Mary Ann beganher musical studies as a child,singing with the New EnglandChildren’s Choir. Later, shebecame interested in the cello.She majored in performanceat UMass Lowell and thenearned a master’s degree inmusic education from BostonUniversity. She has performedwith the Florida West CoastSymphony, the Portland(Maine) Symphony and theNew England String Ensem-ble. Mary Ann developed astrong school orchestra pro-gram in the Winchester PublicSchools system and thentaught at Phillips ExeterAcademy. Later, she was director of strings in the WestHartford, Conn. schools. Shewas also the first conductor of the Lowell Philharmonic.

Bob Mountain has beennamed senior vice president ofbusiness development forNameMedia in Waltham. Thecompany is a leader in the ac-quisition, development andtrading of digital real estatethrough a targeted websitenetwork and domain namemarketplace. Prior to Name-Media, Bob was co-founderand chief operating officer ofQuantia Communications. He has a degree in economicsfrom UMass Lowell.

1984Carole A. Dwyer has beenappointed interim administra-tor of the Rhode Island Divi-sion of Motor Vehicles. Carolemost recently was warden ofthe Rhode Island Departmentof Corrections’ Anthony P.Travisono Intake Service Center and, before that, was warden of the department’sMinimum Security andWomen’s Divisions. Sheearned her undergraduate degree in administration ofcriminal justice and, later, at Anna Maria College, amaster’s in criminal justice.

1985Scott Caswell has beennamed vice president of fi-nance for Westborough-basedCourion Corp., a companythat offers identity and accessmanagement solutions that focus on access risk manage-ment. In this newly createdposition, Scott is responsiblefor financial and operationalareas, such as accounting, financial planning, analysis and treasury. He has morethan 25 years of finance andoperations experience, most

recently at Iron Mountain, an information services management company.

David Squibb has been namedchief sales officer at ValenTechnologies. Responsible formanaging all sales activities,he has more than 28 years ofexperience in the insuranceindustry working for both insurance carriers and insur-ance technology providers.

1986Mark Hatch, who has morethan 20 years of technologydevelopment and start-upmanagement experience, hasbeen named chief executiveofficer of mBLAST Inc., a media monitoring and analyt-ics services company. Beforejoining mBLAST two yearsago, Mark led software teamsat Carbonite and Intronis.

John Spead has been namedCEO and man-aging partnerat GreenSpeed& Associatesin Norcross,Ga. Green-Speed is a

global management consultingfirm specializing in businessprocess improvement andchange management. John hasmore than 25 years of experi-ence in business development,client relations, operationsand regulatory functions.

1987Mark Bedrosian has been ap-pointed principal of GalvinMiddle School in Wakefield.He had been serving as deanof academics at GloucesterHigh School since 2010. Prior to this role, Mark was an assistant principal at bothGloucester High School andthe Ralph B. O’Maley MiddleSchool.�He holds administra-tive licensure from Northeast-ern University, a master’s ofeducation in professional stud-ies from Salem State Collegeand a bachelor of science de-gree in public administrationin the field of criminal justicefrom the University of Lowell.

Kanai Shah has been promot-ed to president of RadiationMonitoring Devices, Inc.(RMD), a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Dynasil Corporation


On BroadwayGrowing up on Cape Cod, Deane Proutydreamed of one day making his living as adrummer. Earlier this year, the College ofMusic grad was appointed percussion de-partment coordinator at The Juilliard Schoolin New York City. He's also the percussionistfor the Broadway show “Peter and the Star-catcher,” which opened in April at the BrooksAtkinson Theater in New York and quicklysnagged more Tony nominations than anyother play this year. UMass Lowell, he says,laid the foundation for all of this. “It’s notjust about being an artist, it’s a business andI learned that a long time ago from [UMassLowell Music Prof.] Dick Coff,” he says. “Imake a career as a performer and I’ve beenable to pay my bills for the last 40 years.”



A L U M N I L I F E

Angela Sawyer arrived on campusin 1989, nearly 2,000 miles fromhome, “raw and untested.”

She was naive, filled withwanderlust, and greater Bostonwas far enough from her homein Denver.

She enrolled at the Universityof Lowell as a philosophy major.“I can’t even begin to say howmuch I learned about gettingthings done, about which rulesto pay attention to and becomingsomeone in this world,” saysSawyer, now 41.

What she became is one ofthe region’s most iconoclasticrecord store owners, a proprietorof niche sounds on a “dead” for-mat in a business where manymore shops were closing thanopening.

Sawyer’s Cambridge-basedstore, Weirdo Records (844 Mas-sachusetts Ave.), is one of theregion’s most acclaimed recordstores, a tiny, loaded-to-the-gillsspace that is more curated thansimply stocked with music. Theinventory reflects her own tastesand curiosities, which swim out-side the mainstream: avant-garde,free jazz, foreign language, exotica,spoken word, outsider music.

“I actually had hours at homebeginning in 2006, where peoplewould come shop for records [atmy house],” says the Somervilleresident. “But eventually, it allgot too big for the space. So Imoved it to a storefront. Mindyou, it’s still very tiny. I firmlybelieve it’s the smallest recordstore on the face of the earth.When there are five people inhere, it is so packed you can’tmove.”

She got her management abil-ity, as well as her musical taste,right here on campus, says Sawyer.

Settling into dorm life as afreshman, she learned that a guyon whom she had developed acrush was going to a meeting ofthe student-run radio station,WJUL-FM. So she went, too.

“There were, like, 100 peoplethere,” she says. “They explainedwhat it was about. It was an eye-opener. An island of misfit toysI never imagined, a place I hadjust stumbled upon. And I waspsyched! I didn’t know anythingabout music beyond what I heardon the radio, but I thought, ‘Oh,my gosh, a place for me!’”

She volunteered to help. Thenext day, she vacuumed the stu-dio, wandering into the last roomto ask if she could enter.

“Sure, c’mon in!” chirped theman in the studio. “I didn’t knowit,” she says, “but he was on theair.”

Nor did she know it was RonLessard, owner of the record storeRRRecords in Lowell, noise artistand a regular on WJUL’s air-waves.

They remain friends and audiokindred spirits. Recently, Lessardissued an audio-verite vinyl LPcomprised of banter that happensin record stores. A photographof Weirdo’s storefront graces thecover.

Her time at the Universitywas pivotal, she says.

“ULowell didn’t have a hugephilosophy department backthen, but it was really good, andit was small enough so you reallygot to know your professors,” saysSawyer, who eventually trans-ferred to Boston College, whereshe earned a degree in philosophy.“But the station? The lessons Igot in being in charge of peopleand making decisions were huge.”

u CLOSE-UP CLASS OF 1990’s

Angela Sawyer’s Learning Lab: Where ‘Weirdo’ is a Compliment

By David Perry

Angela Sawyer takes a break in her iconic Cambridge store,Weirdo Records.


Classnotes

of America. Kanai, whoearned a master’s degree inchemical engineering at theUniversity of Lowell, joinedRMD in 1985 as a staff scien-tist and has served most recently as vice president of research and leader of theMaterial Science Group.

1988James Barry has been namedan independent director onthe board of InspireMD Inc., amedical device company basedin Tel Aviv. Jim has more than20 years of experience in themedical device industry and iscurrently executive vice presi-dent and chief operating offi-cer of Arsenal Medical Inc.Prior to joining Arsenal, hewas a senior vice presidentwith Boston Scientific. Jimearned a doctorate in bio-chemistry at UMass Lowell.

Leo Parent retired after 17seasons as the head basketballcoach at Pentucket HighSchool. He will continue toteach at Pentucket MiddleSchool. Leo’s teams qualifiedfor the state tournament eachof the last three years. Lastyear's team advanced to theEastern Mass. Division 3North semifinal round,

matching the longest postsea-son run during Parent'stenure. Leo was a two-timeAll-American basketball player at the University ofLowell, being named mostoutstanding player on theUniversity’s 1987-1988NCAA Division 2 nationalchampion team.

1991Sheryl Caterino-Klosowskiis controller/treasurer for KLT Industries, Inc., in Ayer.Sheryl, who joined KLT lastfall, brought to the new postmore than 19 years of experi-ence in the energy services industry – including compa-nies such as National Gridand Alliant Energy.

Bill Kinch has been nameddirector of operations atPrideSTAR EMS, a Lowell-based emergency medical

transportation services company. Bill has 29 years ofemergency medical service experience at the clinical,strategic and operational levels, having begun his careeras an EMT in 1983. He hasbeen a licensed paramedicsince 1988.

Scott Pizzohas been ap-pointed NorthAmerican salesmanager, east-ern region, for EAW ofWhitinsville, a

worldwide designer and manu-facturer of professional loud-speaker systems. Scott firstjoined EAW in 2003 but leftin 2008 to become easternU.S. regional sales managerfor Renkus-Heinz. Now, hesays, “It’s good to be home.”

1991Judith Dickerman-Nelson,the former longtime educationdirector at the CambodianMutual Assistance Associa-tion, released a memoir called“Believe in Me: A TeenMom's Story.” The book waspublished by Jefferson ParkPress under editor and pub-lisher Hilary Holladay, formerdirector of the Kerouac Cen-ter for American Studies atUMass Lowell. Judith’s nextbook, a poetry collectioncalled “Spirits Dancing intoLight,” will be translated intoKhmer. She expects it to bepublished by Loom Press this summer.

1993Kristine Cyr Goodwin hasbeen named vice president forstudent affairs at ProvidenceCollege. She will oversee

Residence Life, Off-CampusHousing, Judicial Affairs,Safety and Security, StudentHealth, Personal Counseling,Career Services, Club Sportsand Student Activities. Kristine will also serve as anex-officio member of the Stu-dent Affairs Committee of theBoard of Trustees. Previously,she served as associate dean of students/student life at theCollege of the Holy Cross inWorcester. Before that, sheserved for eight years in sever-al administrative positions relating to student life at Connecticut College, risingfrom director of residential life and housing to associatedean of student life. Kristinereceived a bachelor’s degree in political science from Westfield State College and a master’s degree in educational administrationfrom UMass Lowell.


Rob Millard-Mendez: Playing With ArtRob Millard-Mendez says growing up in Lowell “fostered in me a fascination with late-19th century mechanical technology. From anearly age, I was enthralled with mechanics and motion.”

He melded that fascination with a bachelor of fine arts degreefrom UMass Lowell (and later a master of fine arts degree fromUMass Dartmouth)—eventually turning into an award-winning sculptor and art professor.

“I am a first generation college student,” says Millard-Mendez, who now lives in Indiana. “I am eternally gratefulfor the generosity of Dr. An Wang, the founder of WangLaboratories, who funded a number of full academicscholarships to UMass Lowell, one of which I received.In my career as a college art professor I have tried to honor Dr. Wang's commitment to education by undertaking many art related community outreach projectsthat involve under-served populations.”

BILL LOVELY ’92, received a bachelor’s degree in industrial management in1992 and is now pursuing a master’s degree in work environment. He has spentthe past 13 years working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Boston office, overseeing the cleanup of hazardous waste sites in the federal Superfund program. Prior to this, Bill was an environmental project manager at Gulf Oil, overseeing the underground storage tank program in fournortheastern states.

Rob Millard-Mendez sculptures fromtop: “Tends to lash out,” “Unfertilitymask” and detail of “Phaeton Mask.”


A L U M N I L I F E

Steve Lane, who played bothbaseball and basketball for theRiver Hawks, is the new headcoach of boys’ basketball atNashua North High School.Steve is a big proponent offull-court pressure defense and says his emphasis on the“D” probably came from hisUMass Lowell coach, StanVan Gundy, now the coach of the Orlando Magic.

Kevin Murphy has beennamed vice president of prod-uct management at Certeon,an application performancecompany in Burlington. Priorto joining Certeon, Kevin wasresponsible for solutions man-agement at VCE, a companythat accelerates the adoptionof converged infrastructureand cloud-based computingmodels. He earned his UMass Lowell degree in electrical engineering.

Michael Pelletier has beennamed an associate in theBoston office of Dewberry, aprivately held professionalservices firm. He has extensiveknowledge of Boston and thesurrounding areas’ water and

wastewater sys-tems, havingworked onprojects for theMassachusettsWater Resources Authority

(MWRA) for many years. Hereceived the 2009 EngineeringExcellence Gold Award byACEC Massachusetts for theengineering design and con-struction administration of aninnovative water main reha-

bilitation for the MWRA. Hewill serve as a project managerfor water and wastewater proj-ects and services for public-sector utility clients in theNew England region. Michaelreceived his bachelor’s degreein civil engineering fromUMass Lowell. He is a regis-tered professional engineerand is chair of the member-ship committee for the NewEngland Water Works Associ-ation, a section of the Ameri-can Water Works Association.He was recently selected as a2012 Rising Star in Civil En-gineering by CE News.

1995Alyssa Wise Taylor is the-owner of the Blue Hoot SoapCompany of Duxbury. Alyssasays she named the companyafter her late grandmotherwho loved owls. “I make fan-tastic cold process soap and I don’t cut corners with my ingredients,” she says. Alyssagraduated with a degree inmarketing.

1996Steve Anthony ’96, ’03, who most recently was chiefinformation officer at CharlesRiver Associates, has joinedAlixPartners LLP, a globalbusiness-advisory firm, as a director. Earlier in his career,Steve was vice president andhead of the business

technology practice at Celerant Consulting.

Jason Cormier, who playedvarsity hockey for the RiverHawks, has been inductedinto the Waltham High Athletic Hall of Fame. Heearned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering andnow works at Millipore.

1997James Borodawka is vice pres-ident at Paradigm Partners, anational tax consulting firmthat specializes in federal government niche tax creditprograms designed to offereconomic assistance to

companies.Paradigm wasrecently select-ed as one ofthe top 500fastest-growingUnited Statescompanies by

INC. Magazine. James’ daugh-ter, Lindsey, a sophomore atUMass Lowell, is working toward a nursing degree while participating on the cheerleading team.

Alan Taupier, a Marbleheadresident, joined the Hamilton-Wenham Regional SchoolDistrict as director of informa-tion technology. Alan hadworked as IT director for theMinuteman VocationalSchool District in Lexingtonsince 2006 and was previouslya network manager for LowellPublic Schools. He holds abachelor of science degree ininformation technology.

1998Carlos Roldan, who earned amaster’s degree in radiologicalphysics and a doctorate inphysics from UMass Lowell, isteaching physics at RichmondCommunity College in Ham-let, N.C. Earlier in his career,Carlos taught for several yearsat the Machias campus of theUniversity of Maine and wasan adjunct instructor at twocommunity colleges in Massa-chusetts for nearly 15 years.

1999Adam Candela and AmyStucchi have announced theirengagement and plan to bemarried in May. Both Adamand Amy work at Staples Corporate Headquarters inFramingham. Amy is a gradu-ate of UMass Dartmouth.

2000Bryan Shanley, executivevice president of PrideSTAREMS, a Lowell-based emer-gency medical transportationservices company, has beenappointed to the board of di-rectors of the Young Profes-sionals of Greater Lowell.

Jason Barbieri is regional di-rector of sales at OncoMed, anoncology pharmacy. He worksclosely with many of the oncology offices in the NewEngland area. He is also a

swimmer for Team OncoMed,which helps raise money forcancer research, preventionand treatment through organi-zations such as Swim AcrossAmerica. Over the years, Jason has competed in multi-ple triathlons and was a track-and-field state finalist in boththe 100- and 200-meter dash.He received a bachelor of science degree in exercisephysiology. He lives in Andover with his wife.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute men’s basketballcoach Chris Bartley won his 200th game this year.

Aliya Cox is the new headcoach of the girls’ varsity basketball team at ChoateRosemary Hall School inWallingford, Conn. Sheplayed basketball during herfour years at UMass Lowell—which she recently called “the best basketball team Ihave ever played on.” After graduating, Aliya began hercoaching career as an assistantcoach at UMass Lowell, goingon to coach at the Universityof Maine and Fairfield Univer-sity before arriving at Choate.

2001Conor O’Keefe and MeganHayes ’03, ’04, were marriedlast September at St. John theEvangelist Church in NorthChelmsford. Conor, with a degree in criminal justice andpsychology, operates ConorO’Keefe Master Electrician,Inc. in Tyngsboro. Megan,who earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology, and a master’s in biology in2004, is a research scientist at

MATTHEW AZEVEDO ’99 has been appointed a consultant in architecturalacoustics and mechanical systems in the Cambridge office of Acentech Inc., a multi-disciplinary acoustical consulting firm. Matt brings to the job an extensive range of teaching and recording talents, plus experience as an audio engineer, mastering engineer and musician. He also has taught acoustics, audioproduction and circuit design at Boston University, UMass Lowell and the Harvard Extension School.



Classnotes

Good things really do come in small packages.Consider Nashoba Valley Ski Area. Nestled

in the Merrimack Valley, hours from the megaresorts of New Hampshire and Vermont, Nashobalong ago overcame any Napoleon Complex itmay have had.

“What we lack for in size, we more thanmake up for in quality and variety,” says PresidentAl Fletcher ’96. He’s not talking trash.

On a late, snowless January day when biggerareas struggled to open even half of their trails,Nashoba was running at 100 percent, thanks tosignificant snowmaking and ski lift investments.

For Fletcher, covering the mountain withsnow, and moving as many people to the top inthe shortest amount of time are top priorities:good conditions guarantee customer loyalty.

“We are a volume operation,” he says, citingnot only the sheer number of skiers and boardersefficiently whisked up the mountain—11,600per hour—but a wide array of programs and at-tractions designed to keep the place hummingall year long.

An early adopter to the snowboarding market,Nashoba jumped on snow tubing quickly, too,creating New England’s largest tubing park. Withmore than 300 instructors, it is host to thousandsof area ski club members. There is something forall ages and levels—from the 3-year-olds on thebunny slope, to the active 55+ program to the70+ masters racing team.

Nashoba also boasts The Outlook Restaurant,a retail store and a wildly successful Halloween-themed attraction called Witches Woods. In thesummer, they offer a children's day camp, anadult volleyball league and an outdoor waterfrontTiki bar.

Founded in 1964 by his father, Al FletcherSr., Nashoba Valley was modest in the beginning.Fletcher’s passion for the hill on which he once

hunted rabbits took a life-changing turn whenhe bought it, determined to create a ski area.Configured with a single rope tow on openingday, the staff packed snow on the four slopesmanually, with shovels. The lodge was a tentwith a gravel floor and a pot-bellied stove. Thefirst season was a dismal 14 days long. The seniorFletcher confides that for the first 15 years ofoperation, he was dancing with bankruptcy.

“I bobbed and weaved around it,” he says.The Fletcher family has earned bragging rights

for what they’ve made from a seemingly impossiblebusiness model. While Nashoba has only 230feet of vertical drop (compared, say, to Killington,with 3,050), they’ve taken chances and steppedoutside the traditional ski resort business modelin a way that many have since copied.

It’s clear that the younger Fletcher has gottenhis money’s worth from his business degree, usinghis skills to build the mountain’s trajectory to abustling four-season, vacation-around-the corner.Today, the lone tow rope has morphed to 10lifts. And the mountain’s annual revenues exceed$10 million.

While he may be years away from his days asa carefree undergrad scouring North Campus foranything resembling a parking space to maneuverhis junk-box car into, he remembers the timewell. At the top of his list? His participation on

the University’s ski team as a junior and senior,where he earned two individual and two teamThompson Divisional titles.

“I made great friends at UMass Lowell, in-cluding lots of ski team members,” says Fletcher.

While the business skills may have beenlearned mostly in Lowell, Fletcher’s ski abili-ties—and those of his family members, most no-tably his sister—may be in the DNA. PamFletcher, a 1988 Olympian and nine-year U.S.Ski Team veteran, captured six U.S. nationaltitles and a gold medal at the 1986 World Cup.Brother Paul grew up in the business, and is asolid skier, but makes his living at a cable andwire company. Mom, Nancy, was always on handin the early years, skiing and working side-by-side with her family. Today, at 76, she still skisevery day.

Two years ago, Al Junior bought out the restof his family members, becoming president.

“I couldn’t have just taken over—it was im-portant to me that I earned my position, that itwas a clean business deal. I couldn’t have simplyhad it given to me,” he says over coffee onewinter morning, the view from the OutlookRestaurant something from a postcard.

Pam continues as a consultant and Fletcherreports that Dad still comes by to “sit down, puthis feet up, and bark a little before flying out thedoor.”

Creative business practices and exceptionalDNA are not all that make for Nashoba’s success.Fletcher is quick to tout the role of his 40 full-time and 800 seasonal employees.

“Our staff is made up of passionate, competentprofessionals,” he says. “Many have been herefor decades. I think they stay for the environ-ment.”

One look out the window, and it’s easy to see why. �

Al Fletcher and the Little Mountain That Could

By Sheila Eppolito

Al Fletcher and his parents celebrate his ULowell graduation in 1996.



Zach Field, who majored in musicalperformance, says he’s “honored and proud to say I am a UMass Lowellalumnus.”

“I cannot believe how much I learnedfrom UMass Lowell,” says the owner ofZach Field Drum Studios in Newbury-port. “I know for a fact that I would nothave been able to get the same educationat any other school.”

UMass Lowell, he says, taught himhow to be a well-rounded percussionist.

“Most schools will make you chooseto either be in the jazz department orclassical department,” says Field, whowas percussion director for the Pentucket Regional School District for12 years. “There is no such thing atUMass Lowell.

“I was able learn Bach Sonatas onMarimba, Charlie Parker saxophonesolos on drumset, orchestral pieces fortimpani and learned the art of jazz vi-braphone. On the weekends, I was per-forming all over New England on wash-board with the bluegrass band, The MillCity Ramblers, as well as performingwith area orchestras, singer songwriters,jazz ensembles and rock groups.”

But he learned about more thanmusic at UMass Lowell, he says:

“I felt important there, I was notjust another student passing through.My teachers not only taught me aboutmusic, but they taught me about life,responsibility and, most of all, how tobe professional. I will never forget thetime I went to a lesson unprepared withProf. Jeff Fisher. Jeff was not mad atme, he was disappointed in me. Hedidn’t have to say much, it was thelook on his face. I left that lesson thatday feeling terrible! That was the lasttime I ever went to a lesson, class or re-hearsal unprepared.”

These days, Field often hires UMassLowell graduates to work with and forhim.

“I choose to hire UMass Lowell stu-dents and alumni because I know theycome from an outstanding program anda student cannot successfully make itthrough the program without years ofextremely hard work,” he says. “I wouldnot be where I am today if I went toany other school.”

Zach Field: Drummer Boy

Lantheus Medical Imaging,Inc., in North Billerica.

Eric Olson and HeatherSchwartz were married a yearago this past December at Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston and now live inBraintree. Eric is a senior staffscientist at AECOM andHeather is a program managerat the Schwartz Center forCompassionate Healthcare at Massachusetts GeneralHospital.

2002 Jeffrey Thurston, a directorat CareLine by GenesisHealthCare, is engaged tomarry Shaelagh Florence ’03,a marketing manager at Comcast. A November wedding is planned.

2003Keri Caffrey-Zwinggi ’03,’05 is in her sixth year ofteaching English at NorthAndover High School afterhaving taught for two years atSt. Michael School, also inNorth Andover. Keri graduat-ed with a double major inEnglish and psychology, andlater earned a master’s degreein secondary education. She’snow enrolled in a Certificateof Advanced Graduate Studyin Educational Leadershipprogram at Salem State University.

Mark Concannon, whoplayed four seasons of hockeyfor the River Hawks and spent a brief period of time in the minor leagues, has been named head coach ofvarsity ice hockey at HullHigh School.


“GO RIVER HAWKS! Most of my Midwest friends are like, ‘You went toschool where?’ or ‘UMass what?’ But let me tell you, they know who we arenow!” —Scott Mulcahy ’06, commenting on Facebook in reaction to thehockey team’s stellar season

Shaelagh Florence, a marketing manager at Comcast, is engaged to marry Jeffrey Thurston ’02, a director at CareLine by Genesis HealthCare. A November wedding is planned.

Megan Hayes and Conor O’Keefe ’01 were married last September at St. John theEvangelist Church in NorthChelmsford. Megan, whoearned a bachelor’s degree inbiotechnology and a master’sin biology in 2004, is a re-search scientist at LantheusMedical Imaging Inc., inNorth Billerica. Conor, with adegree in criminal justice andpsychology, operates ConorO’Keefe Master ElectricianInc. in Tyngsboro.

2004Joshua Deveau and KristenGraham have announced theirengagement and are planninga September wedding. Joshuais a systems administrator with Care.com and Kristen is a mobile graphic designerwith Vlingo.

Fidelity Bank has namedMeghan Liddy senior vicepresident and business bank-ing relationship manager forthe Worcester area. Meghan,who previously worked atMiddlesex Savings Bank inWestborough, earned herM.B.A. at UMass Lowell. She lives in Holden.

A L U M N I L I F E

Students at Zach Field Drum Studios


Classnotes

Two years ago, Rebecca Taylor ’05 was inher fourth year as a pediatric nurse at MassGeneral in Boston. It was a dream job, witha good salary—everything a nursing gradcould hope for. But she was after more thanthat.

And so, in her time off she went to NewOrleans following Hurricane Katrina, thento Rwanda and then to Haiti after the earth-quake there. And even that somehow didn’tseem enough.

In the end, she traded Boston for anotherworld. Today, and for most of the past twoyears, she has been living aboard a 500-foot,16,000-ton hospital ship off the coast ofWest Africa, volunteering her services as anurse. Called the Africa Mercy, it’s thelargest such ship in the world. With sixstate-of-the-art operating rooms, a fullyequipped intensive-care unit, bed space forup to 78 patients and a volunteer crew and

medical staff of more than 400 from nearly40 nations, the ship anchors off the coastsof West African nations Togo, Senegal andSierra Leone.

Its mission? To bring care, hope and com-fort to some of the poorest, most forgottenpeople on earth. (Consider: Mass GeneralHospital, where Rebecca Taylor last worked,has 10 CT scanners, which detect everythingfrom bone fractures to tumors to strokes.The nation of Sierra Leone, with 6 millionpeople, has only one—aboard the AfricaMercy.) Over the course of each 10-monthtour, the ship’s staff will perform up to 14,000surgeries—6,000 of them major operations—as well thousands more dental and eye-careprocedures.

“Mercy Ships is an amazing organization,”says Rebecca’s father and UMass LowellDean of Enrollment, Tom Taylor, who visitedhis daughter aboard the Africa Mercy at the

end of last year. “It was a privilege to spendmost of 12 days on the ship and get a glimpseof all they do.”

The occasion for the trip was Rebecca’swedding—to another volunteer shipmate,Liberian Gregory Kulah—which took placein November in Sierra Leone. Kulah, likeRebecca, has been working on the AfricaMercy a little more than two years.

And, as Tom Taylor would soon discover,his daughter wasn’t the only UMass Lowellalum aboard the ship. Ray Szarek ’81, aformer Air Force weather technician andthe father of two adopted Liberian daughters,had been onboard since July 2010.

Not long after Tom left the ship to returnhome, Szarek and Rebecca joined in a photowith a UMass T-shirt he had left behind—proving, Tom says, that “we have life-ready,work-ready and world-ready graduates atpoints throughout the globe.” � —GD


Rebecca Taylor: Caring for the World’s Forgotten

Rebecca with her father, Dean of Enrollment Tom Taylor,at her wedding in Sierra Leone last November.



Beth Neary, who received apolitical science degree here,went on to receive her mas-ter’s degree from George Mason University with a concentration in conflictanalysis resolution. She nowworks in Washington, D.C.,for the United States GlobalLeadership Coalition. As partof her job, she interacts withthose in the high-level politi-cal scene in Washington.

2005Michael Ehrhardt, head ofschool at the Marshall School,a college preparatory school in Duluth, Minn., has beenelected a member of the Virtual High School GlobalConsortium board of direc-tors. The non-profit consor-tium is a pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers. Mikeearned a master’s degree in educational administrationfrom UMass Lowell.

Sarah Wroblewski has beennamed weekend meteorologistfor WFXT, the Fox 25 televi-sion channel in Boston. In

her new capacity, Sarah con-tributes to Fox 25 news at 10p.m. on Saturdays and at 10and 11 p.m. on Sundays. Mostrecently, she had been a fill-inmeteorologist and environ-mental reporter for Fox and,before that, was a media salesengineer at Weather ServicesInternational in Andover.

2006Audrey Bertalovitz is en-gaged to David Roodhuyzen, a physician assistant in theEmergency Department atBaylor University MedicalCenter in Garland, Texas.Audrey, who earned her bach-elor’s degree in nursing, iscompleting a master’s degreein advanced practice nursingat the University of Texas.She is a registered nurse atMedical City Hospital in Dallas. A May wedding isplanned.

Heather Makrez, UMassLowell’s new director ofAlumni Relations, has alsobeen appointed to the boardof directors of the Young Pro-fessionals of Greater Lowell.

David Slipp, who is the newmusic teacher at the McAvin-nue School in Lowell, is currently mentoring severalUMass Lowell Music Educa-tion seniors as part of theirschool-based fieldwork for themusic methods class. He waspreviously a String Projectteaching assistant. He was a dual performance/music education major.

2007Danielle Bergeron is chiefexecutive officer of theGreater Lowell Chamber of Commerce.

Kelly Anne Cote marriedChristopher Alick Yellick inNovember. She is employedat the Center for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Disease in North Hampton,N.H. The couple live inRochester, N.H.

Victoria Denoon was awardedthe Irish Top 40 Under 40 2012 Award by The IrishEcho at a ceremony at TheManhattan Club at RosieO’Grady’s in New York Cityon Feb. 23.

Todd Fletcher, a feisty forward for the River Hawksduring his four undergraduateyears, is now coach of thegirls’ ice hockey squad atWestford Academy.

Kyle Heagney, a third-generation police officer, hasbecome the police chief ofAttleboro. Kyle had joinedthe department in 1999 andworked his way through theranks, serving most recentlyas acting chief. He holds amaster’s degree in criminologyfrom UMass Lowell. His fa-ther had been a captain onthe Attleboro force and hisgreat uncle was a sergeant.Kyle and his wife, Paula, andtheir son live in Norton.

Dana Nicgorski and LaurenMistretta ’09, who were mar-ried last summer in Holyoke,now live in Stoneham. Dana

is an engineer with RobertBosch LLC and Lauren is aphysical therapist at NewEngland Rehabilitation Hospital. Dana has a master’sdegree in mechanical engi-neering and Lauren has a doctorate in physical therapy.

Shiri Spear is the morningmeteorologist on South Flori-da’s NBC affiliate WTVJ,where she’s been since Sep-

tember 2010. Spear, who received her master’s degreein atmospheric and environ-mental sciences here, previ-ously worked at NBC affiliateWWLP-22 News in westernMassachusetts.

Janet Welby, who was a mu-sic education master’s studentat UMass Lowell and wroteher thesis on multicultural approaches to teaching music,is now an adjunct here teach-ing a course called GlobalMusic for the Classroom.Janet also wrote a chapter fora new textbook for middle-school music teachers.

2008Tyler Piebes has joinedChamp Homes and TheHousing For All Corp. as its development director.Tyler previously was program associate for the Arts Founda-tion of Cape Cod and mostrecently worked with WildCare of Eastham.

A L U M N I L I F E

The Score: Men in Black 3Greg Maloney, technical music su-pervisor for famed film composerDanny Elfman, has been spendingmost of his time lately working onMen in Black 3. “Technology hasdramatically changed since the firsttwo movies were written, andwe‘re not using the same samplersand audio gear we were backthen,” he says. “So there was a lotof detective work involved. Un-earthing old scores, finding olddemos—‘what's making that 16thnote, ticky sound?’—and using ourcurrent setup to come up with anew sound, but one that is true tothe original.“ The results will bein theaters at the end of May.


Classnotesu CLOSE-UP CLASS OF 2006

When Tim DiFrancesco ’06 got the callthat the Los Angeles Lakers wanted himto be their new head strength and condi-tioning coach, “it was absolutely surreal,”says the Vermont native, who earned hisdoctor of physical therapy (DPT) degreeat UMass Lowell. “Getting a chance towork in the NBA at all is a huge honor butthe Lakers are different. When you areexpected to be competing and winning atitle every year, it is a really fun environmentto be in.”

What does he think set him apart? Hisdegree. “Getting my DPT was not easybut it was the best thing I ever did. It hasopened more doors in my career than Icould have ever imagined. If I had not ob-tained my DPT at a school like UMassLowell with the high level professors andexpectations there, I would have regrettedit for my entire career. I would not bewhere I am now!” —KA

A Stretch With the Lakers

NB

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hoto

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North Reading Police Detec-tive Thomas Encarnacao’01,’08 was named Officer ofthe Year for 2011. Thomas-grew up in North Readingand first became an officer intown in 1999. He was origi-nally hired as a reserve officer,and then as a full-time policeofficer soon after attending asix-month police academy inReading. He received bothbachelor's and master’s de-grees in criminal justice atUMass Lowell.

2009Kristen Graham and JoshuaDeveau have announced theirengagement and are planninga September wedding. Kristenis a mobile graphic designerwith Vlingo. Joshua is a sys-tems administrator withCare.com.

Brandon J. McCabe has beenpromoted to portfolio loan officer in commercial real es-

tate at TD Bank in Worcester.Brandon, who has 10 years experience in banking andlending, joined TD Bank in2010 as a credit analyst.

Lauren Mistretta and DanaNicgorski ’07, who were mar-ried last summer in Holyoke,now live in Stoneham. Laurenis a physical therapist at New England RehabilitationHospital and Dana is an engineer with Robert BoschLLC. Lauren has a doctoratein physical therapy and Dana has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Scott Morrill and ErinSchartner have announcedtheir engagement and areplanning a June wedding atthe College of the Holy Crossin Worcester. Scott, a musicteacher at the Raynham Middle School, earned hisbachelor’s degree in music

studies and, in 2011, a masterof music in music educationdegree. Erin is a senior, majoring in music studies.

2010Christopher Collette, upongraduating in December 2010,was promoted to Pre-College

New EnglandFaculty Manager for Kaplan TestPrep and Admission.He startedteaching SATprep courses

for Kaplan while still a stu-dent and had great success inthe classroom. Once graduat-

She has been throughmore in her 26 years thanmost people you knowwill face in a lifetime.And her battle is not overyet. It may never, really,be over. And yet eachnew challenge, for AshleyDias, is met the sameway—as just another“bump in the road.”

Born with cystic fibrosis, she has never knownlife without doctors and drugs. At 14, she ran outof luck for the first time, when the doctors told hershe’d need two new lungs to go on living. She gotthem—from an aunt in Andover, where she lives,and another aunt in Georgia. (Her parents hadalready donated lungs, five years before, to herolder sister Lindsey, who also has the disease.)Several years later her kidneys began failing; anotheraunt donated a kidney.

And through it all, life went on. In grade school,before her lungs failed, she went to school, playedsoccer, did gymnastics; in 2009, as a liberal artsmajor with a focus on legal studies, she graduatedfrom UMass Lowell—all because, she says, “Myparents would never allow us not to do somethingbecause of [the disease]. We just grew up with thatattitude.”

She is 26 today, and it is happening again. Herlungs are failing; she needs an oxygen machine tohelp her breathe. She will need two new, transplantedlungs to survive. This time, the doctors have said,they will have to come from a cadaver.

In January, she spent two weeks at the ClevelandClinic, a national leader in lung transplants, whereshe was evaluated for her level of need. Whilethere are others, with greater need, in line ahead ofher (“It all depends on how sick you are,” she ex-plains), they’ve told her that, if all goes as hoped,she should have her new lungs in four months to ayear.

Meanwhile, there is the matter or money. Thecost for the double-transplant is $650,000—plustravel and hospital care. Insurance may cover afraction, she says, but the bulk will fall on thefamily.

You get the feeling, talking to Ashley, that what-ever is needed will get done. “I’m definitely opti-mistic,” she says. “Definitely. I’ve been over a lot ofbumps already. This is just another one. I’ll getover this one too, for sure.”—GD


Ashley Dias: Taking Life One Breath,and One ‘Bump,’ at a Time

A L U M N I L I F E

The Surefire ThingYears ago, on campus for orientation, Jared Hancock hopped on the wrongtour bus. “I went to the wrong location, but ended up starting a conversationwith another guy on that bus who was, much like me, looking to pursue acareer in music.” Today, that guy, Brendan Brady, has been his businesspartner for a decade. The pair started Surefire Music Group, which hasprovided production and engineering services for the likes of Under Armour,Reebok, MTV, Bad Boy Records, Def Jam Records, Neyo, Missy Elliot and RickRoss. “We've been all over the world, reached Billboard charts multiple timesper year have been nominated for Soultrain and Grammy awards together,”Hanckock says. “And it all started on a wrong tour bus at UMass Lowell.”




Inmemoriam

In 2000, Mohamed Omar“chased the Americandream” all the way from hisnative Somalia to Portland,Maine.

For the engineer from So-malia, that initially meantvolunteering at Maine waste-water treatment plants forseveral months, putting hisdegrees in civil and environmental engineering togood use. He got his big break when he was offeredan entry-level position as an environmental engineerwith the Massachusetts Department of Environ-mental Protection in 2001.

A few years later, Omar took a job as an envi-ronmental management engineer at Harvard Uni-versity; while there, he enrolled in UMass Lowell’senvironmental risk assessment certificate programin the Department of Work Environment. Thatwent so well, he decided to pursue his doctoratedegree in cleaner production and pollution pre-vention from UMass Lowell while working fulltime and raising a young family.

“Mohamed had to do his doctoral work atnights and on weekends for years,” says Prof. Mar-garet Quinn. “He was a pleasure to work with,always hard working, focused, with a positive ap-proach to his work and his life. He overcame enor-mous language and cultural differences.”

Despite such challenges, Omar dove right intolife in the City of Lowell, where he lived with hisfamily. He was appointed commissioner of theCity of Lowell Green Building Commission, andvolunteered with a number of local charities, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusettsand City of Lowell Hunger and Homeless Com-mission.

All those experiences made it hard to leaveLowell, he says, but a new job as the manager ofenvironmental protection at King Abdullah Uni-versity of Science and Technology (KAUST) inSaudi Arabia was too good to pass up.

“KAUST has a beautiful campus on the RedSea and one of the largest certified green/LEEDplatinum projects in the world,” Omar says, addingthat he’ll never forget his time in Lowell.

“My education at UMass Lowell was an amazingexperience,” he says. “I consider Prof. Quinn, whowas my adviser, a great friend and supporter.”—KA

Mohamed Omar: Found theAmerican Dream in Lowell

WAYNE EDWARDS, former longtime athletic director atUMass Lowell, retired from his job as Shenandoah Univer-sity’s director of athletics, effective this June. Wayne hadcome out of early retirement to lead the Shenandoah Uni-versity Department of Athletics beginning in January 2010.During Wayne’s tenure, the baseball, softball, women’s crosscountry and women’s soccer teams all won conference titles.For softball and women’s soccer, those programs advancedto the NCAA playoffs for the first time in school history.He says he plans to return to work as a consultant on a part-time basis, conducting athletics program reviews foruniversities. “One of the reasons I decided to retire now is I have two sons who are full-grown and live on the West Coast,” he told a reporter recently. “I’ve seen my 5-year-old granddaughter twice in her life. I thought ifsomething were to happen, this would not be good.”

ed, he was given responsibilityfor managing all classroom instructors in Massachusetts,New Hampshire and RhodeIsland.

Barry Goers, defenseman forthe Las Vegas Wranglershockey team, is continuinghis quest to collect gentlyused cell phones to turn intocalling cards for troops sta-tioned overseas. This year,Barry and the Wranglersteamed up with Cell Phonesfor Soldiers. Barry’s brother isa Navy electrician who hasserved one tour overseas andis currently stationed on theUSS Abraham Lincoln. Hisbrother prompted Barry tostart collecting donated cellphones in his senior year atUMass Lowell. In 2010-11, more than 600 phones werecollected at Wranglers games.

Carter Hutton, an AmericanHockey League goalie whoplayed his college hockey forthe River Hawks, was nameda Reebok/AHL Player of theWeek in January. Carter, whoplays for the Rockford IceHogs, won the recognition for allowing only five goals in four starts (4-0-0) duringwhich he stopped 121 of 126 shots, giving Rockland its longest win streak of the season.

2011Edward Flaherty recently be-came a great grandfather. Hewent into the Air Force aftergraduating from high schoolin 1965. After getting out of

the service, he went toevening school and receivedhis associate’s degree in 1976.He then went back to schooland received his BLA in 2011alongside his grandson-in-law,Eric Smith.

2012Michael Kempesty has been appointed chief execu-tive officer of the American Red Cross Blood ServicesNorthern New England Region. Mike, who has 10years of experience with RedCross Blood Services in the Massachusetts region, will bebased in Manchester, N.H.

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Classnotes


A L U M N I L I F EInmemoriam

It was cold at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on themorning of Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1986. Unusually cold.

During the night, the temperature had dropped to as lowas 8 degrees Fahrenheit. By late morning it was only in the30s. And this posed a problem.

NASA was eager to launch the space shuttle Challenger,an event much publicized ahead of time, especially becauseone of the seven crew members would be a civilian, ChristaMcAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, N.H.

The launch originally had been scheduled for Jan. 22 butwas postponed that day and each of the following five days be-cause of weather and other problems. With the launch windowclosing and the press complaining about postponements,NASA wanted to avoid further delay.

Still, it was cold. Too cold, in the opinion of Roger Boisjoly.Dangerously cold.

Boisjoly, who earned a mechanical engi-neering degree at Lowell Tech in 1960,was a staff engineer for Morton Thiokol,the aerospace company that produced thesolid booster rockets that would hurl Chal-lenger into space.

In the months leading up to Jan. 28,Boisjoly had determined that extreme coldwould adversely affect the rubber O-rings

that formed a seal between two sections of the solid boosterrockets. Low temperatures would harden the rubber, he said,making it less flexible. This condition could allow hot gases to

escape through the damaged seals, creating a potentially dan-gerous situation.

Boisjoly was so concerned that, six months before theChallenger launch, he sent a memo to the company’s vicepresident of engineering to ensure that management was “fullyaware of the seriousness of the current O-ring erosion problem,”the result of which “would be a catastrophe of the highest or-der—the loss of human life.”

On the day before the scheduled launch, NASA officialsand Morton Thiokol management discussed the O-ring matterand, again, Boisjoly registered his serious concerns. Regardless,the decision was made to proceed.

At 11:38 the next morning, the Challenger spacecraftroared clear of launch pad 39B. In slightly more than 52seconds, a “well defined intense plume” of exhaust was seenon the side of one of the booster rockets. Twenty-one secondslater, pilot Michael Smith said, “Uh oh”—the last recordedwords from the crew. The O-rings had failed. Structural break-up of the craft had begun.

The crew cabin crashed into the ocean two minutes and45 seconds later. There were no survivors.

President Ronald Reagan appointed a commission to reviewthe disaster. Boisjoly and a colleague appeared before thatbody and testified regarding their opposition to the launchand management’s decision to override their recommendation.The commission subsequently placed the blame for the faultyO-rings on Morton Thiokol. Company CEO Charles Lockelater said the matter should have been referred to headquartersand that “we’d never have given clearance” for the launch.

Boisjoly’s honesty and courage came at a price. After testifying before the commission, he was shunned by

company colleagues and managers and removed from spaceproject assignments. He suffered from depression and tookmedical leave for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The sole gesture of support came from Sally Ride, the firstwoman in space. She gave him a hug after he testified. “Shewas the only one,” he later said. “The only one.”

Boisjoly resigned from Morton Thiokol soon afterward,started his own business in forensic engineering and delivereda series of more than 300 lectures about organizational behavior,ethics and professionalism to corporate, professional andacademic audiences.

Hailed as a “whistle blower” for his efforts to avert theChallenger tragedy, he received a host of accolades, includinga Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Lowellin 1987; a Presidential Award from the National Space Societyfor Professional Integrity and Personal Courage; and, ironically,a certificate of appreciation from NASA for his support in theChallenger disaster investigation.

Roger Boisjoly, born in Lowell on April 25, 1938, diedJanuary 6 in Nephi, Utah, at the age of 73. He is survived byhis wife, Roberta, two daughters, and brothers Ronald, Russell’72 and Richard ’73.

Russell Boisjoly, in a eulogy for his brother, said, “Rogerwas a close friend, a confidant, and an advisor, and he hasbecome an icon of what it truly means to be an engineer.” �

Boisjoly warnedMorton Thiokol of a problem that would result in “a catastrophe of the highest order— the loss of human life.”

By Jack McDonough

Roger Boisjoly ’60, Who Tried to Avert the Challenger Disaster, Dies at Age 73

NA

SA

imag

e


1927 Josephine Dimauro Delva1928 Ruth Walker Frank1935 Roberta Small Lang1937 Mary Josephine O'Donnell Leahey1939 Evelyna Anderson Davis1939 James Patsourakos1941 Frances Fitzgerald McGuane1944 Helen Garrity1945 Charlotte Cronin Quinn1948 Peter McKone Jr1948 Kathleen Geary Morris1949 Manuel Affler1950 Walter Flister1951 William Menzies Jr.1952 John Cronin

1953 William Hewson Jr.1953 Robert Mulcahy1953 Karl Woodman1954 Norma McCabe Macomber1955 Frances Ryan Fahy1956 Gerald Richard1957 Edward Novick1959 Paul Carroll1960 Roger Boisjoly1960 Robert Surette1961 Peter Gabriel1961 Kenneth Joncas1962 Alan Kaplan1962 John McDavitt Jr.1964 Joan-Ellen Simeone Takesian

DeceasedYEAR* NAME YEAR* NAME YEAR* NAME YEAR* NAME

In September, the University Gallery at UMass Lowell hosted “Myths and Mysteries of the Heart, Brenda Atwood Pinardi: A Retrospective," a memorial exhibition honoring the life and career of Professor Emeritus Brenda Atwood Pinardi (1941-2010). All sale proceeds of Pinardi's work from the exhibit were donated by her husband, Enrico Pinardi, to the newly established Brenda Atwood Pinardi Scholarship. As a companion exhibition, the Art Department hosted a tribute show in the Dugan Gallery, “In Remembrance: A Tribute to Brenda Atwood Pinardi," which included donated artworks from alumni, faculty and friends. Between the two events, more than $27,000 wasraised for the scholarship.

A L U M N I L I F EInmemoriam

1979 Daniel Koch1980 George Burnham Jr1980 Barry Keating1982 Cynthia Leavy-Feth1982 Paula Legg1986 Ping Ku1990 Robert Ruel1994 Bruce Aberle1994 John Hill1996 Monica Schneider Allen2002 Brett Romanoski2010 Charles SaultersFaculty Daniel Neylon

*Year of graduation

In Retrospect

1966 Roger McLeod1967 Louise Cedergren Seaborne1968 Margaret Cotter Ochs1969 Diane Notini Loughran1970 Elizabeth Dufresne1970 Edwin Tree1973 John Morley1973 Deborah Viens1975 Gerald McElroy1975 Roger Paquette1977 Michael Ness1977 Richard Proulx1977 Gary Rust1977 Anthony Silva1978 Arthur Nolan Jr.


UMass Lowell’s earliest predecessor, the Lowell Normal School, was housed entirely in Coburn Hall, shown here in 1897.

Then...


Now...Today, the campus spans 150 acres along the Merrimack River in three campus clusters featuring*:• 4 brand new multimillion-dollar facilities• The Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell• The UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center• Total renovations to the libraries, Bellegarde Boathouse,

University Crossing (the former St. Joseph’s Hospital) and Fox Hall

*Includes completed, underway and soon-to-be-launched projects.

Office of Alumni RelationsSouthwick Hall 250One University Ave. Lowell, MA 01854-2882

Change Service Requested

NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGEPAID

PERMIT 69LOWELL, MA 01854

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Learning with Purpose

Documents

MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS UMass Lowell State ...People like Billy Joel, who chose to visit UMass Lowell over hundreds of other colleges clamoring for him. Or alum - nus Greg