University of Massachusetts Lowell
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| University of Massachusetts Lowell | |
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| Established: | 1894 Lowell Normal School 1895 Lowell Textile School 1955 Lowell Technological Institute (renamed) 1975 University of Lowell (merger) 1991 UMass Lowell (renaming) |
| Type: | Public |
| Chancellor: | Marty Meehan |
| President: | Jack M. Wilson |
| Faculty: | 359 full-time 224 part-time & visiting |
| Undergraduates: | 11,231 (2008) |
| Postgraduates: | 2,248 (2008) |
| Location: | Lowell, Massachusetts, USA 42°38′34″N 71°20′04″W / 42.642716°N 71.334530°WCoordinates: 42°38′34″N 71°20′04″W / 42.642716°N 71.334530°W |
| Campus: | Urban 125 acres/500,000 m² |
| Colors: | Blue, White & Red |
| Nickname: | River Hawks |
| Mascot: | Rowdy the River Hawk |
| Website: | www.uml.edu |
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell, UML) is one of five University of Massachusetts campuses. Located in Lowell, Massachusetts, it is the largest university in the Merrimack Valley.
UMass Lowell was named the University of Lowell from 1975 to 1991. It was created from the merger of the Lowell Technological Institute and Lowell State College in 1975. These colleges in turn were originally named the Lowell Textile School, founded in 1895 to train technicians and managers for the textile industry, and the Lowell Normal School, founded in 1894 to train new teachers.
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[edit] Academics
UMass Lowell is well-known for its science and engineering programs; including several "on the rise" technologies in the field of dichotomy and "logical guessing". It was the first university in the United States to offer a bachelor's degree in plastics engineering, and it is one of a few public universities in the United States to offer a degree in meteorology. UMass Lowell is also the first university to offer a masters in sound recording technology (SRT). The undergraduate SRT program has been consistently recognized as one of the best in the nation.
[edit] Toxic Use Reduction Institute
[edit] Termination of Funding and Controversy
Despite costing less than $1.5 million, Massachusetts State Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos defended his vote in the Legislature in a July 1, 2009 Boston Globe article to terminate funds from the State's revenues to fund TURI, the Toxic Use Reduction Institute . The Senator argued it was not to end the lab, suggesting UMass-Lowell would fund it eventually. Yet the University denied the claim. And in a July 5, 2009 Letter to the Editor, one reader pointed to the Senator as previously cutting the same University's budget amid a time of economic prosperity for the state, and that the lab "profits more than it costs." This is due to it netting a net profit to the State's revenue, through fines and fees from regulated businesses, than it costs the state to operate the lab.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- The University has been ranked as an intensive doctoral/research university by the Carnegie Foundation and received a category one ranking, the highest possible, from the American Association of University Professors.[1]
- The Francis College of Engineering's Assistive Technology Program, which focuses on developing devices which improve quality of life for the disabled, has won numerous state and national awards for design excellence and community service.
- All of the programs in the College of Management are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the highest level of business school accreditation. The College of Management has been fully accredited since 1987, and the most recent AACSB reaffirmation of accreditation occurred in December 2005.
- The school continues to make advancements in its Master's degree program in energy engineering with renowned solar and nuclear specialties. The Energy Engineering Department has been leading the University in its eco-friendly attempts to cut greenhouse gases, in February 2006, switching to wind powered electricity in some *dormitories.[2]
- The Mechanical Engineering Department has a Baseball Research Center which is the official certification center for baseball bats used by the NCAA and Major League Baseball.[3] The center has received grants from Major League Baseball to do comparison testing on regular season and World Series baseballs.[4]
- The nanotechnology program within the University was honored in 2004 by the John Adams Innovation Institute with a $5 million award for the creation of the UMass Lowell Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence.
- The Master's program in criminal justice is ranked one of the best in the nation by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in their Guide to Graduate Programs in Criminal Justice and Criminology, and one of seven regional programs with an eligible Master's program under the Quinn Bill.[5]
- UMass Lowell is also known for its VLSI graduate program, Plastic engineering program, Chemical/Nuclear Engineering program, and its new Nano-technology and Nano-Manufacturing Center. The Francis College of Engineering Programs at UMass Lowell are also accredited by ABET.
- The university maintains the state-of-the-art Radiation Laboratory, complete with a research reactor and Van de Graaff particle accelerator. This facility provides experimental platforms for nuclear, biological, materials testing and other scientific fields. The Radiation Laboratory also allows students in the Radiological Sciences and Protection Program to gain experience in the practical aspects of radiation safety.
- The Work Environment Department, in The School of Health and Environment, is a leading Occupational Safety and Health program which is known internationally. They offer degrees in Occupational Ergonomics, Industrial Hygiene, and Sustainable Production.
[edit] Student Life
[edit] Student Organizations
[edit] The Big Seven
The Big Seven are the main organizations on campus funded directly from the student activities fee. Generally, they are the largest and most well-funded organizations on campus; other student organizations have budgets granted through the Student Government Association. They are:
- Student Government Association (SGA)
- The UMass Lowell Connector (student newspaper)
- WUML (student-run radio station)
- Campus Activities Programming Association (CAPA)
- Off-Broadway Players (student theater group)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell Marching Band
- Sojourn (student-run yearbook)
[edit] Other Clubs
Some of the other student organizations include:
- Association for Students of African Origin (ASAO)
- Audio Engineering Society (AES)
- Biology Club
- Coalition for Social Reform (CSR) [3]
- College Bowl
- Game Developers Group [4]
- Haitian Student Association
- The UML History Club
- Indian Students Association (ISA)
- International Relations Club (Model UN)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Latin American Students Association (LASA)
- Magik (Masters gaming konnection)
- Muslim Student Association (MSA)
- Music and Entertainment Industry Students Association (MEISA)
- Music Educators National Conference (MENC)
- Nurses without Borders
- Pre-Law Society
- Psychology Club
- Shotokan Karate Club
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers [5]
- Society of Physics Students (SPS)
- Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE)
- Spectrum (gay/straight alliance)
- STAN (Students Taking Action Now)
[edit] Building
[edit] Academic Buildings
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East Campus
North Campus
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South Campus
West Campus (closed)
Off Campus
Downtown |
[edit] Housing Buildings
Eight residence halls on campus house just over 2300 residents, including 68% of the freshmen class according to the official web site. In addition, the university owns two apartment complexes located at East Meadow Lane which houses graduates, students with families, and 21+ undergraduates. There is a total of 2600 students living on campus. The rest of the students are located at the Raddison Hotel in Nashua. The university leased three floors to handle the overflow of students. The remaining students are in various apartments near the city that were leased as well.
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East Campus
North Campus
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South Campus
Off Campus Apartments
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[edit] Student Operated On-Campus Services
- EMS (Emergency Medical Service)
- Transportation Services
- SIC (Student Information Center)
[edit] Sports
UMass Lowell athletic teams compete in a variety of sports. Men and women compete in Division II, with the exception of men's hockey, which competes in Division I. The men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, track and field, and soccer. The women's sports are basketball, cross country, track and field, field hockey, soccer, rowing, softball, and volleyball. The University's men's hockey team plays in the Hockey East conference, and use Tsongas Arena as their home ice. Past champions include the 1988 men's basketball team, the 1991 men's cross country team, the ice hockey team (three times), and the 2005 field hockey team.
The nickname "River Hawks" came about during the school's transition into UMass Lowell, and was inspired by the campus's location by the Merrimack River. The University of Lowell's nickname was the Chiefs, which was abandoned in favor of the current name. A campus-wide poll was conducted for student input and final candidates included the Ospreys and the Raging Rapids, according to the Connector student newspaper.
[edit] University Demographics
2008 enrollment totals were 13,479 students, composed of 11,231 undergraduate students and 2,248 graduate students. In-state enrollment totals 92% of undergraduates and 71% of graduate students. International students are 1% of the undergraduate population and 14% of the graduate population. Students of color are 21% of the total undergraduate population and 18% of the graduate population. The male-female ratio is 60%/40% for undergraduates and 52%/48% for the graduate population. The total enrollment is up by twenty percent from 2007. [6]
[edit] Recent Developments
UMass Lowell and the city have reached an agreement for the school to take over the Tsongas Arena and the three acres adjacent to it. The land, which has the Lowell Police maintenance facility will be used as stated by Chancellor Meehan as a boutique hotel. The school has bought the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Lowell. It will be used for student housing and to house major events for the university. The building will be called the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center.
The school plans on tearing down Smith Hall during the summer of 2009 to make way for the new Emerging Technologies Innovation Center. The building will be the first academic building built in thirty years. The building will cost seventy million dollars with half of the funding coming from the state. There is also an academic building being planned for UML South. It will house disciplines from humanities and the social sciences. Chancellor Meehan has stated the building will open in 2012. It will be a forty million dollar building with twenty-six million coming from the state.
[edit] Notable alumni and former students
- Jerry Bergonzi, jazz saxophonist
- Michael Casey, poet
- Craig Charron, Professional Ice Hockey Player
- Roger W. Cressey Former US National Security Council Staff, President of Good Harbor Consulting Group
- Edson deCastro, President and Founder, Data General Corporation
- Brian S. Dempsey, (B.A.), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1990 - present)
- Mark Eshbaugh, Artist, Author, Musician and former professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Christopher G. Fallon, (M.S. 1978), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1996 - present)
- Sean Garballey, (B.A.), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 2008 - present)
- Colleen M. Garry, (B.S.), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1995 - present)
- Thomas A. Golden, Jr., (B.S.) and (MBA), member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1995 - present)
- Ron Hainsey, Professional Ice Hockey Player
- Craig MacTavish, Professional Ice Hockey Player and Coach
- Marty Meehan, Congressman (served 1993 - 2007) and current chancellor
- John Ogonowski, Pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11/2001
- John Pinette, Comedian
- Dwayne Roloson, Professional Ice Hockey Player
- Robert Silvers, Photomosaic artist
- Thelma Todd, movie actress
- John Traphagan, Former Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and professor of Religious Studies and Anthropology
[edit] Notable faculty
- Eunice Alberts, renowned opera and concert singer
[edit] References
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This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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- ^ [1] (broken link)
- ^ Chabot, Hillary UML Earns Green Energy Honors, Lowell Sun, May 3, 2006
- ^ Jennifer Hanson University Tests Baseballs Used in Playoff Games, UML press release, October 11, 2007;
- ^ [2]
- ^ program description, Massachusetts Department of Education website. Retrieved 2009-05-16;
- ^ Lowell (link inactive)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- UML Homepage
- Official UML Map.
- Unofficial UML blog.
- UML Athletics
- UML Center for Lowell History
- Society or Hispanic Professional Engineers at UML
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