The University of Massachusetts Lowell (also known as
UMass Lowell) is an urban public research
university in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States,
and part of the University of Massachusetts
system. With nearly 1,200 faculty members and 17,500 students, it
is the largest university in the Merrimack Valley and the second-largest
public institution in the state behind UMass Amherst.[4]
The university offers 120 bachelor's, 39 master's and 33
doctoral degree programs, including nationally recognized programs
in engineering, criminal justice, education, music, science and
technology.[2]
Academically, UMass Lowell is organized into six schools and
colleges: College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences;
College of Health Sciences; College of Sciences; the Francis
College of Engineering; the Graduate School of Education; and the
Manning School of
Business.[5]
History
The University of Massachusetts Lowell owes its origins to two
institutions founded in the 1890s: Lowell State College on the south side
of the Merrimack River, and Lowell Technological
Institute on the north side. Each would follow its own path of
expansion through the 20th century.[6]
Lowell
State College
Lowell State College got its start as the Lowell Normal School,
which was chartered in 1894 as a teacher training institution for
women. The 10th and final normal school to be established in
Massachusetts, it opened in 1898 with 108 students and five faculty
members. The original classroom building opened the next year at
the corner of Broadway and Wilder streets, and quickly became a
landmark in the city.[7]
Designed by local firm Stickney & Austin, it reflects the
fashion of the time: high-style Beaux Arts with
classical symmetry, arches, cast-iron lampposts and yellow brick.
Its design was influenced in part by Lowell High School,
which was also designed by Lowell native Frederick W. Stickney. Frank Coburn,
for whom the hall was later named, served as the school's first
principal until 1908.[8]
After being threatened with closure during the Great Depression,
school administrators rallied local support to help keep it open. A
delegation of prominent individuals representing Lowell's powerful
interest groups traveled to Boston and convinced state officials of
the school's importance. The result was that the school not only
survived but continued to grow and expand. In 1950, Dr. Daniel
O'Leary assumed the presidency and initiated an ambitious building
program. The physical plant of the campus expanded during post-war
era from a single structure to a multi-building complex, forming an
area now known as UMass Lowell's South Campus.[9]
As the demand for more qualified teachers grew, the legislature
reorganized the Normal School into Lowell State College in 1960 with a
curriculum that expanded beyond education to include baccalaureate
degrees in other fields including nursing and music. Beginning in
1967, the college was authorized to confer two more degrees: Master
of Education and Master of Music Education.[10]
Lowell Technological
Institute
World War I era photo of Southwick and Kitson Hall
Established in 1895 as the Lowell Textile School, the
institution was founded to train technicians and managers for work
in Lowell’s booming textile industry. Modeled after the
now-defunct Polytechnic College of
Pennsylvania, Lowell Textile was the combined effort of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and corporations eager to form a
school dedicated to textile education. Under the guidance of
founder James T. Smith, Lowell Textile opened its doors in February
1897 in the upper floors of a downtown commercial block located on
Middle Street. The school offered three-year training programs in
cotton and wool manufacturing, design, textile chemistry and
dyeing.[11]
In 1903, the school moved from downtown to its permanent
location just northwest of the Merrimack River. The yellow brick
mill-like Southwick Hall was dedicated to Royal and Dierexa
Southwick. Grandparents of the wealthy businessman Frederick Ayer, the Southwicks were Quakers and abolitionists who came to Lowell in the
1820s to help establish the Lowell Carpet Company. Ten years later,
the school granted its first bachelor's degrees in textile dyeing
and textile engineering.[12]
In 1953, President Martin Lydon expanded the curriculum to
include programs in plastics, leather, paper, and electronics
technology, increased the liberal arts offerings and renamed the
school the Lowell Technological Institute.[13]
He moved the institute decisively toward general engineering,
setting up a bachelor’s program in 1956. The textile program
was closed in 1971, reflecting the closure of most of the mills in
the city.[14]
Merger
In 1972, a feasibility study was conducted on merging Lowell
State College with Lowell Technological Institute.[15]
Lowell State and Lowell Tech merged in 1975 as the University of
Lowell. In 1991, the Lowell campus joined the University of
Massachusetts system under its current name.[16]
Under Chapter 142, the UMass system was restructured to combine the
Amherst, Boston, and Worcester campuses with
the University of Lowell and Southeastern Massachusetts University (now
UMass Dartmouth).[17]
Academics
Cumnock Hall - University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell has an acceptance rate of
63.9%,[18]
a freshman retention rate of 86 percent, a four-year graduation
rate of 30 percent, and a six-year graduation rate of 54
percent.[19]
The average combined SAT score (Critical Reading and Math) for
incoming freshmen for fall 2015 was 1179, up more than 100 points
since 2007 and 22 points since fall 2014, and the average entering
GPA was a 3.54, up from 3.18 eight years ago.[19]
The University of Massachusetts Lowell offers more than 150
fully accredited academic programs — 122 undergraduate, 43
master's and 36 doctoral—in nine schools and colleges. It is
one of a few public universities in the United States to offer
accredited undergraduate degrees in meteorology, sound recording technology, nuclear
engineering, and plastics engineering. It was the first to offer a
degree in music education.
Manning School of Business
The Robert J. Manning School of Business offers bachelor's, graduate certificate,
master's, and PhD programs in a variety of disciplines,
including accounting, entrepreneurship, finance,
international business, management, management information systems, marketing and supply chain and operations management.[20]
The school has more than 1,900 undergraduate students, more than
700 graduate students and more than 80 full-time faculty
members.[21]
The school is fully accredited by the Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).[22]
The Manning School of Business is
named after Robert J. Manning, the chairman and CEO of MFS Investment Management.[23]
The school was named after Manning, a 1984 graduate of UMass
Lowell, after he and his wife donated $5 million in 2011.[24]
A new home for the Manning School, the Pulichino Tong Business
Building, is under construction and is scheduled to open in
2017.[25]
The building is named after alumnus John Pulichino and his wife,
Joy Tong, who contributed $4 million in 2012 for student
scholarships.[26]
The school is housed in Falmouth Hall and Pasteur Hall on the
university's North Campus.
The Manning School of Business houses
multiple, nationally ranked degree programs, including the
part-time and online MBA programs.[27]
The school's undergraduate program is also nationally ranked by
U.S. News & World Report. The Princeton Review lists the
Manning School of Business as one
of their best 296 business schools.[28]
Southwick Hall - University of Massachusetts Lowell
Francis College of
Engineering
The Francis College of Engineering is internationally recognized
for applied research and for several programs focused on "on the
rise" technologies (e.g., the field of nanotechnology). UMass
Lowell has a radiation
laboratory with a research reactor and Van de Graaff
accelerator that provides students with real-world experience in
particle physics, nuclear engineering and health physics. The college also boasts a
baseball research center that is the official
testing center for Major League Baseball.
The college is named after James B. Francis, a world-renowned
hydraulic engineer who began his career in Lowell during the
Industrial Revolution.[29]
The college is home to more than 100 full-time faculty members and
14 research centers
[30] The college is ranked No.
129 by U.S. News and
World Report.[31]
College of Health Sciences
The College of Health Sciences is a leader in fields such as
work environment and clinical lab sciences. The School of Nursing,
elevated from a department as of June 1, 2013, and the School of
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, approved in 2015, are housed
within College of Health Sciences. The college has more than 2,100
undergraduate students, 409 graduate students, 82 faculty members
and six research centers.[32]
The college offers seven signature degree and certificate programs,
including the only doctorate of physical therapy degree program (DPT)
offered by a public institution in Massachusetts. The new School of
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will offer the only programs
of their kind at a public institution in the Commonwealth. The
graduate nursing program is ranked No. 127 while the graduate
physical therapy program is ranked No. 99 in the nation according
to U.S. News and
World Report.[33]
College of
Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
includes the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, as well as
signature programs including sound recording technology, music
business, peace and conflict studies, security studies and more.
The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is largest
college at UMass Lowell and offers 24 undergraduate and graduate
degree programs and houses seven centers and institutes, including
the Kerouac Center for Public Humanities.[34]
Graduate School of
Education
The Graduate School of Education offers master's and doctoral
degree programs and an undergraduate minor. The school includes 13
tenure-track faculty members and four clinical faculty
members.[35]
The school has a 100 percent pass rate on the Massachusetts Tests
for Educator Licensure. The online graduate education program is
ranked No. 68 in the nation according to U.S. News and
World Report.[33]
William J. and
John F. Kennedy College of Sciences
The William J. and John F. Kennedy College of Sciences offers
degree and certificate programs in biological sciences, bio-chem
informatics, chemistry, computer science, environmental, earth and
atmospheric sciences, mathematical sciences, physics and applied
physics and robotics. The college's faculty numbers more than 100.
Research centers associated with the college include the New
England Robotics Validation and Testing Center (NERVE), one of the
most advanced robotics testing facilities in the nation.[36]
The graduate chemistry program is ranked No. 148 and the graduate
Physics program is ranked No. 131 in the nation by U.S. News
and World Report.[33]
Rankings
U.S. News & World Report
ranks UMass Lowell No. 156 on its top-tier National Universities
list in the Best Colleges of 2015. UMass Lowell is one of only six
institutions to advance in the standings every year since 2010 and
the university's four-year, 27-spot gain in the ranking is the
second-fastest in the nation.[42]
U.S. News & World Report also named UMass Lowell No. 84 in the
top public universities and second among public universities in
Massachusetts.[42]
Washington Monthly ranked UMass Lowell No.
170 nationally for 2014, representing a 24-spot jump from
2013.[43][44]
Forbes ranked UMass Lowell No. 176 among research
universities and No. 465 overall. The Times Higher Education World
University Rankings placed the entire University of Massachusetts
system at No. 91 in the world.[45]
UMass Lowell is known for having one of the highest returns on
investment (ROI)in the country for its graduates. Forbes ranked UMass Lowell as the 10th best value
amongst all universities and colleges nationwide for 2013 and
fourth best value among non-military academies.[46]
UMass Lowell is one of just 75 institutions in the nation whose
graduates have a 30-year net ROI of more than $1 million. The
university is in the top 1 percent in the United States for ROI,
according to Affordable Colleges Online, which also placed UMass
Lowell at No. 10 nationally.[47]
Similarly, PayScale.com found that UMass Lowell provides the 10th
best ROI among 437 public universities in the U.S. and 50th out of
1,060 colleges and universities for 2013.[48]
PayScale also ranked UMass Lowell 40th in the Northeast Region for
highest mid-career salary among graduates of state universities
($95,100) and 80th overall (tied with Boston College).[46]
UMass Lowell's Francis College of Engineering is ranked No. 140
in the country for graduate engineering programs, No. 122 in
electrical engineering and No. 85 in computer engineering.
UMass Lowell's Manning School of Business is ranked No. 86 for
its part-time MBA program while the undergraduate program is ranked
in the top 100, according to U.S. News & World Report.[49]
UMass Lowell's Graduate School of Education is ranked No. 103 in
the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.
[50]
UMass Lowell's online program ranked sixth in the U.S. overall
among online colleges on Guide to Online Schools’ 2013 Online
College Rankings.[51]
The university's Division of Online and Continuing Education has
been recognized by the Online Learning Consortium (formerly the
Sloan Consortium) for the quality in teaching and academics for its
online programs. UMass Lowell offers 45 fully online graduate and
undergraduate degree and certificate programs.[52]
UMass Lowell has been listed as one of the most underrated
colleges in America on multiple occasions. In 2013, Business
Insider named UMass Lowell as the "Most Underrated College in
America." The 2015 edition has named UMass Lowell as the second
most underrated college in the U.S. behind NJIT.[53][54]
Student
life
Student
activities
UMass Lowell mellophone player
UMass Lowell has more than 200 student-run
organizations.[55]
Of those, the seven largest are funded directly from the student
activities fee (other registered student organizations have budgets
granted through the Student Government Association). They are:
Greek
life
Athletics
Tsongas Center - University of Massachusetts Lowell
LeLacheur Park, with the Merrimack River in the background, taken
from the top of Fox Hall
UMass Lowell athletic teams compete in a variety of men's and
women's sports in Division I. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf,
ice hockey, track and field, and soccer. Women's sports are basketball, cross
country, track and field, field hockey, soccer, rowing, softball, and volleyball. The university will add men's and
women's lacrosse next year.[56]
As of July 1, 2013, 14 of UMass Lowell's Division II teams moved up to Division I,
joining the America East Conference. The River
Hawks formerly competed in the Northeast-10 Conference at the
Division II level. Past champions include the 1988 men's basketball
team, the 1991 men's cross country team, the ice hockey team (three
times) and the field hockey team twice (2005, 2010). The 2010 field
hockey team finished its season with a perfect 24-0 record.
The university's men's ice
hockey team plays in the Hockey East Association and plays its home games
at the Tsongas
Center at UMass Lowell. In 2013, the men's hockey team won the
Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships and
advanced to the NCAA Division I Championship "Frozen Four," all for
the first time in the university's history.[57]
The men's hockey team repeated as Hockey East champions in 2014
while advancing to the NCAA Division
I Men's Ice Hockey Championship for the third straight year and
sixth time overall. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the only Hockey
East player to receive the league tournament's Most Valuable Player
Award in two consecutive years, earning the honor in 2013 and
2014.[58]
The nickname "River Hawks" came about during the school's
transition from the University of Lowell to UMass Lowell and was
inspired by the campus's location along 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.
University demographics
Total enrollment for the 2014-2015 academic year is
17,184.[2]
In-state enrollment represents 87.6 percent of undergraduates and
58.4 percent of graduate students. International students make up
2.8 percent of the undergraduate population and 21.7 percent of the
graduate population. Students of color represent 27 percent of the
total undergraduate population and 18 percent of the graduate
population. The male-female ratio, in 2012, was 61/39 for
undergraduates[59]
and 52/48 for the graduate population. The total enrollment has
increased 48 percent since 2007 and UMass Lowell is now the
second-largest campus in the University of Massachusetts
system.
Located in the historic industrial city of Lowell, 25 miles
(40 km) northwest of Boston, the campus is located on both
sides of 150 acres (0.61 km2) the Merrimack River.
UMass Lowell has three campus clusters: North, South and East. The
university has increased student housing by more than 1,800 beds in
the last four years, including opening two new, all-suites
residence halls in August 2013.
Recent
developments
-
University Suites at UMass Lowell
-
Wannalancit Mills at UMass Lowell
-
Recreation Center on East Campus
-
Eames Hall, future site of the Pulichino Tong Business
Building
-
Construction of the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies
and Innovation Center
UMass Lowell and the city reached an agreement in 2009 for the
school to acquire the Tsongas Arena and the 3 acres
(12,000 m2) of land adjacent to it. The transfer
was finalized in February 2010 and the venue was renamed the
Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.[60]
The university bought the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Lowell in
2009. Now called the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, the
building includes student housing, year-round lodging for the
public and is home to events for the university and community, a
restaurant called 50 Warren that is open to the public year-round,
business and cultural programs, conferences and more.[61]
The university broke ground in June 2010 on the Mark and Elisia
Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, the first new
academic building built from the ground up on campus in 30 years.
The building—originally called just the "Emerging
Technologies and Innovation Center" or "ETIC," is located on the
former site of Smith Hall (demolished in July 2010) -- cost $80
million to construct with funding from a variety of sources
including the state, federal government, alumni and other private
donors. On March 30, 2011, the university held a topping-off
ceremony marking the completion of the ETIC's steel frame. The
ceremony also included the opening of a time capsule that was
placed in the cornerstone of Smith Hall during its 1947
construction, as well as the compilation of a new time capsule to
be included in the Saab Center. The building's grand opening was on
Oct. 11, 2012.[62]
The center was renamed as the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging
Technologies and Innovation Center in December 2012 in honor of the
Lowell couple's generous support for the building and the
university overall.[63]
In January 2011, the university announced that it had acquired
the former St. Joseph's Hospital in Lowell for $6.3 million. The
complex, renamed University Crossing, consisted of approximately
300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) of developable
space. In the summer of 2014, the university completed the
construction of a new student center at the site that includes a
cafe and bookstore open to the public and a single location for all
student services and activities. The University Police and most
administrative functions are located in an existing, renovated
building at University Crossing. The complex is located near the
university's North, South and East campuses and serves as a central
point uniting all three.[64]
The university broke ground in April 2011 on the new Health and
Social Sciences Building on South Campus. Construction of the
building was completed in spring 2013 and it officially opened with
a ceremony on April 18, 2013. The 69,000-square-foot
(6,400 m2) building, construction of which was
funded by the state's Higher Education Bond Bill of 2008, is home
to the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, School of Nursing
and Department of Psychology, which include some of the
university's most popular majors.[65]
In November 2011, the university broke ground on a $16 million
parking garage on North Campus. The garage is a six-story,
650-space parking facility that opened in Fall 2012.[66]
A second new garage was built on South Campus and opened for the
Fall 2013 semester.
In January 2012, construction of a new residence hall on East
Campus, later named University Suites, began with the demolition of
the former Institute for Plastics Innovation Building. The
suite-style residence hall opened in August 2013 and houses 472
students. It also features the Hawk's Nest, a cafe that is open to
the public; a multipurpose room; learning commons and other
amenities. An apartment-style residence hall, Riverview Suites,
also opened for the fall 2013 semester and was constructed by a
developer on private property adjacent to the university's South
Campus. The second phase of Riverview Suites, which features
traditional suite-style housing, opened for the fall 2015 semester
and includes a wing with academic and research space for students
in health-related majors.
In May 2012, it was announced that a new building to house the
Manning School of Business will be erected in the name of alumnus
John Pulichino '67 and his wife, Joy Tong, who donated $4 million
for student scholarships. The new Pulichino Tong Business Building
will offer students a world-class business education with top
facilities, including a state-of-the-art trading room. A ceremony
to break ground on the building was held in May 2014. The building
is expected to be completed in 2017.[67]
On October 26, 2015 the 'Lowell Sun newspaper reported that the
city of Lowell and the University of Massachusetts Lowell reached
an agreement that secured a $13.4 million federal grant allowing
for the repair and replacement of eight small bridges essential for
the betterment of campus transportation efficiency. Buses
connecting South campus to both North and East campuses have
historically taken long detours due to weight requirements or
traffic constraints on those bridges, which have been privately
owned.[68]
Notable
alumni
Current UMass President, former UMass Lowell Chancellor and former
U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan
Former NHL player and current GM and coach Craig MacTavish
- Bonnie Comley, Broadway and film producer
- Jerry Bergonzi, jazz musician
- Michael Casey, poet
- Craig Charron, former professional ice hockey
player
- Christopher J. Coyne, bishop of
Burlington, Vermont
- Roger W. Cressey, former U.S. National Security
Council staff, president of Good Harbor Consulting Group
- Edson deCastro, president
and founder, Data General Corporation
- Jeff Daw, former NHL player with the Colorado Avalanche
- Scott Fankhouser, former NHL player with the Atlanta Thrashers
- Sean Garballey, (B.A.), member of the Mass. House of
Representatives (served 2008-present)
- Ron
Hainsey, NHL player with the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Atlanta Thrashers and the Winnipeg Jets
- Harish Hande, social entrepreneur who is
expanding solar energy across India
- Ben Holmstrom, professional hockey player with
teams including the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers
- Carter Hutton, professional hockey player
currently with the Nashville Predators of the NHL
- Dean Jenkins, former NHL hockey player with the Los Angeles Kings
- Greg Koehler, former NHL hockey player with the Carolina Hurricanes
- Mark
Kumpel, member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Hockey team and former
NHL player with the Quebec Nordiques and the Winnipeg Jets
- Michael R. Lane, 15th president of Emporia State University; now
dean of the School of Business at Missouri Western State
University
- Mike LaValliere former Major League Baseball catcher and Gold
Glove award winner
- Craig MacTavish, former NHL player with Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers and former coach of the
Edmonton Oilers, where he serves as senior vice president.
- Marty Meehan, former congressman (served
1993 -
2007), former UMass Lowell chancellor, 2007–2015, and
current University of Massachusetts
System president, 2015–present.
- Rich Miner, creator of Wildfire, co-founder
of Android Inc., and investment partner on the Google Ventures
team
- Jon Morris. former NHL player with
the New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins
- John Ogonowski, pilot of American Airlines Flight 11
on September 11, 2001
- John Pinette, comedian
- Dwayne Roloson, former NHL player with the
Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers
- Bob
Squires, guitarist
- Thelma Todd, movie actress
- John Traphagan, Professor of Religious Studies
and Mitsubishi Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin,
Trustee of SETI International, blogger for the Huffington Post
- Ben Walter. former NHL player with the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils
- Scott Waugh. physical therapist with the
Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox and director at the Massachusetts General
Hospital Sports Physical Therapy Service
- Jack Weinstein, U.S. Air Force Major
General
- Shelagh Donohoe, Olympic Silver Medalist in
Women's Rowing
Notable
faculty
- Eunice Alberts, opera and concert singer
- Arno Rafael Minkkinen, fine art
photographer
- Andre Dubus III, bestselling author
- Richard Farrell, author, filmmaker, teacher
and journalist
- Jack M. Wilson, former UMass president
- George Chigas, Khmer scholar and author of the first English
translation of The Story of Tum
Teav
- Mitra
Das, Sociology scholar focused on Peace & Conflict Studies,
Technology and Values, Immigration and Food & Culture