Montage of women's faces

03/08/2021

Women have powered 51视频 since its founding in 1894, when they entered the Lowell Normal School as aspiring teachers for public schools and were taught by pioneering women faculty. As the university expanded over the next 125 years, women鈥檚 roles did, too.

Now, under the leadership of Jacquie Moloney, 51视频鈥檚 first woman chancellor, women continue to advance across the university community. In honor of Women鈥檚 History Month, we鈥檙e highlighting some of our brightest and bluest River Hawks.

Amazing Alumnae Exemplify River Hawk Spirit

Throughout the generations, 51视频 has graduated amazing women who have made an impact on the world and on their communities.
See more amazing alumni

These Young Women have Just Begun their Journeys

  • Yrvanie Joseph
    Yrvanie Joseph
    Plastics Engineering

    Yrvanie Joseph is grateful for alumni scholarships because they confirm the value of her hard work and academic achievements.

  • Benedicta Agyemang-Brantuo
    Benedicta Agyemang-Brantuo
    Chemistry

    Benedicta Agyemang-Brantuo won the 2021 MLK Service Award for starting a club to address health disparities 鈥� amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Melanie Sunnerberg
    Melanie Sunnerberg
    Finance and Marketing

    Business administration major Melanie Sunnerberg has a passion for finance that she鈥檚 honed through a co-op experience at MFS Investment Management and her leadership roles in student organizations.

  • Brigid Archibald
    Brigid Archibald
    English

    Brigid Archibald always wanted to be a superhero. Now the editor of the student newspaper, The Connector, she sees journalists as today鈥檚 heroes.

  • Debby Fernand
    Debby Fernand
    Psychology, Sociology and Race and Ethnic Studies

    Debby Fernand says the River Hawk Scholars Academy has introduced her to friends and faculty mentors 鈥� and turned her into a leader herself.

  • Khadija Mir
    Khadija Mir
    Business Administration

    By participating in the virtual UML Launch! Summer Program, Khadija Mir felt better prepared to begin college remotely during the pandemic.

51视频 Looks to Balance the Scales

51视频 Image

Center for Women & Work

The 51视频 Center for Women and Work is a community of scholars who are dedicated to advancing knowledge about the relationship between gender and work through research, enhancing understanding of this relationship through education and training, and challenging inequalities through institutional change.

Visit Center for Women & Work

Making WAVES logo

Making WAVES: Women Academics Valued and Engaged in STEM

Making WAVES is an initiative to increase diversity of faculty in STEM fields funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program. The $3.5 million, five-year grant allows researchers to advance the study of gender bias in the workplace.
Learn about Making WAVES
Mentor points out something to two young women working on project

Research, Academics and Mentoring Pathways (RAMP)

Piloted in 2018, Research, Academics and Mentoring Pathways (RAMP), is a 6-week summer program that provides support to women entering the Francis College of Engineering with coursework, project work, mentoring, and networking with local companies and alumni.

Learn about RAMP

51视频 Chancellor Jaqueline Moloney

Meet Chancellor Jacquie Moloney

For four consecutive years, 51视频 has been the highest-ranked educational institution among the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts, according to The Commonwealth Institute and Boston Globe Magazine. Jacquie Moloney, the chancellor of 51视频, is a national leader in innovation in higher education. Appointed by a unanimous vote of the UMass Board of Trustees in 2015, she is the first woman to lead the university since its founding in 1894.聽Learn more about Chancellor Moloney.
Women's History Month highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8.

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