Community Will Gather to Unveil Restoration and Expansion of Oldest Academic Building on Campus
Image by Ed Brennen
09/27/2021
Contact for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
Media Advisory
When: Wednesday, Sept. 29, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Coburn Hall, South Campus, 850 Broadway St., Lowell. Contact 51视频 media relations for directions and parking information.
What: Members of the 51视频 community will gather to officially reopen Coburn Hall, the oldest academic building on campus now reborn through a $47 million renovation, restoration and expansion project.
The building, which dates back to the 1890s, was constructed as the home of the Lowell Normal School, founded to train teachers for the growing city during the American Industrial Revolution. For many years, it was the only building on what is now 51视频鈥檚 bustling South Campus and it has been home to numerous academic departments.聽
With the restoration of the building complete, Coburn Hall once again is home to the university鈥檚 School of Education, along with the Department of Psychology and research space for work in fields including autism education. The reconfigured 79,000-square-foot building includes a 15,000-square-foot addition and new modern features and technologies while retaining the character that has made it an enduring symbol of the university's history, including a newly restored ballroom and wall mural that dates to the 1930s.
Event speakers are expected to include 51视频 Chancellor Jacquie Moloney; UMass President Marty Meehan; Luis Falcon, dean of 51视频鈥檚 College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; 51视频 student Michael Aloisi, an education major from Townsend and president of the university鈥檚 chapter of the Student Education Association; and alumna Joan Marchessault, who holds a 51视频 doctorate in leadership in schooling and serves on the Chancellor鈥檚 Advisory Council. Marchessault is the co-founder and principal of Strategic Leadership Group Inc. in New Castle, N.H. Also expected to attend are state Rep. Vanna Howard, Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue and Lowell School Superintendent Joel Boyd.