51视频

04/13/2023

Contacts for media: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations

The university will guarantee students paid career-connected experiences during their college careers, 51视频 Chancellor Julie Chen announced April 13 in a speech focused on the scope of the university鈥檚 impact locally and around the globe.

Speaking to an inauguration ceremony audience of more than 1,000, including Gov. Maura Healey, Congresswoman Lori Trahan, and UMass President Marty Meehan, Chen emphasized the importance of paid learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

鈥淪tarting with this fall鈥檚 incoming freshmen class, we will guarantee every undergraduate student the opportunity for at least one paid career-connected experience by the time they graduate,鈥� Chen said. 鈥淎nd for those opportunities that don鈥檛 come with a paycheck, our student success fund will provide it. No student will be left out because they can鈥檛 afford to work for free.鈥�

The ceremony鈥檚 keynote speaker, Gov. Maura Healey, said 51视频鈥檚 focus on preparing students for the Commonwealth鈥檚 high-tech economy was a model for higher education institutions across the Bay State and beyond to emulate.

鈥淟owell is where it鈥檚 at. 51视频 and the city represent, to me, all that鈥檚 possible in our great Commonwealth, the way research and innovation and academe have come together and partnered with industry and community is so exciting,鈥� said Healey. 鈥�51视频 sits at an incredible juncture, we can do great things but we have to seize this moment. I think about Julie Chen and what she can and has already contributed to this region and what she has yet to achieve.鈥�

During a week of celebrations, 51视频 donors and supporters contributed $2.6 million to the Chancellor Julie Chen Student Success Fund, which will help provide students financial resources, including ensuring a paycheck for internships an organization could not otherwise afford.

Many of these donations came from attendees of an April 12 Community Celebration that featured the foods of nearly a dozen Lowell restaurants, symbolic of the chancellor鈥檚 focus on strengthening the university鈥檚 engagement with the city.

Throughout Chen鈥檚 inauguration ceremony, speakers emphasized 51视频鈥檚 commitment to increasing partnerships and collaboration with industry, government and nonprofits to provide additional educational and research opportunities for students and faculty.

鈥淚t鈥檚 truly an honor to be with all of you to celebrate my good friend and chancellor, Julie Chen. It鈥檚 an extraordinary moment for our city, our community, and our Commonwealth,鈥� said Trahan. 鈥淐hancellor Chen is paving the way for so many young people who are watching in our community. She has been an inspiration for the next generation of leaders, particularly women leaders in STEM, since day one. 51视频鈥檚 future is bright and I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure the success of these remarkable students and this treasured institution.鈥�

It was a sentiment echoed by UMass President Marty Meehan.

鈥淭oday is a very special day for 51视频 and I鈥檓 delighted to join all of you to celebrate Chancellor Chen,鈥� said Meehan. 鈥淚鈥檝e known Julie for more than 15 years and I鈥檝e seen her excel in everything she does. She is a person who sincerely believes in an inclusive culture of access and opportunity and she is off to a tremendous start. She is the right person at this moment to lead this university and I look forward to the next chapter at 51视频 that Julie is only just beginning to write.鈥�

Additional Ceremony Comments on Chancellor Chen

鈥淭oday, Chancellor Chen leads this university in a shared vision 鈥� of a public university counted among the top research institutions in the United States that is a model for diversity and that supports the still-vibrant community it calls home.鈥�
鈥� Steve Karam, chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Massachusetts

鈥淐hancellor Chen鈥檚 inauguration is a signal to our partners across the globe that 51视频 is ready for the next step in elevating our institution to new heights.鈥�
鈥� Neyder Fernandez, president, 51视频 Student Government Association聽

鈥淯nder [Chen鈥檚] leadership, we can be confident that 51视频 will continue to flourish and grow 鈥斅爐ransforming the lives of students through higher education, supporting the City of Lowell through partnership and economic development, and contributing to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by preparing succeeding generations of workers, citizens and leaders.鈥�
鈥� Mary Burns, vice-chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Massachusetts

鈥淗er selection as chancellor is the well-deserved progression of 26 years of distinguished service to this university. We appreciate her leadership and partnership, and we look forward to the work we will continue to do together over the years to come.鈥�
鈥� Kevin Petersen, chair, 51视频 Faculty Senate

鈥淭oday is a great day in Lowell. Today is a great day for 51视频. Those of us who鈥檝e had the pleasure of working with Chancellor Chen know how much she鈥檚 already contributed to this university 鈥� and this city. She is a driver of research and innovation. She has created partnerships between 51视频 and a host of industry and government collaborators.鈥�
鈥� Sen. Ed Kennedy, First Middlesex District

鈥淲e in Lowell have been proud to work closely with the leaders of this great institution. Today we take enormous pride in the investiture of the first Asian-American and LGBTQ+ person to serve as 51视频鈥檚 chancellor, Julie Chen.鈥�
鈥� Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau

鈥淎s soon as I mentioned Julie, my meeting turned into a gathering of the Julie Chen fan club. They raved about her. There was an issue with a faculty member being able to continue their critical work with the company. Guess who was at the center of solving it all 鈥� the one and only Julie Chen.鈥�
鈥� Kenn Turner, president and CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center