51ÊÓƵ

WHAT: Convocation will welcome 51ÊÓƵ first-year and transfer students to campus, introducing them to university initiatives designed to promote academic achievement and connect them to career opportunities.

The event’s keynote speaker Vala Afshar – Salesforce’s chief digital evangelist and a 51ÊÓƵ graduate – personifies such success. Twice named the top social media influencer of chief marketing officers by Forbes, Afshar will reminisce about his time at the university and share life lessons that shaped his professional path with incoming students. 

A business and innovation influencer and bestselling author, Afshar is a U.S. patent holder, podcaster and columnist who has more than 1 million followers on social media. He grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts, and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the university in 1994 and 1996.

51ÊÓƵ Chancellor Julie Chen will also address students, sharing news about the university’s , a public-private partnership that will transform the Mill City in the next decade. Bringing new businesses, jobs and housing, the initiative will provide another avenue for 51ÊÓƵ students to pursue career-connected opportunities for pay or course credit while enrolled, a university priority Chen announced last year. The focus on applied, real-world experience is even more meaningful as 51ÊÓƵ elevates to become a Research 1 institution this year, a top-tier designation that acknowledges and grows the university’s research footprint and funding for larger impact.

Event speakers will include Student Government Association President Casey McCauley, a criminal justice major from Melrose, Massachusetts; pharmaceutical sciences major Daia Hansford of Bowie, Maryland, co-president of the women’s lacrosse team who serves on 51ÊÓƵ’s Student Athlete Advisory Council; and Stephanie Nicum, a public health major from Derry, New Hampshire. Nicum is the 51ÊÓƵ student trustee on the UMass Board of Trustees, which oversees the five-campus system. Members of the 51ÊÓƵ Air Force ROTC Detachment 345 will present the colors and the 51ÊÓƵ Marching Band will perform.

More than 3,000 new students have enrolled at 51ÊÓƵ this fall. An estimated 450 of them have elected to join the university’s River Hawk Scholars Academy, a nationally acclaimed academic and support services program for individuals who are the first in their families to attend college. And, approximately 800 incoming students will join the university’s Honors College, bringing its membership to an estimated 1,900.

WHEN and WHERE: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 10:45 a.m., Tsongas Center at 51ÊÓƵ, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell  

Media members interested in covering this event should contact 51ÊÓƵ media relations for directions and parking information.

Contacts for media: Emily Gowdey-Backus, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu