UMASS LOWELL PICKS MASS. REPRESENTATIVE FOR NEW CHANCELLOR POST. Eight-term Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Fifth District) accepted an offer by UMass President Jack Wilson to take over as the Chancellor of the Lowell campus. Meehan beat out David C. Chang, chancellor of the Polytechnic University; Nabil A. Ibrahim, vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Purdue University, Calumet for the post. Meehan brings with him a strong reputation in Washington D.C., where he was known to battle over such issues as campaign-finance reform, and accusing the tobacco industry of collusion to promote smoking. UMass Lowell has strong nanotechnology facilities, and by appointing Meehan it may be able to further scientific funding.
FREE MOVIES AT UMASS BOSTON. “Children of Men,” staring Clive Owen as a conflicted hero trying to save the world in 2027, will be showing in the Lipke Auditorium on Wednesday, April 4 at 7pm, and on Thursday, April 5 at 6pm. “Freedom Writers,” a gripping tale detailing how Hillary Swank’s character saves urban gang youth from killing one another, will be showing on Wednesday, April 18 at 7pm, and Thursday, April 19 at 6pm in the Lipke Auditorium.
UMASS BOSTON STUDENT, NYELL JEUDY CROWNED MISS HAITI INTERNATIONAL. The competition, which was held back in December, chose Jeudy from a large panel of contestants and along with three other delegates was selected to participate in the 2007 Mardi Gras celebration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where they met with the countries President to honor the Haitian Diaspora. Jeudy transferred to UMass last year after studying broadcast journalism, and is now an active member of the Haitian-American Society. She had previously won Boston’s Miss Black Beauty competition back in 2006.
STEM CELLS TO UMASS? The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees discussed a proposal to create a stem-cell research institute at their meeting on Wednesday, March 14. The proposal includes a plan to bring a $66 million contribution to the UMass system over the next six years in order to bolster the Bay State’s facilities for biomedical research. The main focus of the stem cell developments would be centered towards the UMass Medical School as well as UMass Amherst.