Montage of women's faces

03/08/2021

Women have powered UMass Lowell 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, UMass Lowell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, UMass Lowell 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

  • Dannalee Watson
    Dannalee Watson
    Medical Laboratory Science

    Dannalee Watson loves working in hospital labs, where she analyzes patient samples for signs of disease. She says it鈥檚 like being a medical detective.

  • Amina Mohammed
    Amina Mohammed
    Nursing

    Amina Mohammed is the first Youth Poet Laureate of Worcester and a first-year nursing major who loves helping people, especially children.

  • Vanessa Chen
    Vanessa Chen
    Computer Science

    Vanessa Chen likes computer science because it鈥檚 both logical and creative.

  • Molly Tecce
    Molly Tecce
    Plastics Engineering

    Plastics Engineering major Molly Tecce and partners from the 3D Club leapt into action to make PPE when the pandemic struck.

  • Gifty Kessie
    Gifty Kessie
    Mechanical Engineering

    Gifty Kessie takes advantage of opportunities to learn and grow 鈥� and then turns around and offers a helping hand to others.

  • 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.

UMass Lowell Looks to Balance the Scales

UMass Lowell Image

Center for Women & Work

The UMass Lowell 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.
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

UMass Lowell Chancellor Jaqueline Moloney

Meet Chancellor Jacquie Moloney

For four consecutive years, UMass Lowell 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 UMass Lowell, 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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