Beacons Fall 2022

BEACONS

A M AG AZ IN E FOR U M AS S BOST ON ALU M N I AN D F R IEND S

Fa ll 2 02 2

For the Times

UMass Boston Tackles Today’s Defining Challenges

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Fall 2022

“ W HAT DESERVES A FUTURE? WHAT WILL BE IN THE FUTURES THAT WE OURSELVES CREATE? . . . ENGAGING IN A RUTHLESS CRITICISM OF EVERYTHING EXISTING, WE POSIT OURSELVES AS PRACTITIONERS OF CURIOSITY, AS INVENTORS OF OUR TIMES, AS CATALYSTS OF CHANGE.”

JFK Award for Academic Excellence winner MG XIONG ’22 at UMass Boston’s 54th Commencement ceremony.

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Fall 2022

Contents FA L L 2 0 2 2

FEATURES 14

For the Times

With a new strategic plan, UMass Boston takes on four defining challenges of our times: health equity, climate resilience, justice, and education.

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The EmVisionaries

At EmVision Productions, Tariana V. Little ’12, G’17 and Jonas Meyer ’14 tell stories to change the world.

28

Sweet Success

Indian fusion baker Meghana Vallurupalli ’17 is turning her kitchen creations into a business.

DEPARTMENTS 02

Your Take

03

From the Chancellor

04

The Tea

30

Class Notes

ON THE COVER

For the Times illustration by Alex Nabaum.

See page 14.

Beacons

1

Your Take

We’re rolling out a new feature to stay connected with our readers! In each issue of Beacons, we’ll ask you to share your thoughts and experiences on a variety of topics. For this issue, we asked our readers:

HEALEY LIBRARY

What’s the best place to study or hang out on campus?

38

20%

CAMPUS CENTER

% INTEGRATED SCIENCES COMPLEX

14% OUTSIDE

14%

“The ISC was one of my favorite places! I loved studying there with the gorgeous view of the harbor.”

“Campus Center for hanging out and studying. Healey Library for quiet studying.”

“I studied in the student government space and hung out on the third floor of the Campus Center.”

RESHMEEN CHOWDHURY ’22

ALEX LI ’19

DAVID MANNING ’15

What is the best piece of advice you received in college?

For our next issue, send your answers to alumni@umb.edu.

Don’t forget to include your full name and class year.

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UNIVERSITY HALL

8%

WHEATLEY HALL

6%

Fall 2022

From the Chancellor

BEACONS Chancellor

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco Provost

Joseph Berger Vice Chancellor for University

Advancement

Adam Wise

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Engagement

Allison Duffy

Director of Alumni Engagement

Steven Whittemore

Communications Specialist

A

UMass Boston is positioned to build on its distinctive strengths.

T FALL CONVOCATION IN SEPTEMBER, we welcomed Beacons back to a rebranded and energized campus for the new academic year. Former White House Climate Adviser and UMass Boston alumna Gina McCarthy ’76 was there. And she had a message for us.

It is time for renewal. And it is time for resilience. If UMass Boston is to be—as our new 10-year strategic plan boldly asserts—a university for the times, we must meet the moment. We must rise to the task of making the world better, through our education, research, and service.

The fall 2022 issue of our beautifully redesigned magazine, Beacons, chronicles some of the ways UMass Boston is already hard at work moving the needle on four challenges of our time.

Tackling health inequity—by diversifying the nursing workforce and creating a pioneering urban public health department to renew our commitment that nobody’s health should be left behind.

Collaborating with municipalities in Boston to document climate inequity—by generating climate risk projections and crafting mitigation strategies to protect vulnerable communities from sea level rise.

Addressing racial inequity—by researching how prejudice and social isolation worsen the health, mental health, and financial hardships of Asian Americans with limited English proficiency.

And shaping a new education for the future paradigm—by partnering with private industry, school districts, and other universities to bolster science education and leadership in K-12 schools.

Indeed, as Gina McCarthy noted at Convocation, “I know so many of you are here because you already have a commitment to a better, more equitable world . . . So now it’s your chance to take hold of these inequities. It’s your chance to take advantage of the education this school has to offer so you can embrace the change that we all want and need to see. This is your time to shine.”

Yes, it is. Going forward, UMass is positioned to build on its distinctive strengths—innovative, student-centered learning; the advancement of knowledge and discovery in service of the public good; and basic and translational research that moves the world forward and is for the times.

I hope you are as inspired as I am by the better future UMass Boston will have a hand in creating.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Chatterley Art Director

Kaajal Asher kaajalasher.com Copy Editor

Sasha Nyary sashanyary.com Contributors

Danielle Bilotta Andrea Kennedy DeWayne Lehman Crystal Valencia G’14 David Walberg Photos and Illustrations

Allie Crawford ’22 Bob Durling Photography Chris Ferenzi John Gillooly Sarah Hanson Bartosz Kosowski Elizabeth Kramp ’25 Matthew Mikaelian Alex Nabaum Javier Rivas Beacons magazine celebrates the accomplishments and impact of the UMass Boston community and the lasting connection alumni and friends have with UMass Boston, Boston State College, and our legacy schools.

We welcome your inquiries, ideas, and comments. Please share them with the UMass Boston Alumni Engagement team at 617.287.5330 or alumni@umb.edu.

MARCELO SUÁREZ-OROZCO Chancellor

Beacons

3

The Tea Five new Fulbrights

Social studies teacher MEGAN BRADY G’18 earned her master’s degree in history at UMass Boston. As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, Brady hopes to compare the education system in Bosnia

Five UMass Boston

and Herzegovina to her own experiences

students and alumni have

in U.S. public schools.

been selected to receive awards through the

Fulbright Research Award–winner

Department of State’s

DEBORAH DAUDA ’23, a PhD student in

prestigious Fulbright U.S.

the School for Global Inclusion and Social

Student Program. The

Development, will travel to Nigeria in

highly competitive scholar-

January to assess strategies for bridging

ship opportunity provides

the provider gap in mental health services

funding for American

for Nigerian university women who have

students to conduct

experienced sexual harassment.

research or teach English in more than 140 countries.

Recipients are selected

FALIANNE FORGES ’22, an advocate for

linguistic justice who graduated with a

based on academic and

double major in English and Africana

professional achievement,

studies and a minor in race, literature, and

plus their records of service

ethnicity, will travel to Kenya to train

and leadership potential in

English teachers and provide English

their fields.

instruction for secondary and university

“It’s a thrill to see so many

students.

wonderfully deserving UMass Boston students

Applied linguistics graduate student

and alums win,” said Louise

SONJA HAAKONSEN G’23 embarked in

Penner, director of National

September to teach English for 10 months

and International

in Bulgaria, where she hopes to develop

Fellowships. “UMass Boston

further as a teacher.

students make terrific applicants for Fulbright and

TRISTAN SUAREZ ’19, who graduated with

other major awards. They

a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and is

bring their intelligence and

pursuing a career in ethnographic research

rich life experiences to the

in Northern Asia, will begin teaching

application process.”

English in Mongolia in January.

“ Voting is a priceless right and a solemn duty.”

– UMass President Marty Meehan and the chancellors of each campus, in a joint statement about joining 440 other U.S. colleges and universities in the non-partisan ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

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Beacons pitcher signed to Toronto Blue Jays Beacons pitcher Alex Amalfi ’23 signed with Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays in July, becoming the third player in UMass Boston baseball history tapped for an MLB contract.

"It was always my dream to play professional baseball and I always just wanted the opportunity,” said Amalfi, who was an undrafted free agent. “But no, I never honestly thought it would happen. I had confidence in myself the whole time, but when the opportunity came up, it still took me by surprise."

The Ashland native, a red-shirt junior for the Beacons in 2022, was rated as one of New England’s top right-handed hurlers all season. He set new Beacon Athletics records for strikeouts in a game, with 18, and a season, with 101—a total that ranked him 15th in Division III baseball. "[Alex] has worked his tail off while being a Beacon and really developed into an elite pitcher. . . . The Blue Jays organization is getting a great person, player, and teammate,” said UMass Boston baseball coach Brendan Eygabroat.

Eygabroat also coached Beacons outfielder Jamill Moquete, a 32nd-round draft pick for the Baltimore Orioles in 2014. In 1990, Beacon Steve Coffey was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round.

Fall 2022

FY 2022 GIFTS TO UMASS BOSTON

TOTAL GIVING

DONORS

$40,633,401

14,581 Educating early educators

ENDOWMENT

NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS

$26,173,174

25

ANNUAL FUND GIVING

9%

Athletics

16%

35%

Student Services

Unrestricted

17%

Scholarship Aid

23% Programs

RECENT GRANTS

$1.6M

for a biophysical instrumentation core facility

to study molecular interactions, from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Beacons

$999K to establish a quantum computing R&D lab

and quantum workforce training, from the Mass.

Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

UMass Boston’s Institute for

use job-embedded professional

Early Education Leadership and

learning to promote instructional

Innovation has received $3.8

quality and a culture of

million in grants from the state to

continuous learning.

run professional development

“We’re gratified by this

and training programs for

endorsement of our work by the

Massachusetts early educators.

state’s Department of Early

The Massachusetts Department

Education and Care,” said Anne

of Early Education and Care

Douglass, founder and executive

(EEC) awarded the institute $2.5

director of the Early Ed

million to manage and enhance

Leadership Institute and a

the delivery of professional

professor of early education at

development and training for

UMass Boston. “When we

licensed early educators through

launched the StrongStart

EEC’s regional StrongStart

Professional Development

Professional Development

Centers in late 2019 in

Centers. The state also awarded

partnership with the state, our

the Early Ed Leadership Institute

goal was to create a system of

$753,469 to operate the

high quality, asset-based

MetroBoston StrongStart

professional learning, leadership

Professional Development

coaching, training, and technical

Center and $600,000 to scale

assistance services that

up its Early Education Quality

recognize and celebrate the

through Instructional Leadership

expertise and the diversity that

(EQIIL) professional learning

exists throughout the workforce.

model. EQIIL supports early

We accomplished that and so

education and care leaders to

much more.”21.5%

$1.2M

to create the Project Teachers Learning with Counselors program for

master’s degree candidates in special education and school adjustment counseling, from the U.S. Dept. of Education.

$100K to launch a health equity internship program at the Gastón Institute, from the Cummings Foundation.

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The Tea

“ I believe that the highest function of knowledge in academia is service.”

Professor of Latin American and Iberian Studies Reyes Coll-Tellechea, whom Mayor Michelle Wu named chair of Boston's Human Rights Commission in June.

PhD student works toward next-gen batteries Chemistry doctoral candidate Genevieve Asselin has received a prestigious research award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research. The award will enable Asselin to pursue part of her graduate thesis research on magnesium

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electrolytes at DoE's Advanced Photon Source facility in Lemont, Illinois.

Deeper knowledge of magnesium electron transfer could contribute to the development of cheaper, more sustainable batteries than today's lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

“Our world revolves around the need for energy, but LIBs alone will not be able to meet the long-term demands,” Asselin said. “Magnesium-ion batteries are a realistic and promising replacement.”

Asselin is thrilled that the program has given access to expert scientists and advanced research techniques.

“I’m looking forward to being able to learn from some of the best in battery chemistry,” she said. “I think this research is going to produce very interesting and illuminating results and I can’t wait to see what we find.”

CEHD prof receives early career award Abiola Farinde-Wu, assistant professor of urban education, leadership and policy studies, has received the American Educational Research Association’s annual Division K Early Career Award for her research on recruiting and retaining Black teachers.

AERA is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning.

“As researchers, we all try to engage in meaningful, impactful, and powerful work for the public good,” she said. “To be recognized by my peers and the academic community for my scholarship is both humbling and mind-blowing.

I hope that Black and Brown women in academia see my picture and think, ‘If she can do it, so can I.’ ”

Fall 2022

Student Q&A: Navasz Hansotia ’23

6 p.m.—I would need at least two meals after that time.

From Mumbai to UMB

The lack of available taxis and price of an Uber is a bit disappointing. In Mumbai, public transport is very accessible and affordable, and if you do choose to travel via taxi, they are much easier to hail, similar to New York.

Q: What extracurricular experiences have you Q: When you were looking for undergraduate

been a part of while a student?

schools, did you know you wanted to come to the

The PACE (Professional Apprenticeship Career Expe-

United States?

rience) program has been a great shaping force in my

Yes. However, I always thought it would be for law

journey. It is a paid on-campus position where students

school. About two years into an undergraduate degree

hone skills connected to their career interests and

in business in Mumbai, I resolved to move and start a new chapter in my life, even if it meant being two years behind the conventional academic track.

Fortunately, UMass Boston accepted my credits from my university in India, putting me on track

receive amazing hands-on mentorship. I have also been a part of Debate Club, Pre-Law Society, and a team of Beacon Ambassadors. These have all contributed toward my critical thinking skills and collaboration with peers.

to graduate, and for that I am very grateful.

Q: How has UMass Boston played a role in Q: What made you choose UMass Boston?

where you are today?

It welcomed me and allowed me to make this university

Having lived in a large metropolitan

my new home. Studying and working at UMass Boston

area all my life, UMass Boston’s urban

has helped me to develop skills of research and anal-

campus—just a few minutes away

ysis and has given me life-long bonds to cherish. My

from the heart of Boston—drew me to it. It is known as one of the most ethnically diverse

professors served as pillars of motivation and support, and the courses they taught reaffirmed my passion in the field of law.

universities in the United States so the inclusion made me feel seen and

Q: What’s one of your favorite memories from your time at UMass Boston?

heard. UMass Boston

Admiring the sunlight glimmer over the ocean with my

offered me generous

peers between classes was one of my favorite things.

aid and scholarships

It was a perfect break from the chaos. I remember the

to support my pursuit

feeling of my first day of classes, eager to start a new

of education, and

chapter in my life as I wandered through the corridors:

numerous passionate

very lost but also very excited!

professors who are experts in the political

Q: What are your plans for after you graduate?

science and philoso-

Go to law school and travel, and explore the city

phy/law department.

further. Once I receive my J.D, I will practice law here in the United States. Regardless of where my journey

Q: What was the

takes me, UMass Boston will always be close to my

biggest culture

heart. Once a Beacon, always a Beacon!

shock for you?

How large a “large soda”

Beacons

Navasz Hansotia ’23 is one of the nearly 17,000 students

is really surprised me! I

pursuing their academic goals at UMass Boston today.

also never understood

Next month, she’ll join our growing alumni family when she

why dinner is served at

earns her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

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The Tea

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Fall 2022

Sprinting to gold With a blistering 12.58-second 100-meter dash this May, freshman sprinter Dorinda Okorji ’25 won Beacons Track & Field’s first Little East Conference gold medal since 2018. The following week, the LEC named Okorji to its 2022 First Team All-Conference and All-Rookie teams, making her the only student-athlete in program history to earn both honors.

Okorji’s success was one element of an exciting spring for Beacon Athletics as a whole. All six spring teams qualified for their conference tournaments, and men’s tennis and lacrosse both brought LEC titles home to UMass Boston.

The Beacons’ accomplishments weren’t just athletic: Sixty-one student-athletes were named to the LEC 2022 Spring All-Academic Team this year. The women’s cross-country squad won the conference’s Team Academic Award for the first time in program history, hoisting a GPA of 3.57, one of the highest in the LEC.

The Tea

Spotlight on banned books

A Pennsylvania school board’s ban on Asst. Prof.

Susan Tan’s Cilla Lee-Jenkins series was overturned, thanks to student advocacy.

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Honors College Ambassadors Maddie Lessard ’23 and Sami Sanghvi ’23, with support from Associate Dean Megan Rokop, hosted a Banned Book Fair on campus in April to highlight literature excluded from K-12 school libraries across the country.

According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, in 2021 there were 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, affecting 1,597 books. The ALA noted a focus on demands to remove books that addressed racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black or Indigenous people, or people of color.

“UMass Boston is one of the most diverse universities in the country, and a lot of these books are banned because they touch upon topics that are about diversity,” said Megan Rokop, associate dean of the Honors College.

“We wanted to highlight for our current student population the books that are on racial, gender, and sexual issues. We thought it was really important,” said Lessard.

One of the books on display was written by UMass Boston faculty member Susan Tan. Tan is an award-winning English professor and well-regarded children’s literature writer.

Her Cilla Lee-Jenkins series, which features an Asian American protagonist, was banned by a school board in Pennsylvania. After students protested, the ban was overturned.

“The students of the district organized and conducted a breathtaking campaign against the ban. It was such an inspiring and powerful example of young people asserting their right to be heard and taken into account in their own educations. And they won!” said Tan.

Fall 2022

The Tea

Alumni and Faculty Bookshelf JEAN RHODES, the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, has been named the 2023 winner of the prestigious Eleanor Maccoby Book Award from the American Psychological Association’s Developmental Psychology Division for her new book, Older and Wiser: New Ideas for Youth Mentoring in the 21st Century. The Maccoby Award honors a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on developmental psychology, including promoting “high standards for the application of scientific knowledge on human development to public policy issues.”

Older and Wiser draws on more than 30 years of empirical research to survey the state of youth mentoring and concludes that there’s insufficient evidence that even the most well-known mentoring programs are effective. Despite these findings, Rhodes also shows that new, evidence-based approaches can in fact create meaningful change in young people’s lives.

In The Journey to a Dope Life: How Traveling the World Can Teach You How to Live a Dope Life, TALITA GUERRERO ’15 takes readers on a self-improvement journey as she inspires them to dream big. The book explores how making transformational life changes can put readers on the path to living and doing what makes them happy every day.

Adopting the adage of living life like there’s no tomorrow, A Dope Life is described as “the starting place for the new life you’ve been searching for, a journey that can transform your life.”

Beacons

America Made Me a Black Man is a searing memoir by BOYAH FARAH G’08, an American who survived hardships in his birth country only to experience firsthand the dehumanization of living as a Black person in the U.S. Born in Somalia and raised among nomads, Farah grew up with a code of male bravado that helped him survive deprivation, disease, and civil war.

Arriving in America, Boyah found systemic racism, police brutality, and intense prejudice in all areas of life, including the workplace. He learned not only what it means to be an African in America, but what it means to be African American.

In Chasing the American Dream in China: Chinese Americans in the Ancestral Homeland, Assistant Professor of Sociology LESLIE WANG explores the experiences of middle-class children of immigrants who move to their ancestral lands in order to further their careers. Analyzing the motivations and experiences of these individuals deepens our knowledge about transnationalism among the second-generation as they grapple with complex issues of identity and societal belonging in the ethnic homeland. This book demonstrates how these professional migrants maneuver between countries and cultures to further their careers and maximize opportunities in the rapidly changing global economy.

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The Tea

New Leaders on Campus Bo Fernhall, PhD

DEAN OF THE MANNING COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Most recent role: Dean, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago Prior institutions: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Syracuse University, George Washington University Medical Center, University of Rhode Island Alma mater: Arizona State University (PhD), Southern Connecticut State College (MS, BS) Why UMass Boston?

I was attracted to UMass Boston because of the tremendous opportunity and potential. The vision and mission of the university and the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences aligned perfectly with my own values and vision of what higher education is all about. I look forward to working with our fantastic students and faculty toward creating a more just, healthy, and equitable society.

Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, PhD VICE CHANCELLOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

Most recent role: Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Utica University, New York Prior institutions: Hudson Valley Community College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Union College Alma mater: SUNY Albany (PhD, MA), Inter-American University of Puerto Rico (BA) Why UMass Boston?

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the wonderful students of UMass Boston and be in a city known as a hub for higher education. Throughout my transition here, I have been struck by a deep commitment of the campus to help people transform their lives and by its rich educational quality rooted in diversity. I am a strong believer in a community of care that prepares students to contribute to their communities and workforce. Therefore, I look forward to working with alumni, students, staff, and faculty to advance such work in a way that promotes safety, health, engagement, inclusion, and equity.

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Fall 2022

The Tea

Stephanie Walker DEAN OF UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Most recent role: Dean of Libraries and Information Resources, University of North Dakota (2015–22) Prior institutions: City University of New York’s Brooklyn College, Harvard Medical School, Mount Saint Vincent University, University of Toronto Alma mater: University of Toronto (MSLS), University of Waterloo (MA, BA)

Venky Venkatachalam, PhD DEAN AND DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT

Why UMass Boston?

One huge factor was the student body, as well as the overall UMass Boston community. I love working with this community. I was a firstgeneration student, from an immigrant family twice over, whose first language was not English, and I strongly believe that education is vital, and that a great education should be available and accessible to all. In past jobs, I have put a great deal of

Beacons

Most recent role: Dean, Beacom School of Business, University of South Dakota (2014–22) Prior institutions: University of New Hampshire Alma mater: The University of Alabama (PhD), Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (MBA), University of Madras, India (BS)

emphasis on starting or growing programs around

Why UMass Boston?

open educational resources and open access to

Boston has a vibrant ecosystem of innovators, entrepreneurs,

expand the accessibility of education and

and world-class businesses. Being located in Boston as a

research; strengthening information literacy

premier public research university, UMass Boston offers

programs and outreach; enhancing faculty

tremendous opportunities to connect our students and faculty,

research support; and on renovating, repurposing,

with the businesses to develop and build world-class careers.

and transforming library spaces to make them

Our student body is very diverse, and I am delighted to have

much better for students, faculty, and other

this opportunity to serve the Boston and Massachusetts

users. I’ve already found people at UMass Boston

economies in providing a healthy pipeline of diverse world-

(and the greater New England library community)

class workforce. Our faculty are outstanding teachers and

to be extremely interested in and energized by

engaged in cutting edge impactful research. I am looking

these ideas and initiatives, and I’m hoping to grow

forward to distinguishing our College of Management as a

them all.

globally ranked business school.

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Fall 2022

For the Times At the height of the 1960s civil rights movement, UMass Boston was founded to democratize access to higher education. Today we are embarking on a new 10-year strategic plan for the university that enhances and expands our long-held values of academic and research excellence, upward mobility, and social enlightenment and leadership. The plan will enable our students to flourish as engaged citizens, accomplished professionals, civic leaders, and members of the global family working for the common good. As part of our efforts to advance research and scholarship that transforms, we have identified four topic areas of focus: health, climate, justice, and education. How do we know we can make a difference in the key issues of the times? Because—as you’ll see in the following pages—we already are.

Beacons

15

For the Times

| H E A LT H E Q U I T Y

An extraordinary $15 million donation from two UMass alumni will transform UMass Boston’s commitment to fighting inequities in health and health care workers.

The goal: better health care for all.

High school sweethearts Robert and Donna Manning grew up in Methuen in the late 1970s. Commuting from their hometown to classes at UMass Lowell, they were the first in their families to complete college.

After receiving her nursing degree in 1985, Donna began a career as an oncology nurse at Boston Medical Center, where she was known for her dedication to patients. As Robert rose through the ranks at MFS Investment Management in Boston to become chief executive and chairman of the board, Donna began donating back her salary to support the hospital.

Thirty-five years of nursing at the largest safety-net hospital in New England have given Donna deep insight into the challenges of urban nursing and the imbalanced health outcomes experienced by impoverished patients and patients of color.

“For the majority of my career in Boston, I was struck by the fact that most of the nurses looked like me while most of the patients didn’t,” she said. “I have seen firsthand how diversity in the nursing workforce can improve patient care and address health inequities.”

With Robert, Donna is a philanthropist as well as a nurse. The Mannings have contributed more than $11 million to UMass Lowell and the UMass system, of which Robert is the chairman of the Board of Trustees. So in fall 2021, they decided to tackle the health inequities they saw with a stunning $15 million dollar gift to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UMass Boston.

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Fall 2022

THE MANNING COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Their gift—the first piece of a historic $50 million donation to the five campuses across the University of Massachusetts system—endows the newly renamed Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

The gift is “transformational,” said UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, noting that it will serve to “foster a culture of healing and health equity in Boston and beyond. It will enable UMass Boston to take the education of the next generation of nurses nobly serving as caregivers to the next level of excellence and engagement.”

The goal is for Manning College graduates to excel not just in scientific expertise, Suárez-Orozco noted, but also in “the humane heart, the empathy, and cultural awareness that define caregiving in its truest sense.”

A NEW LEADER

“Totally, totally transformational” echoed the college’s new dean, Bo Fernhall, a renowned scholar who studies exercise physiology, especially for people with disabilities. “It’s huge.”

With Greater Boston’s only four-year public programs in nursing and exercise and health sciences, the Manning College’s ultimate purpose must be to improve the health of the community, the city of Boston, and the state, Fernhall said. So the college is focused on “providing access to an excellent education for our talented students, addressing health inequities, and making new discoveries leading to improved health and quality of life.”

“The Mannings’ vision for this gift is to create a more diverse workforce, who are going to take better care of Beacons

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For the Times

| H E A LT H E Q U I T Y

the patients and provide better care to the community. The gift is there to strengthen our programs so that we can improve our already high-quality programs, graduate more students, and do whatever we can to contribute to exceptionally prepared health professionals entering the workforce.”

Fernhall came to UMass Boston in August after spending 11 years serving as dean for the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago. There, under his collaborative and team-oriented approach, the college added five new academic programs, nearly doubled undergraduate enrollment, and increased overall enrollment by 50 percent—all while diversifying the student body in significant ways. As a result of his efforts, the reputation of the College of Applied Health Sciences shot up, with eight academic programs nationally ranked in the top 10—and four of those in the top five.

Now he is eager to see the Manning College make similar advances.

“I want our college to be recognized as the best in New England—and beyond,” Fernhall said. “We want to provide the public health workforce for the City of Boston and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We want to provide more students to enter the workforce in fields that are truly needed—there’s a huge need for all these students once they graduate.

We want to increase our research in the health sciences, which is extremely important because it’s going to help people.”

FRESH FOCUS ON URBAN PUBLIC HEALTH

One key step is the creation of a new Department of Urban Public Health at the college. Its goal: to prepare students for jobs in the public health field that are uniquely focused on improving the health of diverse urban 18

forthcoming graduates “the future leaders in the full range of health care agencies and organizations.”

These degrees will prepare students for a wide range of careers: state and local health departments, non-governmental organizations, health care organizations, the private sector, and federal agencies, said Rosanna DeMarco, associate provost at the Manning College.

“The urban public health department will be a leader in educating students to be innovative thinkers, strategizing to find public health solutions to the enduring problems of health inequity in diverse urban populations in our state and beyond,” she said.

REACHING FARTHER TOGETHER Donna and Robert Manning

populations. Starting fall 2023, students will be able to declare BA and BS majors in urban public health, focusing on urban populations, the social determinants of health, and health equity challenges across the lifespan.

The new degree programs come just in time: More than two-thirds of the world population is predicted to be living in urban areas by 2050, according to the United Nations.

Communicable diseases spread quickly in urban settings, which have greater exposure to pollutants, allergens, and toxicity. Chronic and behavioral health issues are also more prevalent than in less densely populated areas.

“For these reasons, among others, there is a significant burgeoning need for highly skilled diverse professionals and thousands of new job opportunities will emerge in public health and related fields,” said UMass Boston Provost Joseph Berger, calling the

" I HAVE SEEN FIRSTHAND HOW DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE CAN IMPROVE PATIENT CARE AND ADDRESS HEALTH INEQUITIES.” Donna Manning

The Mannings’ gift will also allow the college to expand its footprint in the community, Fernhall said. “We want to grow that footprint. We want to be a permanent fixture in our community, to serve the community in meaningful ways.”

His next step, the new dean said, is to work with the donors and the college’s faculty, staff, and students to identify specific goals and develop programming and resources. He’s very inspired. “Our ability to reach our goal is going to be so greatly enhanced because of this gift. It is going to allow us to get there much, much faster, and to be more influential, to have a greater reach.”

“UMass Boston plays a critical role in supporting diversity in Boston,” Donna said. “We look forward to actively working with the college on these important goals.”

As Robert told The Boston Globe, “We don’t want to die with a lot of money in the bank. We want to see the impact on students and faculty while we’re alive.”

Fall 2022

For the Times

| C L I M AT E

“ IT IS CRITICAL TO ALIGN OUR POLICIES AND PROGRAMS WITH THE LATEST SCIENCE.” BOSTON MAYOR MICHELLE WU

One example of the university’s climate resilience focus in action is a 2022 report by the Advisory Group, led by the UMass Boston School for the Environment.

“Climate Change Impacts and Projections for the Greater Boston Area,” provides detailed information on likely changes over this century to temperature, groundwater, sea-level rise and coastal flooding, river and storm water flooding, and storms and precipitation.

The report’s primary conclusion: Reaching net-zero emissions worldwide by 2050 is essential in order Beacons

to prevent catastrophic levels of warming and sea-level rise, as well as achieve the best outcomes for the City of Boston and the Greater Boston area.

“We know that the window of time to act on climate change is closing quickly and it is critical to align our policies and programs with the latest science,” said Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu. “The GBRAG report analyzes Boston’s climate risk projections so we

can make the most informed decisions on how to protect our communities.”

The Greater Boston Research Advisory Group undertook the report in response to a 2016 Climate Ready Boston recommendation that called for climate change projections to be updated every five years. Funded by the Barr Foundation and now also including the city and town members of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the group’s charge is to provide the latest information that can be used to inform near-term and long-term strategies to address climate mitigation and resilience. The report does not make policy recommendations or suggest strategies. Each municipality is free to digest the findings and take their own actions specific to their projections.

“We are proud to deliver these

updated projections—a collaborative analysis featuring contributions from some of the leading scientists in the world—and are empowered by the opportunity to continue these critical updates every five years as we near targets and decisions on climate actions become more high stakes,” said School for the Environment Professor Paul Kirshen, a co-lead for the report.

“With this new information, the City of Boston and MAPC cities and towns across Massachusetts are armed with the most up-to-date research representing an analytic backbone for development of climate adaptation and mitigation plans and policies,” said Ellen Douglas, also a professor at the School for the Environment and the other co-author.

Unsurprisingly, the report found that the frequency of extreme weather events is expected to increase. It also shines a light on underreported climate risks such as decreased groundwater recharge, which has far-reaching consequences for infrastructure, agriculture, the availability of drinking water, and more.

19

For the Times

| JUSTICE

Advancing a just society is a signature focus of UMass Boston research. And as two recent studies show, that work is informing the conversation around equity on a national and local level.

THE THEFT OF BLACK FARMLAND

Black farmers in the United States were deprived of approximately $326 billion worth of land over the course of the 20th century, a shocking loss that has set Black families back immeasurably, according to a study led by Dania Francis, an assistant economics professor in the College of Liberal Arts. The research appeared in the American Economic Association’s Papers and Proceedings journal and made international news.

In the early 1900s, the amount of farmland owned by Black families was at its peak. About 425,000 Black people owned almost 20 million acres in the Jim Crow South. But by 1997, Black farmer land ownership had plummeted to 4.7 million acres.

To investigate the value of the land lost and how this happened, Francis and her team started with the USDA 20

Census of Agriculture, using its data to estimate $326-billion-dollar figure by taking nominal land values and compounding them. The estimate is conservative because it doesn’t account for multiplier effects, such as using the land as collateral. Even so, the implications of the loss are devastating.

“Wealth and land is one way in this country that you're able to grow opportunity for your family," Francis told Reuters. “When huge groups of African Americans were denied that opportunity, it speaks to the intergenerational wealth gap that opened up in part due to this type of land loss.”

The Black-white wealth gap is enormous, more than 10 times larger than the income gap between Black and white families. And that number doesn’t account for the lost hopes and dreams, the loss of investment in future generations.

Fall 2022

The loss occurred because the USDA itself was—and continues to be—discriminatory against Black farmers, the researchers found. Black farmers were refused loans by USDA agents, who interfered in county elections and restricted the crops Black farmers could grow. On the federal level, USDA policies ensured that money would flow to white landowners and effectively cut out Black ones. The practices have been so egregious that Black farmers refer to

the USDA as “the Last Plantation.”

The enormous loss “destroyed a rural Black middle class that had, by sheer will, emerged in the aftermath of slavery,” the authors wrote in a New Republic article about their findings.

“Since family wealth is iterative— growing slowly at first, adding to itself, and accumulating and expanding over time—this blow to a nascent Black middle class has reverberated down the generations.”

ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN SLAMMED

BY A COMBINATION OF THE PANDEMIC AND RACISM

Asian Americans in the Greater Boston area face racial prejudice, mental health concerns, and economic loss because of the pandemic, says a new report from UMB’s Institute for Asian American Studies.

A sizable proportion of those surveyed who have limited formal education and low household income were hit hard by financial loss and loss of work. Many are worried about paying for food and housing.

Boston-area Asian Americans already faced social isolation because of cultural and linguistic differences, said the report, written by Carolyn Wong, a research associate for the institute, and research assistant Ziting Kuang ’21. This was the first survey to reach out to them using a multilingual questionnaire.

Almost 200 people participated.

Nearly half the respondents reported that people acted afraid of them because of their race during the pandemic.

More than 25 percent of Vietnamese Americans said they had been threatened or harassed because of their race, and over 40 percent of South Asians reported receiving poorer service.

Already high poverty rates among Asian Americans were made worse during the pandemic. Many Asian American workers faced reduced hours or job loss in the hospitality, retail, and food service industries, and small business owners were hit hard by loss of customers.

The authors called for increased funding for mental health services, expansion of social services for people with limited English proficiency, and research on the effects of anti-Asian racism and ways to help Asian American workers and businesses recover from the pandemic.

Beacons

21

For the Times

| E D U C AT I O N

Distinguished Professor Arthur Eisenkraft, leader of the Wipro Science Education Fellowship program.

UMass Boston’s work in education speaks to today’s students, who bring a wide range of experiences, values, and aspirations and will benefit from new educational paradigms, partnerships, and collaborations, and opportunities to develop workforce skills.

So it’s exciting that the Wipro Science Education Fellowship, known as the Wipro SEF, received an additional $4.5 million award this spring.

Wipro SEF is a partnership between UMass Boston, which leads the project, and Mercy College, Stanford University, Montclair State University, and the universities of North Texas Dallas, Missouri, and South Florida. Its objective is to foster teacher leadership and science teaching excellence among teachers in partnering school districts from California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.

This grant extends the Wipro SEF agreement to 2026, for a total of $18 million in external funding over the past decade.

“This is evidence of a successful collaboration between private industry, university and school district partnerships that other companies could emulate,” said Arthur Eisenkraft, Distinguished Professor of Science Education, director of the Center of Science and Math in Context, and leader of the Wipro SEF program. “UMass Boston takes pride in the ways in which it can contribute to improving science education within the Boston area and nationally.”

The Wipro SEF program grew out of the success of the Boston Science Partnership’s Science Education Fellowship, a grant initiative funded by the National Science Foundation from 2009-2012 that was also based at UMass Boston. In 2013, Wipro, a leading global information technology, consulting, and business process services company, embarked on a program to improve the quality of K-12 science education by transforming school districts.

Led by UMass Boston, what began at two university sites has expanded to seven, positively impacting 35 school districts across the country, and creating a network of these districts and the universities facilitating the work.

22

As part of the program, each university creates a critical mass of K-12 teacher leaders in high-need school districts that are fostering transformation. They engage in two years of professional development opportunities that include individual work as well as collaboration with other fellows.

Transforming a school district requires coordinated communication and cooperation among teachers, science coordinators, principals, and central administration. The new funding will enable the partnership to build on the expertise of the universities, school districts, and new and existing fellows. The program will be able to expand to rural districts within the existing states, initiate cross-district efforts, and enhance evaluation and research.

“The importance of high quality science education is not only for employability of individuals, but for

Wipro SEF by the numbers 35 school districts across seven states 420 Wipro fellows 840 additional teachers involved in projects initiated by Wipro fellows 250,000+ students

development of scientific temper in societies, which is crucial to well-being and progress overall,” says Wipro Limited Chief Sustainability Officer Anurag Behar. “And teachers play the central role in this endeavor.”

Fall 2022

For the Times

| STUDENT ACTION

The university’s Grand Scholarly Challenges are research focuses, but it's not just faculty who are working toward a healthier, more just, and more sustainable world. Students— like those of the Civic Action Fellows Program—are stepping forward to be the changemakers of today and tomorrow.

For the last two decades, the majority of the population of Boston has been people of color. Diverse representation in civic leadership has increased but it still does not reflect this demographic shift.

That’s why the Civic Action Fellows Program was created—to support the next generation of civic leaders by increasing participation by students of color and other marginalized identities in the Greater Boston area. The student fellows build their civic agency and skills for collective action through bi-weekly workshops with community-engaged leaders and interning with a community-based organization.

Each receives a $500 scholarship per semester to support their internship.

“Representation matters if we are to address the long ignored racial inequity and injustice that is present Beacons

in civic spaces,” said Rachel Winters, director of student leadership and community engagement. “The pandemics we are facing in the nation and the commonwealth have augmented the need to actively work toward equity and justice, especially for communities who have been marginalized.”

As the only public research institution in the region with a majority of students of color, UMass Boston is uniquely positioned to face these upheavals and contribute to social change. Now in its third year, the Civic Action Fellows Program is led in partnership with the Office of Community Partnerships, Student Multicultural Affairs, and Student Leadership and Community Engagement.

The community partners who have hosted internships reflect the diversity of the fellows and have included the

Hyde Square Task Force, BAGLY Inc., the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, the City of Boston Mayor’s office of Language and Communications Access, and legislators Mayor of Lawrence Dan Rivera, State Representative Jessica Giannino, and Boston City CouncilorAt-Large Julia Mejia.

“This is a time of extraordinary need for change and our partners are asking us to build the next generation of civic leaders of color who will fill the role that one day they will need to pass on,” said Cynthia Orellana, director of the Office of Community Partnerships. “Our students are poised to be the change we wish to see in the world and so we must create opportunities with communities that

build up the resilience and capital of communities.”

The fellows enter the program with diverse academic interests—from political science and criminology to psychology and English—and lived experiences as well as motivations for social change. A theme for all is a commitment to community and social justice.

One student advocated for the return of land back to indigenous communities. Another wanted to be a role model for young Muslim women.

A third fellow noted that “the pandemics we are facing today have increased the need to acknowledge social issues and work toward acquiring real justice for marginalized communities.”

23

THE EMVISIONARIES

24

Fall 2022

Tariana V. Little ’12, G’17 and life partner Jonas Meyer ’14 love to tell stories—especially when those stories can help communities and companies make a difference.

BY VA NE S S A CHATTERL EY

Beacons

25

THE PAIR CO-FOUNDED EMVISION PRODUCTIONS IN 2013, a Boston-based media boutique that helps visionary organizations convey how they’re changing the world.

Recently named one of the largest minority-owned businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal, EmVision touts itself as providing “media with a mission” to organizations locally and nationally.

“To do the work that we do at [EmVision], through video storytelling and profiling people or leaders in the community, you have to have a hunger to know about people and to know what moves them,” said Little. “We operate in all these different communities that influence how we see the world, how we show up, what matters to us.”

Their clients—called “EmVisionaries”—range from grassroots nonprofits and social enterprises to government agencies and global corporations. Together Little and Meyer help companies convey their vision and values through immersive video content. Their portfolio includes organizations like The Boston Foundation, Amplify Latinx,

The EmVision team poses with Ivanna Solano, founder and executive director of Love Your Magic, and participant Camille TorresVega. From left: Edwin Cabrera, Tariana Little, Torres-Vega, Solano, Jonas Meyer, and Doga Somer.

26

Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA Foundation, Boston Impact Initiative, the City of Chelsea, and Hasbro.

Using their media platform to “give forward,” the team launched a grant program in 2020 to partner each year pro bono with one to two small, local non-profit organizations led by people of color. This past year, Little and Meyer partnered with Love Your Magic, a grassroots organization committed to the healthy development of Black and Brown girls.

Before celebrating the agency’s 10th anniversary next year, Little and Meyer wanted to expand their company’s impact further. To accomplish this, Little said, the team did some serious reflecting.

“What do we want to do with the success that we’ve had? How do we want to contribute to impact beyond just the organizations that we work with?” she said. “We have

this vision of wanting to continue to leverage our platform for impact and doing things that matter.”

They ultimately found a home for that vision—one that will support UMass Boston students for years to come.

Earlier this year, the pair committed $25,000 to establish the EmVision Social Impact Scholarship Fund to support students in their capstone year of the Critical Ethnic and Community Studies (CECS) graduate program.

Additionally, scholarship recipients will be presented with mentorship and applied opportunities with EmVision.

Little said that the decision to establish the scholarship came from her own positive experience at UMass Boston.

As a queer, mixed-race woman and a first-generation college graduate from a working-class Dominican-German immigrant family, Little witnessed early on how academic environments can be supportive or exclusionary spaces for students from underserved backgrounds. It wasn’t until she enrolled at UMass Boston that she found a dynamic and diverse community that helped her flourish. During her undergraduate studies and in the CECS program, mentors provided her with opportunities and resources to mobilize her lived experiences as strengths, be it for producing her honors thesis research or a digital story.

Little credits CECS-affiliated faculty Ester R. Shapiro and Shirley S. Tang as influences on her journey and on EmVision’s Social Impact Storytelling framework rooted in person-centered authenticity, assets, and action.

“There was a very clear alignment between our business and what we’re about, and what the [CECS] program is about, and how they support students to be changemakers in the community and in the world,” Little said.

Meyer echoed these sentiments.

“As an immigrant student from Germany, it was UMass Boston peers who shaped my experience on campus and in the community, and gave me a sense of belonging,” he said. “I’m not only giving to the school. I’m foremost giving to its students.”

“The significance of this gift underscores the value of the CECS program for those committed to positive social change and service to community,” said CECS director Cedric J. Woods, who also serves as director of the Institute for New England Native American Studies.

“Dr. Little’s and Mr. Meyer’s gift will support ongoing generations of scholars to do so in the places where they are valued and there is a need and desire for truly collaborative research and activism.”

“I would love for students to have an easier time navigating through college. Hopefully with this gift, they have less of a financial burden and can fully focus on making the most of their education and bringing their full selves to the classroom as a community,” Little said. “It’s a transformative way, a lasting way, to make a difference.”

Fall 2022

Celebrating Alumni Achievement The inaugural Beacon Awards were bestowed on five outstanding individuals this past June.

These awards are given annually to celebrate the successes of our exemplary alumni.

BOSTON STATE COLLEGE

UMASS BOSTON DISTINGUISHED

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

ALUMNI AWARD

Marie Fox ’52 (posthumously)

Allyce Najimy G’88 Allyce serves on the UMass

Marie founded the Boston

Boston Sport Leadership and

Teachers College Scholarship

Administration Program Advisory

Committee and was instrumental

Board and is an associate lecturer

in raising money for the BTC

who teaches the Careers in Sports

Scholarship Fund, which surpassed

& Sport Internship class. She has

$1 million last year. A staple at

helped secure internships for

the Boston Teachers College

UMass Boston students with a

Scholarship Luncheon since its

wide array of sport organizations,

inception, Marie organized the

including Boston Athletic

event for over 25 years alongside

Association, Boston Celtics, Boston

her classmates. She had a

Red Sox, Fenway Sports Group,

successful and rewarding career

New England Patriots, MLS, NESN,

as a first grade teacher in Boston

and Special Olympics. Since 2007,

and Newton for many years.

she has served as the founding

Growing up during a time when

Described as a “passionate,

Sadly, Marie passed away in April

executive director and chief

there were very few Black nurses,

dedicated, giving, and selfless

at the age of 91, but she will be

executive officer of the Foundation

Gloria found herself in a co-op

human," Amy currently serves as

remembered as a leader in the field

to be Named Later, whose mission

program in nursing after failing to

an English teacher in the PEAK

of education and a tremendous

is dedicated to improving lives

find a physical therapy program

program at Woburn Memorial

supporter of UMass Boston.

through education, leadership,

that would provide enough

High School, where she has

and the health development of

scholarship aid. After completing

spent the last 11 years. During her

youth and families. Allyce serves

the program, Gloria embarked on

tenure at Woburn High, she has

BOSTON STATE COLLEGE

on various boards throughout the

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

a nursing career that would span

advised several student clubs

city and metropolitan Boston and is

James P. McDonough ’74

more than 50 years, working in

and organizations, and serves

responsible for raising critical funds

departments including maternity,

on various community boards.

for scholarships to ensure that a

pediatrics, and community health.

Amy is a two-time recipient

Jim retired as president and CEO

diverse and inclusive student body

Gloria and her husband worked and

of the Woburn Community

of Randolph Bancorp Inc. Prior to

gets the opportunity to pursue their

lived as house parents in Jamaica

Educational Foundation’s Woburn

his time at Randolph Bancorp, Jim

talents and achieve their dreams

Plain in a home for mothers and

Awesome Teacher Award, and

served as Chancellor and chief

with a career in sports.

babies. Gloria served new single

she was the recipient of the 2020

financial officer of the Archdiocese

parents, teaching them how to care

Massachusetts Unsung Heroine

of Boston, where he was nationally

for their infant children and offering

Award for the 15th Middlesex

recognized for transforming the

support as they transitioned to

District of Massachusetts. Amy

organization’s finances and creating

their new homes. She recruited

speaks three languages and

budget transparency. He serves on

mentors for mothers, wrote grants

spends her summers as a paralegal

several boards throughout Boston

to fund specialized programs

for a notable immigration law firm

and the South Shore.

for new mothers, and served on

in Boston, where she can express

several committees that promoted

her passion for social justice and

diversity and inclusion, having

immigrant rights.

Gloria Cater, Alumni Board President Kathleen Carten ’79, Allyce Najimy, Amy Cardoso UMASS BOSTON OUTSTANDING

UMASS BOSTON EMERGING

SERVICE AWARD

LEADER AWARD

Gloria Cater PhD’10

Amy Cardoso G’17

served in a leadership role for the Massachusetts Action Coalition.

Do you know an alumnus/a of

Over the course of her career, she

UMass Boston or its legacy schools

earned bachelor’s and master’s

who is deserving of a Beacon

degrees and a doctorate, all in

Award? For more information

nursing.

on each award and to submit a nomination, visit umb.edu/AAA.

Beacons

27

sweet success Within hours of posting a photo of one of her Indian fusion creations to an online foodie group, Meghana Vallurupalli ’17 received dozens of messages and requests from people clamoring for her Indianinspired pastries. Since launching her baking business, Pastries by Pono, nearly a year ago, Vallurupalli has fielded hundreds of orders— and she only has plans to expand.

28

Fall 2022

Q What made you gravitate toward baking?

30, 40 orders. People could not get

when you bite into it, it tastes like a

enough of it. Eventually I ended up

little bit of everything.

Food has always been a really

doing baby showers and weddings.

important part of my life, ever since

It was a little bit out of control! This

What’s your most popular item?

I was a kid. I’m South Indian and

December will actually make it a year

I would say it’s definitely the gulab

cultural foods growing up were

officially that I’ve been selling sweets

jamun cake or cupcakes. People

a really big part of my childhood.

and taking customer orders.

tend to really like them. They fly off the shelves every time.

During COVID, I didn’t have any

tried to make the traditional sweets

You earned your bachelor’s degree in management from UMass Boston. Did this play a role when starting and growing Pastries by Pono?

myself, which I utterly failed at, but

UMass Boston set me up for success

requests to develop fun flavors. My

cookies and cakes and cupcakes

from the get-go. My focus during

favorite flavor that I’ve developed is

had been more sort of my thing. I

my undergrad was international

probably the rasmalai cupcake.

started off with box mixes as a kid

management. And so a lot of what I

and have evolved to doing things

focused on through college and after

from scratch now. And I was like,

was marketing and digital marketing.

Do you have a recipe you're wanting to try?

“It would be really cool if I could

Being able to give me access to

Currently, I don’t offer anything

replicate the flavors that I would find

internships to really figure out where

chocolate on my menu, and there’s

in a traditional Indian sweet, but it

I wanted to grow my career has really

been a hunger lately from people

might take your cupcake form.”

helped me. And being in marketing

who really want chocolate. I’m

and being able to tap into my creative

developing a cupcake that’s called

What made you decide to turn baking into a business?

side is a big part and a big reason as

the “hide-and-seek” cupcake. It’s

to why I picked up this hobby and why

based off of a biscuit cookie that you

I started playing around with flavors

my business is doing so well. I’ve been

get back in India.

really just for me and my friends for

able to scale it by marketing it very

parties that I hosted. It was really just

efficiently and creatively.

family going back and forth from India to the U.S. anymore. I was craving and missing the sweets they used to bring back from home. I

My specialty is cupcakes. I do a lot of developing different types of flavors, and I have gotten a lot of

Can you give us a baking tip?

To keep your cakes really moist—

an interesting dessert that I’d put on

What Indian flavors do you replicate in your baking?

even after they’ve come out of the

interesting cake for a party. It’s called

Traditionally, in Indian sweets, we

or whatnot—the trick is to poke

a gulab jamun cake. The American

use a lot of cardamom, rose—like

holes in the top of your cake and

way of describing it is it’s like a deep-

rose essence—saffron-infused

lightly pour a little bit of plant-based,

fried Munchkin that's been soaked

sugar syrups. I add them to a

unflavored, unsweetened milk on top

in sugar syrup. It's essentially this

traditional vanilla base. Sometimes

of it. It’ll keep it moist for days.

deep-fried donut heaven of goodness.

a saffron poundcake base. A good

Everybody just loved it so much. I

example is a rasmalai flavor, which

didn't even have a slice to myself at

traditionally is a milk sweet. It’s

What are your future plans for your baking business?

the end of the party. And someone

like ricotta cheese soaked in three

I’m actually hoping to launch

said, “Wow, I wish you would sell this

different types of milk. The way I’ve

an e-commerce website by

because I would totally pay money

turned it into a cupcake is that it’s

December—sort of like a one-year

for this.”

a vanilla cupcake that has a ricotta

anniversary kickoff of the business.

cheese filling in the middle. The

My hope is to be able to take online

Indian community, and there’s a

ricotta cheese is infused with heavy

orders and ship my products. I get

hunger for new things. I posted [one

whipping cream and cardamom to

a lot of requests from all over the

of my cakes on social media]. And I

give you that rasmalai flavor and

country. They’re becoming really

was booked solid for a month. Every

taste. And I top it off with a really

popular. So the hope is to be able to

single weekend, I was receiving 20,

light whipping cream frosting. So

scale it.

the table when I was at get-togethers.

One time I had made a really

I live in Tampa, and there’s a large

Beacons

What’s your specialty?

oven, while you’re decorating them,

29

Class notes 1950s Gerald Hurley ’58 was a public school teacher in Massachusetts for four decades. Initially, he taught 5th grade at Wollaston School in Quincy and then worked with 8th graders with learning disabilities at the Marshall Simonds Middle School. A longtime resident of Concord, Mass., Hurley volunteers with the town’s Council on Aging. He also plays

70s and spent 27 years with the

son-Smith has published a series of books,

a special education teacher at Western

Department of Mental Health as an

including Braver Than Brave and The Last

Middle School. She held additional

inpatient clinical social worker. Dauer

Great Adventure of the PB & J Society.

positions at GPS, including special

retired from the commonwealth in 2010.

Since then, he has worked with the Veterans’ Administration housing homeless veterans. He provided clinical

education teacher at Parkway, Response

1990s

to Intervention coach for the District, and

Scott Anderson ’94, a longtime partner

Showstead’s career as an educator began

the interim assistant principal at Cos Cob.

supervision to homebased elder services,

at Verrill Dana, LLP, was named the firm’s

as a teacher in Massachusetts, first at the

and currently maintains a private practice

new managing partner. Anderson was a

May Center School for Autism in

specializing in the issues of older adults.

member of the team that worked on

Braintree, and then followed by positions

Verrill’s five-year strategic plan, which

at the middle school in Weymouth, and

Margaret Fitzpatrick ’73, congregation-

launched in 2020, making him uniquely

William Foster Elementary School in

al leader for the Sisters of Charity in

qualified to oversee the plan’s implemen-

Hingham. She went to Connecticut to

Halifax, Canada, received an honorary

tation. Over nearly two decades at the

work at West Elementary School in New

degree from the University of Scranton at

Canaan, and King’s Highway Elementary

Rev. Louis H.G. Bier G’62 received the

firm, Anderson has held a variety of

its undergraduate commencement

School in Westport.

God and Service Award after being

leadership positions, including the firm’s

ceremony on May 21, 2022. A nationally

nominated by the Wollaston Lutheran

Executive Board and Compensation

recognized leader in higher education,

Church and the Spirit of Adventure

Committee.

Sister Fitzpatrick served as president and

2000s

Council, BSA. The award is a national

CEO of St. Thomas Aquinas College in

recognition given by churches and

Dianne Kelly ’93, G’11 was named

Flossy Calderón ’01 was promoted to

Sparkill, New York, for 25 years before

national youth agencies cooperating with

president of Massachusetts Association

director of Head Start and Children’s

retiring June 2020. During her tenure, she

Programs of Religious Activities with

of School Superintendents (MASS). Kelly

Services at Action for Boston Community

led the way for the college to join the

Youth. It acknowledges distinguished

began her career with Revere Public

Development. Calderón is also a board

Catholic Climate Covenant, a pledge to

volunteer service by adults in ministry to

Schools in 1995 before being elevated to

member of the Massachusetts Head Start

educate students, employees, and

young people through service to the

superintendent in 2015, was appointed

Association and a member of the Head

community members on climate change.

president of the MASS post in May and

Start Regional Training and Technical

officially took over the post during the

Assistance Advisory Committee.

in a music group.

1960s

church and one or more of the national youth agencies. Bier graduated from the seminary in 1959 and was ordained as a minister in the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church.

1970s

1980s

MASS’s spring conference on Cape Cod. As president of the MASS, Kelly will work

Jondavid “JD” Chesloff G’93, the

George Drugas ’82, a banker with 21

with the executive committee of 16 to 18

president and CEO of the Massachusetts

years of experience in Massachusetts and

superintendents from across the state to

Business Roundtable, joined small

Rhode Island, has joined HarborOne Bank

push education goals and initiatives for

business accelerator Lever Inc.’s board of

as vice president, small business team

the next year.

trustees. Chesloff has worked in and

leader. Drugas comes to HarborOne Bank

around Beacon Hill for more than 25

George Botelho ’75 was selected for a

after serving as vice president and

David Ryan ’91, who earned his

years. In the state legislature, he served

10-month fellowship project by the U.S.

customer credit advocate at Citizens

bachelor’s degree in English from UMass

as the chief of staff to the House

Department of State. He will be training

Bank for the past three years. In that

Boston, won an O. Henry Prize in fiction

Committee on Commerce and Labor and

teachers and teaching English in

capacity, Drugas worked with Rhode

for his short story “Warp and Weft,” which

was also the education issues analyst and

Cambodia at Phnom Penh Teacher

Island and Cape Cod market relations

was published in Issue 56 of Harvard

deputy budget director for the House

Education College. Botelho is one of only

managers, previewed credit opportunities,

Review. Established in 1919, the O. Henry

Committee on Ways and Means. His work

200 U.S. citizens selected for the

and reviewed loan applications.

Award is the only yearly award given to

at the Roundtable is focused on

short stories of exceptional merit.

strengthening the state’s long-term social

2022–2023 English Language Fellow Program. He earned his bachelor’s degree

Janet Johnson-Smith ’84 published a

in English and secondary education from

children’s book entitled Help Wanted, Must

making Massachusetts a highly desirable

Boston State College.

Lauren Showstead G’98 was appointed

Love Books. Available in hardcover,

assistant principal at Central Middle

place to do business in a global economy.

paperback, and e-book, Help Wanted

School of Greenwich Public Schools

Gary Dauer ’71 is celebrating 50 years in

follows Shailey as she interviews a series

(GPS). Showstead has been with GPS

Evan Cline G’01 joined Haverhill Bank as

social work. He worked as an outreach

of fairytale characters to read her bedtime

since 2006, most recently as the interim

vice president and controller. Cline comes

social worker for Catholic charities in the

stories. Middle-grade author John-

assistant principal at Glenville School and

to Haverhill Bank with more than 25 years

30

and economic vitality with the goal of

Fall 2022

of experience in banking and finance,

the Merrimack Valley and then sought

having most recently served as controller

humanitarian-based immigration relief for

at GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner.

unaccompanied children in removal

He previously held senior finance positions

proceedings as a legal advocate in the

at Milford National Bank & Trust, People’s

AmeriCorps program.

United Bank, and First Trade Union Bank.

Lisa Coppola ’09, a therapist who works

2010s

specifically with adopted adults at Boston

Meghan Callaghan G’12 was named

Post Adoption Resources, authored a

Dean of Teaching and Learning at

52-week writing journal entitled Voices

Berkshire Community College. In this role,

Unheard: A Reflective Journal for Adult

she will lead the Division of Teaching and

Adoptees. An adult adoptee herself,

Learning Innovation. Callaghan arrives

Coppola’s journal tells some of her own

from Bunker Hill Community College

story and explores the impact of loss on

(BHCC), where she worked in several

an adoptee. The journal offers prompts

roles over the past 13 years. Her responsi-

based on core themes that arise in

bilities included coordinating the Office of

therapy, space for writing, resources

Community Engagement, expanding

including a glossary and guidelines, and a

outcome and assessment work into the

script to help volunteer moderators run

co-curricular, serving as BHCC’s

peer groups.

Massachusetts Community College Council union president, being a founding

Taunya Jarzyniecki G’02 joined the

member of the Center of Equity and

Reading Police Department as a public

Cultural Wealth and, most recently,

safety clinician. Jarzyniecki works with

serving as the Associate Director of

Reading Police and the Reading Coalition

Academic Innovation and Distance

for Prevention & Support to provide

Education.

resources, counseling, and other

David Castagnetti G’89 received the Business-Government Relation Award at the 2022 Bryce Harlow Foundation

assistance to those in the community who

Brian Chavez ’14, has partnered with

face mental health and substance misuse

C3 Industries, a multi-state, vertically inte-

issues. Jarzyniecki is an experienced

grated cannabis company, on its entry

clinical mental health leader with a strong

into the Massachusetts retail market.

foundation in crisis intervention, mental

Chavez, who earned his bachelor’s

health treatment, substance misuse

degree in economics from UMass Boston,

support, and care.

will serve as CEO of the partnership. As

Annual Awards reception. Castagnetti is co-founder of Juana Matias ’09, a former state

Chavez will also be opening locations in

respected and effective bipartisan government relations

representative and the chief operating

Roxbury and Roslindale.

firms in Washington, DC. His extensive experience

officer of Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, is on the move again,

Tracey Colagrossi G’16 completed her

this time bound for federal government

two-year term as chairperson of the

service. President Joe Biden tapped

Executive Committee for the National

Matias, who represented Lawrence in the

Council on Aging National Institute of

Massachusetts House for the 2017–2018

technology start-ups, trade associations, and well-known

Senior Centers. Colagrossi will serve a

session, to serve as the New England

term as past chair of the committee,

non-profits. Castagnetti has proudly mentored hundreds of

regional administrator of the U.S.

which serves senior center professionals

young professionals over the course of his career.

Department of Housing and Urban

across the nation. She is the senior center

Development. Before being elected to the

manager of Arlington Heights Senior

House, Matias worked as a social worker in

Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

developing long-term strategic communications and advocacy plans and ability to operate in complex environments has made him a trusted counselor to numerous Fortune 100 companies, Silicon Valley titans,

Beacons

part of the partnership, C3 Industries and

Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, one of the most

31

Class notes

Whitney Dailey G’11 was appointed

Kaitlin Gould CER’16, PhD’19 was

She also boasts nearly two decades of

degree in international relations and

executive vice president of purpose at

appointed assistant professor of school

frontline nursing experience, having

affairs from UMass Boston.

Allison+Partners to help lead the agency’s

psychology at the College of Saint Rose

served as a registered nurse and lactation

work with purpose-driven brands across

in New York. Gould served in a research

consultant for Cambridge Health Alliance.

sectors. Previously, Dailey served as senior

role over the past two years, conducting

agency leader and purpose brand

projects focusing on parent and teacher

Eduardo Moreno Mendez ’18 was

Project, an organization aimed at

strategist at the firm. In her role, Dailey will

training for behavioral interventions. Her

appointed chief of staff to Sen. Lydia

empowering young women of color.

collaborate with global leaders at

research interests include behavioral

Edwards. Previously, Mendez served as a

Founded 10 years ago by Nurys Camargo

Allison+Partners to build breakthrough

intervention, neurodiversity, and

legislative aide to Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.

with an initial cohort of 10 Latinas, the

purpose and ESG (environmental, social,

intervention acceptability.

Before starting in Chang-Diaz’ office in

organization has grown to to reach over

2020, Mendez was a research and policy

3,000 women of color through its program-

and governance) platforms and related

Zaida Vanessa Ismatul Oliva ’14 was appointed executive director of The Chica

communications programs that drive

Alexa Knight ’17 was accepted into the

associate fellow at the Mass. Competitive

ming. Olivia worked in the non-profit field

business results and meet evolving

PhD program at Brown University for fall

Partnership and an assistant general

for 10 years prior to attaining her

consumer demand and stakeholder

2022. She will study molecular biology,

manager with the Legendary Restaurant

bachelor’s and master’s degrees and

expectations.

cell biology, and biochemistry. Knight

Group. Mendez earned a bachelor’s

pursuing work in higher education.

earned her bachelor’s degree in

Paul English ’87, G’89, H’19 sold his

anthropology from UMass Boston.

latest venture, podcast discovery app Moonbeam, to one of the country’s

Melanie Christine Loria ’16 joined

largest radio station operators, with

McCullough Landscape Architecture as a

José F. Massó ’08 was appointed to the role of Chief of

plans to plow the proceeds into his newly

marketing and business development

Human Services by Mayor Michelle Wu. The Chief of

launched startup incubator. The

manager. Loria has several years of

Moonbeam technology, English said, will

marketing experience in the architectural,

Human Services is charged with making Boston a more

probably be the centerpiece of Audacy’s

engineering, and construction industries.

podcast tech (though the Moonbeam

Most recently, she led the marketing

name will probably go away). To English,

department for the New School of

the sale of Moonbeam, roughly one year

Architecture & Design as its marketing

mayor’s human services agenda for Boston, overseeing key

after its launch, marks the sixth such

manager.

departments that provide services to city residents, and

equitable city by ensuring that city services and opportunities for residents are accessible and responsive to the needs of all. Massó will lead the implementation of the

working in partnership with social service organizations and

deal that he has completed of a startup that he’s led, or helped lead. He sold

Sherry MacKenzie ’13 has been

Kayak to what was then Priceline.com, in

promoted to clinical director at Care

2013. English helped lead Boston Light,

Dimensions, the largest hospice and

InterMute, and GetHuman. He cofounded

palliative care organization in

Lola.com, a travel-tech company, in 2015

Massachusetts. MacKenzie began her

and eventually sold that technology to

career at Care Dimensions as an RN case

Capital One last year, before embarking

manager and admission liaison nurse

on his venture studio project.

before being promoted to clinical

service providers across the city.

manager in 2019. Prior to coming to Care

Thomas Golden ’15 was appointed

Dimensions, she worked in rehabilitation

Vice President, Community Reinvestment

and long-term care settings as a nurse

Act (CRA) Officer at Rockland Trust. In

manager and staff nurse.

his role, Golden is responsible for promoting, developing, implementing,

Cheryl McInerney ’10 was appointed

and administering all aspects of the

dean of St. Paul’s School of Nursing-

Bank’s CRA program. His work includes

Staten Island. She brings 30 years of

serving as Rockland Trust’s principal

knowledge in health care and education

point of contact for community

to her role at the school. Prior to joining

organizations focused on the promotion

the school, McInerney served as dean of

of affordable housing, community

nursing and health science for Bay State

investment, economic development, and

College, where she supported efforts to

the delivery of banking and financial

strengthen and expand academic

services.

programs offered to health professions.

32

Fall 2022

Tyler Papadinis G’12 was named

students’ growth and learning. Nominated

assistant men’s basketball coach at

by their local PBS stations, 20 educators

Bowdoin College. A veteran Division III

were chosen from across the country.

coach, Papadinis was most recently the

Pekarcik was named the 2018 Massachu-

head coach at Rhodes (Tenn.) College

setts Teacher of the Year. She also served

from 2018–2020. Prior to his two years at

as a PolarTREC educator during a 2016

Rhodes, where he had one All-Southern

research trip to Antarctica. Pekarcik served

Athletic Association selection, Papadinis

as a GBH/NEPM Educator Ambassador

was the associate head coach for MIT. In

from 2020–2022.

his three seasons with the Engineers, the program proved to be one of the best in New England, recording 66 wins, two

Ryan Sullivan ’16 joined Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) as chief financial

NEWMAC Championships, and two NCAA officer. For the past 19 years, Sullivan Tournament trips. Papadinis got his worked at Massachusetts General Hospital coaching start at UMass Boston from

in a variety of roles, including planning and

2008–2015, earning his master’s degree

opening new buildings, director-level

while serving as the assistant coach for

financial management, and most recently as

five years before being named associate

the administrative director for their Center

head coach. In addition to his collegiate

for Genomic Medicine, which requires

coaching experience, Papadinis also has

responsibilities encompassing strategic and

NBA experience serving as an operations

financial management, human resources,

intern for the New York Knicks before

compliance, safety, facilities, and operational

accepting the position at UMass Boston.

leadership. He is also a certified nurse practitioner and has worked in the LCHC

Chris Pappavaselio ’18 was among 12

Urgent Care Center since 2017.

law students to have been awarded a Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy Fellowship. Rappaport fellows have

2020s

the opportunity to explore and expand on

Esther Rogers ’12, CER’19, G’20 joined Jane Doe Inc., the Mass.

Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence as their first Safe Housing Initiatives (SHI) manager. SHI is a strategic partnership geared to improving longer-term affordable housing access for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault across the commonwealth. Rogers brings over 10 years of

their diverse interests in public policy by

Rachel Holland CER’21 joined the Wood

working with top policymakers throughout

River Health Services (WRHS) team in

the summer. Each fellow also receives

November 2021 as a new family nurse

extraordinary mentorship from Rappaport

practitioner. Prior to starting at WRHS,

Center Advisory Board members, prior

Rachel worked as a registered nurse in

Rappaport fellows, and notable

long-term and acute care. Her most recent

County for the Mass. Commission on the Status of Women. Per

practitioners and civic leaders in the public experience in acute care was in both local

its enabling legislation, the Bristol Commission on the Status of

extensive experience in housing insecurity and advocacy in the shelter and transitional content as well as advocacy experience with local and state government towards housing justice. In May 2022, she was appointed as a regional commissioner for Bristol

sector. Pappavaselio, a student at Harvard

and distant hospitals as a travel nurse. She

Women is charged with conducting an ongoing study of matters

Law School, has maintained his passion

received a master’s degree in nursing

concerning women and girls within Bristol county and across the

for education and responsible governance

education from Southern New Hampshire

commonwealth.

through writing a civics-themed column for University and went on to obtain a the Concord Monitor and serving as an

post-master’s certificate as an FNP from

elected member of his town’s school

UMass Boston.

committee. Pappavaselio plans to impact his community through working in the

Shannon Kurzeski CER’17 joined

criminal justice field.

Community Health Programs’ (CHP)

Inc., Caring Health Center, and New

opening a second storefront in Brookline.

Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield as

England Sports, Orthopedic, Spine, and

While a student at UMass Boston, Vasco

Cara Pekarcik G’11 was among the

a family nurse practitioner. Before joining

Rehabilitation.

received the inaugural Entrepreneur

2022 class of educators selected for the

CHP, Kurzeski owned and operated her own

PBS Digital Innovator All-Star Program.

family primary care practice, Complete Care

Maria Vasco ’20 is expanding the reach

Dan Phillips, the founding director of

The program honors classroom

for All, in Ludlow, Mass., for two years. She

of her zero-waste store, Uvida. Less than

UMass Boston’s Entrepreneurship Center

changemakers who offer fresh ideas and

has also worked in practices in the

two years after launching her flagship

and an advisor in the Venture Develop-

bold approaches to supporting their

Springfield area, including Ludlow Pediatrics

storefront in the North End, Vasco is

ment Center, served as a mentor to Vasco.

Beacons

Scholarship. Her scholarship’s founder,

33

Class notes

In Memoriam Lt. Sara Wulff ’20, who spent the last five

Baghdad. She and her fellow soldiers are

years living in Dorchester while attending

attached to the National Guard’s 182nd

UMass Boston, is part of a team of

Infantry regiment’s transportation unit,

Massachusetts National Guard troops

which musters from the Victory Road

assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and

Armory in Dorchester.

Since our last issue, it has saddened us to learn of the passing of the following members of the UMass Boston community.

ALUMNI

Janice N. Donnelly Hart ’62

Pearl U. Allen ’85

Kerry E. Haughney G’77

Laura R. Andrews ’90

Edward R. Herlihy ’80

Constance Lee Arena CER ’92

Kevin C. Hickey

Sandra E. Austin ’79

James R. Hill ’88 G’98

Chukwu E. Azubuko G’95

Martha J. Aherin Horn ’93, G’97

The Honorable Myong J. Joun ’94 was named a

Albert E. Beaton ’55

Randy R. Isaacs ’06

judicial candidate for the United States District

Steven Beck G’93

Anne B. Iuliano ’74

Court for the District of Massachusetts by

John E. Benham G’60

Nora Kaulins ’74

Marilyn Bolea ’72

Joseph J. Kingston ’93

Marie T. O’Connell Brady ’52

Gerard R. Lane ’62

Agnes Mary Cunnally Brown ’49

Carol A. Mchugh Lane ’61

Edward J. Burke ’66

Marianne Lang ’89

Professor Jeanne M. Burke G’94

Pamela Robie Lavalley ’69

Kathleen A. Casavant ’98

Mark Levy ’86

served in the Massachusetts National Guard and

Paul F. Ciccarelli ’60

Lorraine A. MacFarlane

as a member of the boards of the American Civil

Peter S. Cloyes ’69

William P. Magarian ’67

Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the National

Robert F. Coen ’95

Edmea McCarty ’81

Lawyers Guild, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil

Sgt. Alan Edwin Coffman ’22

Joyce A. McPhillips ’74

Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association,

Thomas P. Coleman Jr. ’85

Carmen Pacheco Medeiros ’75

and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Thomas R. Conroy ’84

Mary I. Mendenhall ’70

Paul B. Cousineau ’92, G’96

Blanche O. Miller CER ’97, CER ’98

Merzia Getzoian Cronin ’74

Kathleen M. Mitchell ’68

Stephen D. Crosby ’73

James I. Mitchell ’70

Denise Ryan DeBassio ’67

Patricia A. Geary Moore ’80

Donna Holt Derosa ’83

Virginia Madden Mullen ’63

James W. Donnelly ’75

Joseph H. Mulligan ’75

Sean Michael Doyle ’82

Angela M. O’Connor ’92

James Doyle ’87

Arthur J. Ohanley ’00

Guy R. Elliot Jr. ’69

Barry Podradchik ’63

Sandra M. Evans G’91

Eugene V. Povirk G’83

Cheryl A. Siegel Fitzpatrick-Hey ’98

Sherell M. Pringle ’18

Walter H. Flynn Jr. ’65

Sabine Quitslund ’78

Stephanie Ann Fobert ’83, CER ’94

Robert Lawrence Rabin Siegal ’77, H’20

Raul Peter Font G’13

John W. Reifenberg, III ’08

Marie A. Fox ’52

Arlene K. Reinhold G’96

Dr. Sophie Freud G’94

James A. Rennie CER ’93

Deborah F. Ghanayem ’97

Zachary Thomas Romania

Adele Marie O’Brien Giabbai ’53

Bill Russell H’02

Paul F. Gill ’71

Josephine Ryner ’74

Robert C. Gillin ’69

Steven M. Saxonis ’79

Mark A. Govoni ’76

Brian J. Shea G’79

Ronald D. Graham ’80

Margaret G. Sheehan ’03

Frank A. Greco ’87

Raymond A. Sheffield ’80

Florence Murphy Hallahan ’50, G’71,

John Shibley ’81

other Americans living and working in

President Joe Biden. Joun’s professional experience includes work in civil rights litigation for the law offices of Howard Friedman, and criminal defense and civil rights litigation for his own firm, the Joun Law Office. He has also

P’75,’86

34

Arlynn B. Gurwitz Siegel ’76

Sheila A. Halloran Dailey ’79

Lani P. Smith ’99

Laureen McNulty Harrelson ’69

Timothy J. Smith ’09 G’12

Fall 2022

In Memoriam

ALBERT “AL” BEATON JR. ’55

Mary M. States ’79 Robert J. Struthers Rosemarie A. Torlone ’55, G’57 Annette Tovsky ’52 Ellen V. Flannery Trainer ’64 Nancy E. Tyrer ’77, G’97 Ashley R. Udowenko ’16 Julianne Dahill Walsh ’61

Albert “Al” Beaton Jr. ’55 passed away on March 8, 2022. A graduate of State Teachers College at Boston, Beaton began his illustrious five-decade career as the managing director at Harvard University’s Littauer Statistical Laboratory in 1959 and an IBM Research Fellow. He later earned his master of education degree and EdD from Harvard University.

Beaton held several senior research and data analytics positions at the world’s largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. In addition to his full-time career, Beaton taught students as a guest lecturer at various universities, including Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, and Trinity College in Dublin. Beaton was honored with many awards during his career. In 2002, he was awarded the Augustus C. Long Professorship.

Cynthia D. Webster ’73 Freda R. Estner Weiner G’88 Sheila E. Whelton ’61 Joseph Bruce Womack ’83 Barbara A. Zani ’90 FACULTY AND STAFF Professor Chukwuma Azuonye Professor Yung-Ping Chen Professor Joan L. Ecklein Professor Clara Estow Professor Glenn Jacobs Professor Some Nath Mukherjee Professor Curtis R. Olsen James M. Wright Charles Yetman FRIENDS Rand V. Araskog

AGNES BROWN ’49 Agnes Brown ’49 passed away on March 17, 2022. She was a former elementary school principal who began her teaching career in Boston.

Her desire to travel and to learn about other cultures motivated Brown to accept a teaching position with the Department of Defense American School in Fontainebleau, France, where she met and later married her husband, Colonel James J. Brown. Following her retirement, she volunteered at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, working as a docent and later serving on the national board. She was a member of the Clifton Women’s Club, the Country Club View Women’s Club, the George Mason University Symphony, Fairfax County Retired Educators’ Legato School, the Raleigh Tavern Society, and the Smithson Society.

Hajj Asuman Lukwago P’22 Robert Coval Jean Entine Frances M. Farrell Donald E. Froude Yvette Mystal Gaston P’83 Edward C. Johnson III Donald Jonas Stephen J. LaRochelle Doris Mackler Clyde Magarelli Patricia Taylor Malbone P’95 Geraldine F. Martin Nancy M. McNamara Pete M. Nicholas Ivey St. John Howard Starnbach Kathleen Nancy Thomas Jason Toabe Sidney Topol Marianne Gontarz York

Beacons

SIDNEY “SID” TOPOL Sidney “Sid” Topol passed away on March 30, 2022. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1941 and went on to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Topol enjoyed professional success as an engineer and manager at Raytheon. He later served as president, CEO, and board chair of Scientific Atlanta, Inc. from 1971 to 1990. Topol leaves behind a legacy as a pioneer, a visionary, and a leader. Additionally, he was named the Distinguished Graduate of the Year by Boston Latin School. Upon retirement, Topol dedicated his time to philanthropy, enabling young leaders to learn about nonviolence as a pathway to peace and goodwill, especially in the Middle East, through the Topol Fellowships. He was also an advocate for the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development at UMass Boston, which investigates and addresses some of the most challenging human security concerns worldwide, including in Boston.

35

Alumni Events

1

2

8

9

7

3 10 4

6

36

5

Fall 2022

11 SAN FRANCISCO—FEBRUARY

1.)

Chancellor Suárez-Orozco and Ann Pagliaro ’69.

2.)

The San Francisco—Oakland Bay Bridge provides a backdrop for our Beacons.

BOSTON DAY OF SERVICE—APRIL

3.)

A group of alumni participated in the Spring Day of Service in April, cleaning up along the Harborwalk.

WASHINGTON DC—MAY

4.)

Philip McLaughlin ’17, Maddy LaCure ’20, G’20, Aisha Rahman, and Mohammed Uddin ’19 pose for a photo at our Washington, DC event in May.

5.)

College of Liberal Arts Dean Tyson King-Meadows addresses attendees.

SENIOR NIGHT IN BOSTON—MAY

6.)

Members of the class of 2022 pose for a picture during Senior

7.)

A group of classmates and friends pose for a photo.

8.)

Classmates enjoying the sunset on the rooftop deck as they

Night at Dorchester Brewing Company on May 9.

12

celebrate Senior Night 2022.

NEW YORK—JUNE

9.)

Kevin Rattigan ’98, Tyler Serota ’19, and Anne-Marie McLaughlin ’91, G’94 pose for a photo at the UMass reception in New York City.

BOSTON HARBOR CRUISE—JULY

10.)

Staff enjoy an afternoon boat cruise on Boston Harbor, hosted by

11.)

Jonas Meyer ’14, Tariana Little ’12, G’17, and their guests pose for a

the Donor Engagement Team this past July. photo while cruising Boston Harbor aboard the Columbia Point.

PORTSMOUTH, NH—JULY

13

14

12.)

Alumni gather for a group photo at the Portsmouth, NH reception

13.)

Vanessa Luongo ’17, Chelsea Hanson ’16, and Nicole Reilly ’16.

14.)

Linda Lu Burciaga ’79 and Elliott Maraniss ’05.

in July.

PORTLAND, ME—AUGUST

15.)

Alumni gather for a group photo at our Portland, ME alumni and

16.)

Diana Scannell ’83 and Jillian Felleman ’05 chat about their UMB

friends reception in August.

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW MIKAELIAN, CHRIS FERENZI, JAVIER RIVAS

experience.

16

15 Beacons

37

Alumni Events

Young Alumni Council

17

The Young Alumni Council welcomed four new members, who began their terms on July 1, 2022.

GUIVENS ANDRE ’18, G’20 English | Education College of Liberal Arts College of Education and Human Development Commercial Account Executive, Quickbase, and Founder & CEO, Amie LLC Hyde Park, Mass.

18 YOLANDA BURRELL ’11 Biology College of Science and Mathematics Administrative Manager of Operations, Codman Square Health Center, and Founder & CEO, InTechligence Inc. Quincy, Mass.

NURCIN CELEBI ’16, G’19

19

Psychology | Business Administration College of Liberal Arts College of Management Director of People, Appex Medford, Mass.

DIANA TRAN ’21 Management College of Management Associate IT Business Analyst, John Hancock Dorchester, Mass.

.

CAPE COD—AUGUST

17.)

18.)

Jim O’Sullivan ’80, Barry Regan ’79, Nancy Cross ’81, Kim Donovan

The Young Alumni Council adds new members twice

’82, Hugh Donovan ’86, John Yelmokas ’79, Cathy Regan, Marie

a year but accepts membership applications on a

O’Sullivan ’80, and Mary Rafferty ’78 pose for a photo at the Cape

rolling basis. If you’re interested in joining the YAC,

Cod reception in August.

submit an online application at alumni.umb.edu/YAC

Chancellor Suárez-Orozco is joined by members of the UMass Boston

or scan the QR code.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

19.)

38

Alumni listening to Chancellor Suárez-Orozco deliver remarks.

Fall 2022

UMass Boston Alumni Engagement is excited to announce the upcoming launch of Beacon Connect, an online engagement platform for alumni and students.

BEACONconnect Beacon Connect brings our community together by providing alumni access to: 0 Mentoring opportunities, both between alumni professionals and with student mentees Expanded network with access to an alumni 0 directory and networking opportunities

Exclusive jobs board 0 0 Alumni-owned business directory 0 Groups based on graduating class, interest, industry, and location

Event invitations 0

Visit alumni.umb.edu/beaconconnect for more information.

Beacons

39

5 Did You Know?

The University launched a campus-wide writing center!

The UMass Boston Writing Center provides free services for faculty and students to support their academic and professional writing at any stage of the writing process.

We asked Co-Director and Assistant Professor of English Florianne “Bo” Jimenez to share five fast facts about the center:

1 2

Jimenez, along with Co-Director María Carvajal Regidor, spent their first year at UMass Boston getting to know the needs of writers across the institution.

Prior to the establishment of the university-wide Writing Center, UMass

Boston housed multiple smaller centers that served students.

The goal of the Writing Center is to create an equitable, socially, racially, and linguistically just culture of writing throughout campus and in the community. Writers at all levels and across all majors can meet with trained

writing consultants to receive critiques of their written work. Students are specially trained to offer individual writing consultations, providing feedback on any writing—from class essays to cover letters, from theses and dissertations to manuscripts for publication and anything in between. To date, 21 undergraduate and graduate students have undergone the training necessary to become consultants.

3

40

Among the many professional development services they offer faculty, the Writing Center recently launched a weekly writing group for faculty of color. Co-hosted alongside the Office for Faculty Development and the

4

Alumna Patricia Flaherty ’81 is largely

to thank for the

professional development resources available at the Writing Center today, including a vast library of writing journals and reference guides. She established the Betty and Matt Flaherty Endowment in 2004, which assists various initiatives across campus. Flaherty’s ongoing support has propelled the Writing Center forward from concept to execution, making it a fully staffed resource center with trained writing experts.

5

Making an appointment is a breeze by visiting umb.edu/

writingcenter. Daytime,

Dean of Faculty, this accountability writing group is meant to provide space and

nighttime, in-person, and virtual

time for faculty of color to work on their writing in community.

appointments are available.

Fall 2022

Make a gift and

change a life.

Like many students, I worked multiple jobs while going to school full-time. Receiving scholarship aid was a lifeline, allowing me to focus on my studies and mental health and explore my passions, such as serving as a mentor and engaging with the Filipino Club.

I am forever grateful to the donors who supported and believe in me.”

— SHANARAH BARGAN ’22

NO MATTER THE AMOUNT, YOUR SUPPORT OF SCHOLARSHIPS AT UMASS BOSTON MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE TO STUDENTS. PLEASE MAKE A GIFT AND CHANGE A LIFE TODAY. UMB.EDU/GIFT

University of Massachusetts Boston Office of Alumni Engagement 100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3393

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 52094