Stephen King to Speak at UMass Lowell

N E W S R E L E A S E

May 15, 2012

Stephen King to Speak at UMass LowellLegendary Author to Make Rare Personal Appearance at Event for Public, Campus

LOWELL, Mass. – Stephen King’s words on page and screen have thrilled and chilled fans for three decades, but opportunities to hear those words spoken by the author himself are rare.

For one night only, King will take to the stage at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, offering fans the chance to hear King read his work, ask him questions and listen to him discuss his passion for writing and his advice for aspiring authors. “A Conversation with Stephen King” – set for Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. – will be moderated by Andre Dubus III, bestselling author and professor in UMass Lowell’s English Department, the program’s co-sponsor.

King’s appearance marks the debut of the new UMass Lowell Chancellor’s Speaker Series. Tickets to the Dec. 7 event go on sale to the public Friday, June 1 and are $30 (plus $2 facility fee) for general admission and $50 ($2 facility fee) for reserved floor seating. Tickets will be sold at the Tsongas Center box office, www.tsongascenter.com and 866-722-8780. Admission is free for UMass Lowell students with valid ID who obtain tickets in advance at the Tsongas Center box office.

“Writing requires not just a creative mind and some good ideas, but also dedication to the craft. I look forward to sharing my experiences as a writer and the lessons I have learned with UMass Lowell students and the public,” said King, who will hold a special master class for UMass Lowell creative writing majors during his visit to the university.

To further support UMass Lowell students, King and his wife, Tabitha, will endow a new scholarship fund in their names. King will donate his fee from the UMass Lowell appearance and at least $5 from every ticket sold for the Dec. 7 event will go to this scholarship fund.

“It is a tremendous honor to have Stephen King as the first headliner of the new UMass Lowell Chancellor’s Speaker Series. This is a perfect example of how the series will bring people at the top of their fields to campus to speak to our students and the community,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan. “We are also very grateful to Stephen and Tabitha King for their generous support for student scholarships here at UMass Lowell.”

King’s nearly 35-year literary career includes publishing more than 50 full-length books that have sold more than 350 million copies, as well as many short stories, essays, anthologies and novellas. King’s early thrillers, like “Carrie” and “The Shining,” put him on the map, not only as a writer of popular horror novels, but also one whose work could be successfully adapted for films and television. More than 50 of his works have been turned into movies and miniseries, and many have garnered critical success, including “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” both of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. King made his directorial debut with “Maximum Overdrive,” which was based on one of his short stories, and collaborated on “Ghosts,” a 40-minute music video with Michael Jackson.

King, who also published work under the pen name Richard Bachman, is best known for crafting tales that terrify. But he is also the author of nonfiction books like “On Writing,” his self-described “memoir of the craft,” and “Faithful,” a chronicle of the Boston Red Sox 2004 championship season co-written with Stewart O’Nan. Last year’s “11/22/63” was King’s first work of historical fiction, set around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. King has penned columns and opinion pieces that have appeared in publications and websites, including Entertainment Weekly and the Huffington Post, and he has made several TV and movie appearances. His body of work includes comic books, audio books and the novella “Ur,” written exclusively for release as an e-book for the Amazon Kindle. King is the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award.

UMass Lowell Alumnus, Wife Donate $4 Million for Scholarships

N E W S R E L E A S E

May 10, 2012

Contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

UMass Lowell Alumnus, Wife Donate $4 Million for Scholarships
University to Name New Business School Building to Honor Donors

LOWELL, Mass. – Student scholarships at UMass Lowell will get a $4 million boost thanks to a generous donation from an alumnus and his wife, successful entrepreneurs, for whom the university’s new business school building will be named.

The university announced today the new building will be named for John Pulichino ’67 and Joy Tong. To give back to his alma mater amid their highly successful business careers, Pulichino and Tong recently created the Pulichino/Tong Family Foundation scholarship fund for students in UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business, which will be housed in the new building.

This is the 12th donation of more than $1 million to UMass Lowell since 2007. Annual fundraising is up 84 percent to $15.2 million, with $62 million in gifts and pledges raised in the last five years.

“We are extremely grateful for John and Joy’s commitment to making a top-tier business education affordable and accessible for UMass Lowell students,” Chancellor Marty Meehan said. “The Pulichino/Tong Business Building and the scholarship fund will serve as enduring legacies for this generous couple, who are creating opportunities for future generations to succeed.”

Pulichino is the chief executive officer of Group III International Ltd., a global company founded in 1984 by Tong, an industrial designer who is the company’s creative director. Group III began as a small boutique wholesale company that marketed fashion and travel bags. Based in Florida where the couple lives, today the company manufactures and markets travel gear products under the Wenger Swiss Army Knife trademark and other private-label brands. Distributing more than 60 products through Target stores alone, Group III has generated more than $400 million in sales since 2003.

The couple’s gift comes a year after a multimillion-dollar donation from alumni Robert and Donna Manning that launched the effort to construct a new building to house what was renamed the Manning School of Business. Having that new home named the Pulichino/Tong Business Building is “an honor,” Pulichino said. Providing educational opportunities for students in an inclusive, dynamic environment is what motivates the couple to be UMass Lowell benefactors.

“The biggest reward will be to see deserving students graduate from the business school with the assistance of our scholarship fund,” Pulichino said.

Pulichino will be a featured speaker during the university’s Commencement Eve celebration to benefit student scholarships on Friday, May 25. Last year’s event raised more than $670,000. The next day, he will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award during UMass Lowell’s 2012 Commencement exercises that also feature U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar as speaker. For the fifth year in a row, a record number of students – approximately 2,900 – will receive their degrees in ceremonies that day.

Prior to joining Group III, Pulichino served as president and chief executive officer of American Tourister, where he grew company sales from $30 million to $150 million before the company was sold to Samsonite in 1993. In the 1970s, he gained his career footing in industrial engineering, planning and marketing at Polaroid Corp.

Pulichino, who also holds a master’s degree in engineering management, earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial management at Lowell Technological Institute, a UMass Lowell predecessor institution. A member of the Chancellor’s External Advisory Task Force, Pulichino also serves on the Manning School of Business Advisory Board and the building committee that will oversee the Pulichino/Tong Business Building construction.

Tong is widely recognized as one of the leading creative forces in the travel goods industry. The holder of numerous patents, she is the only recipient of the Industrial Designers Society of America’s Gold Award for luggage design. Born and raised in Taiwan, Tong’s parents fled mainland China during the Communist revolution. After earning a bachelor’s degree at the World School of Journalism in Taipei, Tong worked in publishing with McGraw Hill in Singapore before coming to the United States to teach in the Linguistics Department at Cornell University. She moved to New York City to enter a retail management program at Bloomingdale’s and began her career in consumer marketing and fashion design, moving on to positions with Procter & Gamble and Johnson Matthey Corp.’s Bag Lab, before founding Group III.

A Salute to Women of Our Region – Help the SUN

The Sun is going to publish a special section honoring women who have played a key role in the life and times of our region from the Mill Era to Modern Times. They are going to select 50 women and profile their lives and accomplishments in the fields of Government, Education, Health Care, Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Business, and Community Service.

Profiles of the top 50 women will be published in this special section of The Sun in June

Do you know of a women from the Mill Era or our current era who has impacted the quality of life in our region in the various fields?

Here’s the Link - Go to the Sun and nominate an outstanding women for this honor.

Robinson School Legacy Wall Project

Change to the Blog, Weekends Only !

Due to a great opportunity in my professional career, beginning today / this week I will only be posting on a regular basis on Weekends!

Thank You to all who have frequented this BLOG and I hope you still check in on Weekends for my take on local Officials, Issues, Events, the SUN, their political column, City Life and all things local or catch me most Saturdays mornings on Saturday Morning Live w/ Warren Shaw on WCAP 980 AM.

Overtime as I get settled in and comfortable in my new role I may return to a daily Blog but for the foreseeable future, weekends (or the occasional post for Important Breaking News Items) will be all I can contribute.

Check out the SUN’s Column Blog or City Life for your daily political fix or my buddy Jack over on Left in Lowell who is now charged with carrying the daily load.

Thank You for your understanding and support.

Gerry

Happy New Year and THANK YOU !

Taking a break for a couple days (after appearing tomorrow on Saturday Morning Live on WCAP)

Before I do I want to say THANK YOU for making gerrynutterslowell.com one of your daily or weekly reads.I am truly grateful you stop by to read or read then comment.

Thanks to my fellow bloggers for their encouragement, constructive criticism and occasional contributions.

Thanks to all our Elected Officials, Dept. Heads and candidates in Lowell and Dracut who respond to questions and take the time to explain their views and positions.

Special Thanks to Warren & Shawn for having me on Saturday Morning Live and to John and George for having me on City Life and publicizing the BLOG.

MAY 2012 bring you above all Good Health and a loving, healthy family. All else is really secondary.

I leave you with Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Merry Christmas

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

LINUS