Research Leader Julie Chen Will Be First Asian American Chancellor at UMass Lowell
Posted May 10, 2022
By John O. Harney
Comings and Goings …
JULIE CHEN
The UMass System Board of Trustees named Julie Chen as the next chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She will succeed Jacquie Moloney, who last year announced her plan to step down this June. Chen will be the first Asian American to lead the 18,000-student university. She has been on the UMass Lowell faculty since 1997, including serving as vice provost for research and vice chancellor for research and innovation, directing UMass Lowell’s nearly $95 million research enterprise, which includes industry partnerships, technology transfer, startups and innovation, core research facilities and economic development programs. She holds three mechanical engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) appointed Bridgewater State University Vice President for Outreach and Engagement Brenda Molife as the Boston institution’s new provost and vice president of academic affairs, effective in July 2022. Last year, Molife served as interim president of Massasoit Community College. At MassArt, she will succeed James Mason, who served as interim provost during the 2021-22 academic year and will continue as dean of faculty and associate provost.
Boston College appointed Cornell University Law School professor Odette Lienau as the inaugural Marianne D. Short Esq. Dean at Boston College Law School, effective in January 2023. An expert on sovereign debt issues, Lienau has focused her research and teaching on international economic law, debtor-creditor relations, international politics and political and legal theory. She was Cornell’s inaugural associate dean for faculty research and intellectual life. He husband, Cornell professor Aziz Rana will also join the BC faculty as the Provost’s Distinguished Fellow in 2023-24, and then the J. Donald Monan S.J. Chair in Law and Government in 2024.
Salem State University chose alumnus Shawn Newton to be associate vice president and dean of students, starting July 3, 2022. For 20 years, Newton held various posts at Salem State, including assistant director of diversity and multicultural affairs and assistant dean of students. He also served as associate dean of students at Suffolk University and co-founded Newton Consultancy Group, providing diversity and inclusion workshops, conflict resolution and higher education consulting.
Sacred Heart University named Melinda Formica, who has held development posts at institutions such as Quinnipiac University, to be executive director of advancement for the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; Jill Meister, who has led advancement services at New York’s Adelphi University, to be executive director of advancement services; and Stacy Velarde, who has led development efforts at Northeastern University and the University of Connecticut Foundation, to be executive director of advancement for the College of Health Professions and the College of Nursing.
Western New England University School of Law appointed Jordan Hall as associate dean for law student affairs. He was previously the director of student affairs, campus equity and inclusion at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.