UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney and Rep. Brian S. Dempsey during a Friday morning announcement at Harbor Place, Merrimack Street. (WHAV News photograph.)
Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini addresses a small audience gathered at Harbor Place. (WHAV News photograph.)
As UMass Lowell’s satellite campus in Haverhill moves next year to Harbor Place downtown, so will a new business incubator, or “innovation hub,” based on its model in Lowell.
UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney was joined Friday by Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, Mayor James J. Fiorentini and others as she unveiled plans for a business incubator to provide technology startups a range of services including co-working and private office space, access to expertise of UMass Lowell faculty and conference space available to businesses and the community.
“And prototype maker space that is so cutting-edge – something that we see a lot. We’ve heard a lot about Cambridge. Well. We’d love to see Haverhill become the next Cambridge and go-to-place,” Moloney said.
The university plans to move its current satellite from Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, to its permanent home at Harbor Place in time for the fall, 2017 semester. Moloney said the downtown location helps the university expand partnerships and forge new relationships to be “even more responsive to the needs of local employers and entrepreneurs.”
Dempsey, credited by Moloney with helping bring a state-of-the-art facility, said the vision several years ago to have UMass Lowell as an anchor that would help move Haverhill in a different direction has gone from an idea to reality.
“The university brings much more than its prestigious reputation. Cutting-edge research and development that’s engaged in exactly the type of expertise we’re going to need to unlock the economic development and job creation opportunities of the future,” Dempsey said. “Additionally, we know that the critical role in partnership UMass Lowell plays with the great asset we have—Northern Essex Community College—is important to continue to move Haverhill forward.”
Northern Essex Community College President Lane A. Glenn. (WHAV News photograph.)
Northern Essex President Lane A. Glenn added the college is proud to be part of the “ingredients” leading to recognition from other gateway cities, college presidents, lawmakers and economic development leaders at a function he attended Thursday night in Boston.
“Everybody wants to know, ‘What’s the secret up there in Haverhill?’ I mean, this is the place. It’s happening right here along the riverfront. I said, ‘It’s very simple. You find a Chairman Dempsey, you find a Mayor Fiorentini, you find a (Greater) Haverhill Foundation, you find a Chancellor Moloney.’ I mean, these are the ingredients that it takes,” Glenn said.
Fiorentini said the new technology hub was more than just about the downtown, but to connect it with industrial park employers in hiring workers.
“They can’t find the right people to bring in. And this technology hub with UMass Lowell is going to help with that. And the second thing they talk about is training. Training for their employees so that we can become the Cambridge of tomorrow, so that we can become the innovation hub of Massachusetts,” Fiorentini said.
UMass Lowell, with the move to Harbor Place, 2 Merrimack St., will also expand satellite campus program options, academic services and launch a new executive education program for mid-level and senior managers through its Division of Online and Continuing Education.
Others on hand at the news conference, held in the lobby at Harbor Place, included Sally Cerasuolo O’Rourke of Greater Haverhill Foundation, Rep. Diana DiZoglio of Methuen and Planning Office for Urban Affairs President Lisa B. Alberghini.
Funny, for the first time I think, all of these comments are right ! Lol
Conspiracy everywhere Jack. Must be awful living in that head of yours.
Thanks for weighing in Brian – you uncomfortable?
According to her bio on the UMass website, Chancellor Jacquie Moloney “provided more than 30 years of service to UMass Lowell”, No private sector experience, and no experience running a business. In fact, she’s never even worked at a job outside of academia and the public sector. Yup, in Haverhill that qualifies her to make headlines and promote promises she can’t keep.
The secret in Haverhill Lane Glenn? The secret is YOU developing programs with community colleges in the Dominican Republic to make it easy for illegal trespassers from that country attending NECC to transfer credits to earn a degree which enable those folks to take jobs from American citizens. Why aren’t you bragging about that FACT on the front pages Lane Glenn?
Unless you pay attention to all of the out of control liberalism going on in this state it’s hard to connect all the dots of the insanity Democrats are up to in this state. Here is a pay to play scheme of a private developer greasing the pockets of liberal democrats to build a building that private developers, unsubsidized by taxpayer funds, wouldn’t touch in literally 40 years. To make it work, they fill the building with a state taxpayer funded NECC. NECC has a program designed specifically to provide degrees to people from the Dominican Republic living in this country illegally. Once in possession of degrees, those people then have an automatic advantage in the job market based on the insanity of minorities having hiring preference via liberal Affirmative Action public policies. And now here they are promoting all the great business opportunities they’re going to provide. Crazy doesn’t quite do justice to explain how this city and state operate. Tax payers are getting screwed by the lies these liberal moonbats tell at each step and yet they keep electing them. Amazing…….
Excellent, I am excited to see this project and the building complete.
My fear was low income housing after a short period of time but it’s looking to be a viable project which will help the downtown.
Say what you will about me Dempsey but he has spearheaded many projects in this city. Yes public funds are being used but at least they are being used in Haverhill.
Without him this city would be an abandoned mill city with nothing.
Well said
Not withstanding the well written hissy fit preceding my post- this is excellent for the city. Well done Representative Dempsey. I, for one ,am pleased to see progress replace stagnation and decline.
“We’d love to see Haverhill become the next Cambridge and go-to-place,” –
Right. Cambridge, a city of multimillionaires and a liberal utopia, and Haverhill, a poor city, with a growing community increasingly dependent of government aid, drug overdoses, and Invaders. I can see it as being a “go-to” place. Hell, it’s already crossed into the Bradford section, you know, in the name of homogeneity and all that.
“The university brings much more than its prestigious reputation.” –
You mean like it’s plastics engineering program and the hockey team? As an alumni, I don’t recall anything else as being “prestigious”. I do however know that they barely graduate just over 50% of the student body…in six years, which is pathetic. Students also accumulate over $30K in student loan debt, which is equally pathetic for a PUBLIC institution. Of course Brian knows all about that, he and his pal Marty Meehan helped turning those students, including those who were not only not ready for college, but never graduated, into debt slaves. Of course, Brian also lied about this paradigm when he stated he was “working on it” in regard to addressing the costs of attending this PUBLIC institution. It’s really too bad these schools are not required to report on specific outcomes and have it tied into the RISK FREE (for the schools) student loan business.
‘What’s the secret up there in Haverhill?’ – Secret? It’s a matter of a $70 million-plus taxpayer money grab going to the friends of Brian & The Beacon Hill Firends. Nothing secret about it. Hopefully this “technology hub” comes with a disclaimer in regard to H-1B Visa Workers consuming all these would-be high skill jobs for students.