THEY WANT TO LEAVE THE WORLD BETTER THAN THEY FOUND IT

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2062

JFK GIVEN HONORARY DEGREE AT LOWELL TECH 60 YEARS AGO 

Lowell, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Sixty years ago today, September 7, 1956, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts was given an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Lowell Technological Institute*.

With the degree was a citation praising the senator as a "statesman, philanthropist, public servant and inspiration to his own and future generations".

While in Lowell, Senator Kennedy toured the newly opened Cumnock Hall and made a return campaign appearance in the city in 1958.**

On the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's death, Chancellor Marty Meehan said...

"You can see the Kennedy legacy in students at UMASS Lowell and campuses throughout the country.  They are free of bigotry.  They believe passionately that people should be free to live the way they want.  They want to leave the world better than they found it."


*Lowell Technological Institute was founded by James T. Smith in 1895 as Lowell Textile School.  LTS opened in February 1897 with 32 students.  It offered studies in cotton or wool manufacturing, design and textile chemistry and dyeing. 

 In 1903 the school moved to Southwick Hall where during WWI it was used as a training ground for soldiers.  LTI's textile program was closed in 1971 & the school placed emphasis on general engineering. In 1991, LTI became part of the University of Massachusetts.

In 2016, UML graduated 3720 students & set a record for 9 consecutive years of increasing enrollments.  The Class of 2016 was made up of residents of 43 states & 97 countries.  Today UML offers degrees in business education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences & social sciences.

**In Sept 1945, JFK's father gave a graduate research scholarship to LTI in honor of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. who died in WWII.

SOURCES

"Campus Community Remembers John F. Kennedy," by Jill Gambon, November 19, 2013, University of Massachusetts Lowell, www.uml.edu/

"History of the College," University of Massachusetts Lowell, www.uml.edu/

"UMASS Lowell Graduates, 'The World Needs You,'" University of Massachusetts Lowell, www.uml.edu/

Southwick Hall

Lowell Technological Institute

Lowell, Massachusetts 1903

JFK at Cumnock Hall

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Lowell, Massachusetts (1956)

www.uml.edu/