The University of Massachusetts launches its newest television campaign, produced by Element Productions, highlighting its prominent alumni, current students and professors.
Featured in the UMass ad in order of appearance are:
Actor, director and producer Bill Pullman is a New York State native who earned a Master of Fine Arts degree with a major in Directing from UMass-Amherst in 1980. Mr. Pullman began his career teaching at Montana State University while also performing in summer theatre. He had a knack for both romantic leads and comic parts. After performing in theatrical productions in New York City for several years, he decided to take a shot at films while he was in Los Angeles appearing in play scheduled for a three-month run. He landed his first film role in Ruthless People (1986) and has been a Hollywood mainstay ever since, even playing the role of the president of the United States in Independence Day (1996). An experienced stage director, he made his film directing debut with a remake of The Virginian (TNT 2000). He has received wide critical acclaim for his performances over the years and starred in the NBC miniseries Revelations.
Jochebed Pink, a May 2006 graduate of UMass-Amherst, majored in biology and was a 21st Century Leader Award Winner. She received a fellowship to work this summer at the UMass/Bay State Medical Center. She will attend UMass Medical School in the fall. At UMass-Amherst, she was a member of Commonwealth College, the honors college on campus. She worked in the provost's office and was chosen to intern in the Collaborative Biomedical Research Program. A resident of Holyoke, Jochebed says, "UMass is more than just an educational institution. It is a place where I was enabled to turn my dreams into reality."
UMass-Dartmouth junior Evan Widtfeldt is a business information systems major. He is from Woburn, and is planning for a career providing Internet security for major corporations. He chose to attend UMass-Dartmouth because he could gain the knowledge and skill he wanted and the campus is "five minutes from the city and five minutes from the beach." The affordability of UMass tuition was also a key factor for Evan in deciding where to attend college.
Jaime O'Karma is a psychology major and a member of UMass-Dartmouth's Class of 2008. She is from Monroe, Connecticut, and chose UMass-Dartmouth because she liked the way the campus looked and the people she met there when she visited as a high school student. She said it was also, "far enough away from home but not too far." She plans to attend graduate school after college in order to become a special education teacher. She wants to teach children "therapeutic writing." Jaime enjoyed the experience of filming the UMass television commercial and is basking in the glow of her "... 15 minutes of fame." Gustavo R. Lima came to UMass-Boston from Praia Grande, Brazil, to study computer science and German. Gustavo achieved a 4.0 grade point average for the fall 2004 semester.
Stacy Lowe Madison, co-founder of Stacy's Pita Chip Company, attended UMass-Amherst, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1987. From Sharon, Stacy also earned a Master's degree in Social Work from California State University in Long Beach. After a four-year career in social work in California, she decided to team with Mark Andrus, a friend of her brother, and return to the east coast to create a new business. Starting with one food cart, the business evolved into Stacy's Pita Chips Company, one of the fastest-growing snack food businesses in the nation. The company, now based in Randolph, is known for its fresh, flavored pita chips.
Acclaimed men's fashion designer, Joseph Abboud, credits his highly successful career to a UMass-Boston program that allowed him to study in Paris while he was an undergraduate. The experience inspired him to believe that he could make his mark in the competitive world of fashion design. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and English at UMass-Boston in 1972. His company, Joseph Abboud Apparel Inc., has expanded over the years to include the production of perfumes for women and colognes for men. His men's fashions have received consistently high praise in the fashion industry and Joseph Abboud ties are considered a key fashion accessory. He was the first designer to win the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Menswear Designer of the Year award two years in-a-row in 1989 and 1990. He has been given credit for changing the fashion-clueless males of yesteryear into the style-conscious fashionistas of today. Despite his busy schedule, running an internationally famous design company, he has found the time to return to the UMass-Boston campus in recent years as a guest lecturer in the School of Management.
Thomas M. Menino is serving his fourth term as Mayor of the City of Boston. A lifelong resident of Hyde Park and the first Italian-American Mayor of Boston, he was elected to his first term on November 2, 1993. In 1988, he earned a degree in community planning from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. During his tenure as Mayor of Boston, Mayor Menino has worked hard to improve the quality of life for all of Boston's 589,000 residents. As President of the United States Conference of Mayors from 2002-2003, Mayor Menino championed homeland security and housing availability. His main priorities include: providing every child with a quality education; creating affordable housing; lowering the crime rate; revitalizing Boston's neighborhoods and promoting a healthy lifestyle for all city residents.
Jeffrey Taylor, the founder of "Monster.com," earned a Bachelor of Arts from UMass-Amherst's University Without Walls program in 2001. His concentration was Human Capital and Marketing in the New Economy. An idea he had in 1994 to create online "bulletin boards" for job seekers has grown to become the world's number one hiring management resource. "Monster.com" now has sites in 23 countries around the world and is the leading online global careers network. In April of 2001, Mr. Taylor participated in the "Scholar in Residence" program at UMass-Amherst. He also was featured in the first UMass television commercials in 2001.
Business titan Jack Welch, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the General Electric Company, was raised in Salem. He began his higher education by earning a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at UMass-Amherst in 1957. He went on to the University of Illinois to earn a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1960. That same year he joined General Electric's plastics division. With tenacity, ambition and tremendous ability, the rose through he ranks at GE to become the company's chief executive in 1981 and became one of the most successful CEOs in America. Today his advice is sought after by business leaders worldwide. A key tenet of Mr. Welch's business philosophy is that, "You have to encourage your employees to stretch by raising the bar of expected goals and productivity." Mr. Welch believes that his UMass training prepared him to compete effectively in the business world. The General Electric Company recently donated $5 million to UMass-Amherst to support annual scholarships in his honor.
Dr. Chukwuka Okafor was born in Boston and raised in Nigeria where he became the Nigerian national high school champion in chemistry and mathematics. He returned to Boston to pursue an undergraduate education at UMass-Boston, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 1999. The John F. Kennedy Award was presented to him at graduation. It is the highest award UMass-Boston bestows upon an undergraduate. During his undergraduate years, he mentored high school students in math and science and started a science club at Dorchester High School. He continued his own education by earning a medical degree and an MBA and is now a physician-resident in orthopedic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is the president of Citizens Energy Company. In 1976 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Education Services from UMass-Boston. He founded Citizens Energy in 1979. His company uses revenues from commercial enterprises to provide millions of dollars for charitable programs in the U.S. and abroad. Programs include the provision of low-cost heating oil for needy families, seniors and homeless shelters and the marketing of mail-order prescription drugs that results in significant savings in the cost of medications. In 1986, Kennedy was elected to Congress, assuming the seat once held by former Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil. During his 12 years on Capitol Hill, Congressman Kennedy devised numerous creative ways to address Americans' most pressing social needs, including major reforms in the nation's public housing program. He served on the Banking Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and played an active role in drafting and advocating for major legislation, especially legislation aimed at improving the quality of life for those at the lowest economic levels. Through his work at Citizens Energy, Joseph Kennedy continues to make a daily difference in the health and economic well being of citizens in Massachusetts and beyond.
Jack M. Wilson is the 25th President of the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Wilson was a Physics Professor for 34 years and a former Science Society Executive in Washington, D.C. Dr. Wilson also founded ILinc and LearnLinc Corporations and was the Founding CEO of UMassOnline.