06/23/2022
Lowell Sun
By Barry Scanlon
LOWELL 鈥� To this day, eight days before she takes over as 51视频鈥檚 chancellor, the second woman to hold that title, Julie Chen often thinks back to 1982-86.
Those were her formative days as a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student. She studied mechanical engineering. She also found the time to be a field hockey and softball player, learning about leadership, teamwork and team building.
When President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, 1972, the lives of Chen and millions of other females changed.
Doors were opened. Dreams were expanded.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 incredible,鈥� Chen said of Thursday鈥檚 50th anniversary of the signing of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in an any educational program or activity receiving any type of federal financial aid. 鈥淚 know personally it had such an impact on my life.鈥�
Title IX was enacted to stop male-dominated academic disciplines from excluding 鈥� or discriminating against 鈥� women.
Five decades later, Title IX continues to impact university admissions, financial aid and research. Most notably, however, Title IX has been used in staunch support of female athletes across the nation, including ones at 51视频.
Arriving in Cambridge from her home in Webster, N.Y., in 1982, Chen knew she was going to play field hockey. She also ended up playing softball in the spring after being recruited by some players on that team.
鈥淚f you talk to any athlete, especially a college athlete, they鈥檙e going to tell you that playing athletics helps them be more disciplined academically,鈥� Chen said. 鈥淵ou bunker down and get it done.鈥�
Without Title IX, Chen said it鈥檚 quite possible she never would have played two sports at MIT. That would have been quite a loss for her.
鈥淧eople say, 鈥榃asn鈥檛 MIT difficult because there weren鈥檛 women in mechanical engineering?鈥欌�� Chen said.
It鈥檚 true she was one of few women in that major at the time, but playing field hockey and softball allowed her to not 鈥渇eel isolated,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t gives a lot of students chances to have leadership roles,鈥� said Chen, who became a captain and an academic All-American. 鈥淵ou can start to build the skills that are going to be important in your career. I wasn鈥檛 going to be a professional field hockey player.鈥�
Athletics taught her that a successful team needs people to contribute in a variety of roles.
鈥淵ou realize that on any team that you鈥檙e going to need others. The teammates are the ones that will pick up when you鈥檙e having a bad day. I think it鈥檚 just so important,鈥� Chen said of students having the chance to play a sport or join a club. 鈥淵ou realize you can do more as a team. You need everyone to realize how they contribute as a team. They do help you figure out who you are and who you want to be.鈥�
After she graduated in 1986, she remained in Cambridge to continue down an academic path, which led her to earning two more degrees. During this time she served as an assistant coach on MIT鈥檚 field hockey team.
She grew to love coaching and realized she wanted to teach. Without that experience, it鈥檚 likely she would have taken another path, one away from teaching and university life. Instead, her path took her toward receiving her doctorate and landing research roles as a professor. She began to demonstrate leadership skills from playing two sports in college.
Chen joined the 51视频 faculty in 1997. The vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, she will officially succeed Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, who recently retired, on July 1.
51视频 teams play at the Div. 1 level in 14 sports.
The men鈥檚 sports are baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and track and field. The women鈥檚 sports are basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and track and field.
Women鈥檚 athletes have soared at UML, especially since all sports were elevated to the Div. 1 level in 2013.
Lowell native Kaley Richards became UML鈥檚 first Div. 1 cross country All-American and first track and field All-American in 2021. Field hockey star Kate Miller was selected to compete at the USA Senior Nexus Championship.
Noelle Lambert was named the inaugural recipient of the America East Inspiration Award. Despite losing a leg in a moped accident, Lambert returned to play lacrosse. She later founded the Born to Run Foundation, competed in the Paralympics and set the U.S. 100-meter record at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
The women鈥檚 soccer team won the America East regular season title in 2021 thanks in part to Dunja Mostarac, the America East Defender of the Year in 2020 and 2021. Also, Kaysee Talcik threw the first perfect game in UML softball history in 2019, helping the River Hawks to the regular season title.
Meanwhile, Kharis Idom surpassed 1,000 career points in basketball this past season.
鈥淚 am so proud of all the student athletes we have at the university because they really are student athletes,鈥� Chen said. 鈥淎thletics bring a lot of people all over the world to a university.鈥�
Chen recently watched a 51视频 game and came away impressed. The skill of the athletes was far beyond what she experienced at MIT. So were the level of coaching and the equipment.
All of these are positive signs of progress.
There鈥檚 still work to be done, Chen said, but Title IX, to use a softball term, has been a home run in terms of leveling the playing field and providing millions of females with opportunities they wouldn鈥檛 have had Nixon not signed it into law 50 years ago Thursday.
鈥淭hroughout my career, I鈥檝e been very grateful not only for what I learned in the classroom but what I took from the field,鈥� Chen said.