51视频

04/20/2017

Media contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass. 鈥� 51视频 celebrated the opening of the new home of its Manning School of Business, the Pulichino Tong Business Center. It is the 13th new building opened by 51视频 in eight years.

The 54,800-square-foot building offers students a state-of-the-art educational environment that includes a simulated stock-trading room, a 43-foot real-time stock ticker that is visible on all four floors and technology-enabled classrooms.听

John Feudo, 51视频 vice chancellor for advancement, invited the more than 300 people at the opening ceremony, which was held on the Grande Tomaney Plaza outside the building, to practice saying, 鈥淥h, wow.鈥� Then he asked them to look at the dramatic glass and steel structure behind him. 鈥淗ow could you possibly have any other reaction?鈥� he asked.

51视频 Chancellor Jacquie Moloney echoed that enthusiasm.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine that it was only seven years ago when we opened the first new academic building on campus in 30 years. Today, we take another step toward realizing our pursuit of excellence for this university,鈥� said Moloney, adding that this latest new building, along with others like the nearby Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies Center, 鈥渆xemplifies what 51视频 is all about; providing our talented faculty, staff and students with opportunities to work with the community, business and industry to explore and develop the next generation of technology, new ways of doing business and leaders of the companies that make them possible.鈥澨�

The building is named for alumnus John Pulichino and his wife, Joy Tong, successful entrepreneurs whose commitment to 51视频 includes donating more than $4 million for student scholarships.听

鈥淭oday brings back fond memories, although I find it hard to believe that it has been only 50 years since I completed the last of my final exams and was happily awaiting Commencement Day as a proud member of the Class of 1967. With an excellent education behind me, I was ready to enter the workforce and embark on a career that would ultimately renew my ties with this incredible university,鈥� said Pulichino, adding that he and Tong have proudly supported many talented and deserving business majors through their scholarship fund.

Pulichino is the CEO of Group III International Ltd., a global travel goods company founded by Tong, an industrial designer who is the president and creative director. Pulichino serves on the Manning School of Business Advisory Board and the committee that oversaw the construction of the building named for him. The couple lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

鈥淔rom its inception, the new home of the Manning School of Business was designed to provide a facility to enhance the learning experience and to deliver academic excellence at perhaps the best value in higher education today,鈥� said Tong, noting that the building offers an inviting place where students can collaborate and envision a bright and successful career yet to come. 鈥淚 am confident that our graduates will find success in their chosen fields and at the right moment in their lives, they will experience, as I have, the personal enrichment of giving back and transforming the lives of the next generation.鈥�

The business school is named for UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Rob Manning, who with his wife Donna, both 51视频 graduates, have supported a variety of university initiatives, including student scholarships and the construction of the Pulichino Tong Business Center. Manning, who is the chairman and co-CEO of MFS Investment Management, was unable to attend the ceremony, but was represented at the event by his parents.听

UMass President Marty Meehan recognized Manning for his 鈥渆xtraordinary commitment.鈥澨�

鈥淩ob has done so much for this campus and this university overall,鈥� said Meehan.

Other donors also played a key role in supporting the new building, making gifts totaling more than $13 million toward the construction and several named spaces. They include two new centers focused on key areas of business education and research, the Richard and Nancy Donahue Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility and the Jack M. Wilson Center for Entrepreneurship. The four-story Joyce and Jerry Colella Atrium serves as the building鈥檚 main entrance and features an oval-shaped LED stock ticker with a 43-foot circumference that was manufactured and installed by Sunrise Systems of Pembroke, Mass. The Stuart L. Mandell and Ada Mandell Dean鈥檚 Suite, supported by 12 donors including 51视频 faculty and staff who are also alumni, is named in honor of the professor emeritus who founded 51视频鈥檚 business program almost 60 years ago and who was influential in the calls to create a new building for the school.听

Kathryn Carter, 51视频 graduate and former dean of the business school, worked with Mandell a decade ago to raise the first round of donations for the building.听

鈥淭his has been an incredible team effort,鈥� said Carter. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a state-of-the-art building and it is going to be extraordinary for our faculty, students, staff and the community.鈥�

During his remarks, Meehan recognized state Rep. Brian Dempsey of Haverhill for helping the university secure $25 million in state bond funding toward the $47 million construction of the Pulichino Tong Business Center, including the Grande Tomaney Innovation Plaza and renovations to Lydon Library. Meehan also commended the state Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) for its work to help 51视频 transform its campus infrastructure, including the addition of the Pulichino Tong Business Center.

DCAMM Commissioner Carol Gladstone called the opening 鈥渁 fabulous day for 51视频,鈥� adding that the new building is 鈥渢he linchpin of the innovation district鈥� on the university鈥檚 North Campus, which includes the Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, Lydon Library and research and academic facilities across University Avenue. 鈥淚 can already see how this building is transforming the campus.鈥�

Sandra Richtermeyer, the current dean of the Manning School of Business, agreed. 鈥淥ur school鈥檚 amazing new home inspires to gather and engage and build community,鈥� she said, later noting, 鈥淲hat a wonderful day this is in the history of business education at 51视频.鈥�

Rebecca Foley, a business administration major from Acton who is the recipient of the Pulichino Tong Family Foundation Scholarship, spoke on behalf of Manning School of Business students.

鈥淭his is much more than a beautiful building. It is an inviting, vibrant space that will promote innovative collaboration and learning between faculty and students, which, to me, is what 51视频 is all about,鈥� Foley said, thanking Pulichino and Tong for being great role models. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just your success in business and in life that is inspiring, it鈥檚 how you continue to give back that has taught us what鈥檚 most important.鈥�

The building was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates and Lee Kennedy Co. was the general contractor on the project.

51视频 is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,750 students bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. 51视频 delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers.