 This is an exciting time for the university. By any way you'd measure a university, we're headed in the upward trajectory. Over the last five years, overall enrollment at UMass Lowell has increased by 40%. Our incoming undergraduate students are more diverse than ever before. The average SAT score is up by 56 points. This May we had another record number of graduates. At the same time, payscale.com ranks UMass Lowell's return on investment as 10th among public campuses nationally and 50th among all 1,060 schools serving. U.S. News and World Report ranks us among the top tier national research universities in the country. And UMass Lowell's visibility continues to increase. This year we had 3,000 positive media hits, twice the number we had just two years ago. Andrea Shea of Member Station WBUR tells us about the place premier in Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. My idea is everybody has some part of their character that's admirable. Our troops still there. Well Brenda, there are individuals in Afghanistan right now. How kind of operatives. We think probably about a hundred or so. A teacher. I never thought I was going to run for public office. The long hours, late nights, endless term papers and lecture halls may have come to a close with this chapter of your life. But the personal growth, all of you have experienced during your time here at UMass Lowell, is only sure to make you stronger as a person. Here at the University of Massachusetts we're looking to engage our students in a civic way. And we've been sponsoring debates. We've been sponsoring polls. We're being engaging our student body. Let's go Ed! Let's go Ed! The university is committed to having our students be world ready, life ready and work ready. This is one essential piece of our students becoming world ready. The Boston Herald UMass Lowell poll has Brown leading by four right out of the gate. The UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion was launched in 2011 to conduct research related to political and social issues, as well as public opinion trends and behaviors. Given his votes, do you believe that his goal is to block and obstruct President Obama's agenda? On economic issues, I absolutely do. In fact, I can do the examples. This year, the Center's questions have focused on the two races for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seats, including last fall's Brown-Warren contest, which was one of the most closely followed in the nation. Republican Senator Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren, his Democratic challenger, clashed repeatedly in their second debate last night, sponsored by UMass Lowell and the Boston Herald. NBC's Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell is live in Lowell Mass and was there for all the action last night. Students have been deeply involved in this year's four public opinion polls and three debates between candidates for U.S. Senate. I'd like everyone to give us a round of applause for the students. In 2012 and 13 alone, UMass Lowell opened six new buildings. This building is really symbolic of what's happening here in Massachusetts at UMass and at UMass Lowell. It's a building that shows what the governor was talking about, education, innovation, infrastructure. Entrepreneurism can come together and make a difference. The Mark and Alicia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center provides state-of-the-art facilities for research, often conducted in collaboration with industry partners. This facility has the capacity to serve nearly 900 students. The Health and Social Sciences Building provides office, classroom, and study space for growing departments. We addressed a perennial problem by adding 1,200 parking spaces in two new garages. In August, we will open two new suite-style residence halls in time for move-in day, university suites, and riverview suites. The construction of University Crossing continues on track for an opening in fall 2014. Plans are progressing for a new home for the Robert J. Manning School of Business. We have renovated a range of campus spaces, adapting them to current needs and the expectations of today's students. While we renovate and build a UMass Lowell campus, we're also expanding outside its borders. By fall, we will have a satellite campus in Haver. We have nearly a hundred international partnerships around the globe and have laid the groundwork for a campus in Kuwait jointly sponsored with Raytheon. Our goal is to be a world-class university. We're doing it through being entrepreneurial. We're doing it by looking for ways to make this a public enterprise that thinks outside the box and that finds alternative ways to raise revenue. We have raised record amounts for scholarships and through major gifts that support our capital projects. UMass Lowell is increasing research funding as well. We know that some of New England's finest R&D minds are based at Native Soldier Systems as well at UMass Lowell. We have launched specialized research centers with key partners that include the U.S. Army Native Research Center. A lot of these are really for testing mobility. And a test facility available to companies in the growing robotics industry. We continue to support and facilitate the groundbreaking research of our scientists. Through the Difference Makers program, we are teaching our students how to make a difference in the world through innovation and entrepreneurial action. This has been an incredible year for UMass Lowell Ice Hockey. The Riverhawks amassed an impressive regular season record and then went on to win the Hockey's Championship. Your first Hockey's Championship, I was there in the garden, it was electrifying. And the NCAA quarterfinal is at 8-8. It's just unbelievable pride that we have such an exceptional hockey team. For the first time ever, the Riverhawks made it into the frozen pool. Their coach, Norm Basin, was named NCAA Coach of the Year. We made it to the national level, playing teams all over the country for the championship. You really can't ask for more. UMass Lowell elevates to Division I sports. Students and administrators say it's a slam dunk. Sports is part of how our national reputation can increase because people will then say, how did they get into America East? Oh wow, they've increased research by 65%. Their graduation rates are up, their student success rates are up. This campus is rising in every way. Elevating athletics is the next logical step. I think this is a long-term investment and these student-athletes get a chance to participate in a transformational period. There aren't many that get to do that.