Chancellor Among Distinguished LHS Alumni

LHS alumni honored included, from left, businessman Luis Pedrosa, artist Janet Lambert Moore, UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, author Deborah Hopkinson, and Patrick Sullivan, who accepted the award on behalf of his late father, baseball statistician William Sullivan.

UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan was among those honored recently for lifetime achievements by his high school alma mater.

Meehan, together with four others — spanning the fields of art, literature, politics, business and sports — was cited at a ceremony Oct. 29 as Distinguished Alumni of Lowell High School.

A 1974 LHS graduate, Meehan went on to a career as district attorney, then as a member of the U.S. House, representing the Massachusetts 5th District from 1993 to 2007, before taking over 15 months ago as chancellor.

The other honorees, whose graduation years ranged from 1933 to 1980 (the 1933 honoree, William Sullivan, died 10 years ago but was represented by his son), include a business founder, painter, author and baseball statistician. They join a pantheon of prior recipients headed by author Jack Kerouac and U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas.

“(Lowell High School) is just a wonderful, world-class institution,” Meehan told the gathered crowd in accepting the award. “I feel great about the future of this region because of this high school.”

- Geoffrey_Douglas