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Each
year the INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
at LOWELL presents awards in order to acknowledge
the contributions made by its alumni. Nominees
for these awards are individuals who 1) are graduates
of the University of Massachusetts Lowell or one
of its predecessors; 2) have made a significant
contribution or achievement in their field of
knowledge or endeavor or whose service to the
Association and/or the University or its predecessor
over the years has been outstanding and worthy
of recognition; 3) are noted for their exemplary
service to the public.
Click here for the application.
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Distinguished Alumni Award, 2010
Since 1978, the Alumni Association has annually recognized an alumnus/a worthy of receiving our Distinguished Alumni Award. All recipients have been members who have not only distinguished themselves by their accomplishments, but also are alumni of our member institutions. This year, the Independent University Alumni Association at Lowell takes great pleasure in recognizing our thirty-fourth Distinguished Alumnus, Mr. John E. Quinn.
John was born in Lowell, the oldest of five children. His dad came out of the Navy after World War II and returned to his job on a drafting table at GE in Lynn where he remained for 46 years. He worked second jobs building kitchen cabinets at night and working for a landscaper on the weekends. His mother, while educated in the fashion industry, stayed at home to raise her family. The family later moved to Tewksbury where he and his siblings received their education in the public school system. Those first 18 years instilled a work ethic and a burning desire to succeed. His brothers two sisters were blessed with the same strong values, were all college educated, have raised wonderful families.
John graduated from Tewksbury High School in 1965 with aspirations of helping support President Kennedy’s initiative of putting a man on the moon by 1970. After determining that the best academic route to that objective was Physics, John entered Lowell Tech. He learned very quickly that there were a lot of really smart people in honors physics. As he began his second semester, Joe Day a friend who later would become career mentor, asked John about my academic pursuits. When told he was studying physics, Joe started talking to him about the new Plastics program. He invited John to one of his “Plastics” classes, which allowed John to get a feel for the excitement about the world of Plastics. Joe and John have remained lifelong friends and their paths have crossed twice professionally.
Early in his career, after five years with the DuPont Company, John was recruited by Nypro in Clinton, Massachusetts. The owner, Gordon Lankton, also a former DuPont employee, taught his employees about customer care, innovation and true entrepreneurship. Gordon actually structured classes to pass on his knowledge, but more importantly, his values. By the time he was 30, John had been given the opportunity to lead businesses, to feel the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
John joined GE Plastics in the early ‘80’s, where he had the opportunity to work with the current chairman, Jeff Immelt, on three different occasions. Although Jeff is 14 years younger than him, John was able to learn a lot from Jeff. Immelt’s key focus was on people: selecting them, investing in them, and putting them on the right position on the team. John’s observation was that Immelt had an innate ability to put the right talent in the right slot at the right time, and that he motivated and led with positive energy.
Because of these life experiences, John developed a deep appreciation for the power of mentoring. Mentors guide, mentors teach, mentors volunteer, reach out and help create a vision for human and career development.
John extends this advice to all: find a mentor – someone you admire and trust and your gains will be invaluable. And he encourages everyone in a position to be a mentor to fill this role for someone.
John has also had the opportunity to be a mentor. From the mid-‘80’s to the mid-‘90’s, John was the GE representative for U. Mass Lowell. As the GE rep, John would recruit electrical and mechanical engineers for the Aircraft Engines business in Lynn and chemists and plastics engineers for the headquarters in Pittsfield. GE worked closely with the Placement offices and scheduled regular interfaces with various classes during the year, providing speakers and program material, class trips, as well as co-op jobs for the summer.
During one such recruiting season in the early ‘90’s, Manny Panos, then the Placement Director, told John of a student from India, who he felt strongly would be a great fit at GE. When it came time to have the 45 minute interview, Rohit Prakesh showed up looking like an unmade bed. His suit was obviously borrowed, he had unmatched socks, but…..he had the eye of a tiger. Not only did he get the job, he flourished and now has a great career and family. John took the time to mentor him through three promotions, got support for him to pursue an MBA at the University of Chicago and then, later, guided him through a terrific new opportunity at i2Technologies, a supply chain integrator.
When John left GE, Rohit contacted him to sell his services to John’s new company. He made a great pitch and John’s company committed some business. As an expression of gratitude for all he had done for him, Rohit encouraged John to invest in i2 Technologies, expressing the opinion that i2 would be experiencing additional growth. John decided against investing in the $19/share stock. One year later, i2 was trading at $257.
The morale of this story:
Mentor and you’ll be rewarded. You’ll help the next generation, you’ll feel great about it and ….you may get a good stock tip along the way!
Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
- Edson D. Castro '60 - 1978
- Madeline Phillips Merritt '40 - 1978
- Stella M. Mazur '35 - 1979
- Joseph P. Flannery '53 - 1980
- Arnold J. Lovering '61 - 1981
- Walter Dawson '59 - 1982
- Barry M. Burbank '72 - 1984
- Paul J. Sheehy '58 - 1985
- Ernest P. James '42 - 1986
- Roger M. Boisjoly '60 - 1987
- George A. Perrone '64 -1988
- Mary A. Hallaren '27 - 1989
- Ludwig Rebenfeld '51 - 1990
- David Pernick '41 -1991
- Cahrles J. Hoff '66 - 1992
- Martin T. Meehan '78 - 1993
- Roy J. Zuckerberg '58 -1994
- John T. O'Donnell 52' - 1995
- Henry J. Powell '55 - 1996
- Mary E. McGauvran 39' - 1997
- Clementine F. Alexis 56' - 1998
- Richard R. Lessard '66 - 1999
- Thomas Vaughn 77' - 2000
- Albert B. Harvey '60 - 2001
- Alice Kiernan '42 - 2002
- Frederick O'bear '56-2003
- Frank M. Spinola '66 - 2004
- Michael T. McCaffrey '73 - 2005
- Donald A. McQuarrie '58 - 2006
- Carole Harper McQuarrie '59 - 2006
- Robert S. Smith '61 - 2007
- James L. Swartz '65 - 2008
- Jeanne C. Whitten '97 - 2009
- John E. Quinn '69 - 2010
Past Distinguished Alumni Announcements
2009 - Dr. Jeanne Whitten
2008 - Dr. James L. Swartz
2007 - Dr. Robert S. Smith
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