The United States Navy was established on October 13, 1775, as an effort to curb British control of the seas. When the Navy was first established, it consisted of only two armed vessels. Since then, the United States Navy has become one of the largest Navies in the world. The Navy’s birthday was officially recognized in 1972 by Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Since 1972, there…
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Happy 78th birthday to the United States Air Force, which was officially established on September 18, 1947! While flying operations existed before the establishment of the Air Force, all flying operations were originally handled as part of the U.S. Army. Today, the Air Force has over 689,000 personnel. “Airmen work to support all aspects of airpower, which includes five core functions: air…, Ways to recognize the Air Force’s Birthday, Veteran.com recommends recognizing the Air Force’s Birthday in one of the following ways: Check for parades and events celebrating Air Force contributions to the local community. Donate to an Air Force-specific charity or Veteran Service Organization (VSO). Examples include Air Commando Association, Air Force Association, and Air Force Sergeants Association. Volunteer time at Air Force base…
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Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx Heritage Month recognizes the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American culture to the nation’s achievements. It started as National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 when Lydon B. Johnson signed a proclamation and was later extended to a month. The celebration begins in the middle rather than the start of September because it coincides with national…, Historic Influencers, There have been many Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx figures who have shaped American history. Here are just a few of those notable figures in history. Feel free to share additional Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx influencer stories on our Slack #Inclusion channel: , Albert Vinicio Báez, – Báez was a Mexican American physicist who co-developed the theory of using grazing-incidence mirrors to focus X-rays with Stanford physics professor Paul Kirkpatrick in 1948. They envisioned two mirrors mounted perpendicular to one another to overcome limitations of conventional optical systems. This theory would be later used to examine living cells and to study galaxies. Baez then developed…, Ellen Ochoa, – Ochoa became the first Hispanic American woman to go to space in 1993 when she went on the Space Shuttle Discovery mission to study the Earth’s ozone layer. She completed three more missions before becoming the first Hispanic American director of the Johnson Space Center in 2013 (only the second woman to take the helm)., Sylvia Rivera, – Of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan ethnicity, Rivera was a trans activist, who took part in the Stonewall riots alongside friend Martha P. Johnson. In 1970 she organized a sit-in protest at the Weinstein Hall at New York University after the administration cancelled planned dances on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The sit-in lasted five days before the protesters were forcibly removed by…, Learn about important Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx cases and events through the Library of Congress’s Resource Guide, The “ Latinx Resource Guide ” from the Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress focuses on 20th and 21st century court cases, legislation, and events that had important impacts on civil rights in Chicana/o/x, Hispanic, Latina/o/x, Mexican-American, and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. Each page provides an overview and timeline of a civil rights topic and some breadth of…, What is the difference between Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx?, These definitions are from the University of California’s “ What’s the difference between Hispanic, Latino and Latinx? " article, which explains that there is no one preference. 57% of adults surveyed in 2021 by the University of California have no preference between all three. “Hispanic” refers to any of the peoples in the Americas and Spain who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-…
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DEIA Calendar , The DEIA Communications team keeps a calendar of upcoming diversity awareness months and days recognized either nationally or internationally due to their cultural, historical, or religious significance., Month-Long Events, Breast Cancer Awareness Month Bullying Prevention Month Down Syndrome Awareness Month Dyslexia Awareness Month Filipino American History Month Global Diversity Awareness Month Italian American Heritage Month LGBT History Month National Disability Employment Awareness Month Polish American Heritage Month, Date-Specific Events, Wednesday, October 1 – Thursday, October 2: Yom Kippur (Jewish) Monday, October 6 – Monday, October 13: Sukkot (Jewish) Friday, October 10: World Mental Health Day Saturday, October 11: National Coming Out Day Monday, October 13: Indigenous Peoples' Day Monday, October 13: Navy Birthday Tuesday, October 14: International Pronouns Day Wednesday, October 15: Blind Americans Equality Day and White…, Additional Awareness Communications this Month , The DEIA Communications team is sending out individual communications around the following awareness events this month: Navy Birthday Diwali National Immigrants Day
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From October 5 to 8, educational procurement professionals from across the New England region attended the annual National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) Conference. Held in Falmouth, MA, the event buzzed with collaboration, innovation, and new ideas aimed at shaping the future of procurement in education. Team members from the UPST were among the attendees ready not just to learn…
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GIC (Group Insurance Commission) To Discontinue Use Of Online (Docusign) Forms, The GIC will be discontinuing the use of the DocuSign forms for enrollments and changes effective December 15, 2025. The only options for enrollments or making changes to GIC benefits will be to use the MyGICLink benefits portal or to complete and mail a paper enrollment form. Employees are urged to set up their MyGICLink benefits portal access if they have not already done so. The benefits…,
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Promotions, Name Hire Date Title Department Jazmine Blanc 10/5/25 Sr. Business Associate A&F Support Services Team, Departures, Name Promotion Date Title Department Lynne Ferrell 10/24/25 Accounts Payable Manager UPST
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DEIA Calendar, The DEIA Communications team keeps a calendar of upcoming diversity awareness months and days recognized either nationally or internationally due to their cultural, historical, or religious significance. , Month-Long Events, Native American Heritage Month , Date-Specific Events, Monday, November 3: Panama's Independence Day from Colombia Monday, November 10: Marine Corps Birthday Tuesday, November 11: Veterans Day Tuesday, November 13 – Wednesday, November 19: Transgender Awareness Week Thursday, November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance Monday, November 24 – Tuesday, November 25: Day of the Covenant Thursday, November 27 – Friday, November 28: Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha…, Additional Awareness Communications this Month, The DEIA Communications team is sending out individual communications around the following awareness events this month: Native American Month Film Screening: “Unspoken: America's Native American Boarding Schools” Marine Corps Birthday Transgender Day of Remembrance National Day of Mourning
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On Sunday, September 28th, 18 members of the President’s Office and their families participated in the 27th annual UMass Cancer Walk hosted at Polar Park in Worcester. The President’s Office team, nicknamed “UMPO Strides for a Cure,” was composed of members from various departments, including HR, UPST, Access, and UITS, and raised over $2,000 for efforts at UMass Chan. The UMass Cancer Walk was…
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On Wednesday, September 10, five volunteers from the President’s Office helped the Westborough Garden Club clean up one of their largest gardens, Gateway Garden near the railroad bridge. In addition, we added 16 plants to the garden, including some native bushes that are drought-tolerant and will thrive better in the garden. “It was truly inspiring to meet the members of the Westborough Garden…, Oriana Adabo, , Employee Services , Kristina England, , UITS , Jake Hewins, , Budget & Planning, Sara MacKenzie, , Budget & Planning, Akshit Mehta, , A&F Support Services Team The Westborough Garden Club is currently seeking volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering with them can contact westboroughgardenclub@gmail.com .
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