Special issue of New England Journal of Public Policy features selected writings by Shaun O’Connell

CoverThe most recent issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy collects twelve essays and reviews written by UMass Boston faculty member Shaun O’Connell. Since the publication was founded in 1985, O’Connell has published articles, book reviews, and more in the New England Journal of Public Policy.

Shaun O’Connell has been a faculty member in the English Department at UMass Boston since the university opened in Boston’s Park Square in 1965. Describing the roots of his long connection to UMass Boston in a 1998 interview, O’Connell told the interviewer: “One of my former teachers at UMass Amherst told me that there was a Boston campus opening. This would have been in late 1964, and that I should call up Paul Gagnon and Al Ryan, who were the two people who were hiring at that time. They had set up shop in David Riesman’s house in Cambridge. And so, I called them and went for an interview, and shortly thereafter, I was offered a job, a one-year position. I had no idea at the time that it would last this long, but as I say, I am delighted that it did.”

Read a transcription and listen to the full interview here.

Professor_of_English_Shaun_OConnell

Professor of English Shaun O’Connell, circa 1970s

In his introduction to this Special Issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, O’Connell reflects on the process of selecting essays for inclusion: “It has been a tense task, rereading essays I wrote some decades ago, but in the end satisfying, for they remind me of the times, tempers, and cultural contexts in which they were composed and they have things to say that I had forgotten I said. My hope is that these essays, granted a second time around, will have worthy things to say to current readers.”

And in his foreword to this issue, New England Journal of Public Policy founder and editor Padraig O’Malley writes about O’Connell’s history with the journal: “Throughout the tenures of five U.S. presidencies, eight UMass presidencies, six governors, and five UMass Boston chancellors, Shaun O’Connell has regularly produced scintillating essays distilling the essence of several books, ‘bundled,’ as it were, because of common themes that run through their pages, into masterful expositions—profound, reflective, social critiques that invariably tie knots between fiction and nonfiction and a range of pertinent public policy issues.”

The New England Journal of Public Policy has been published since 1985 by the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. After folding in 2006 due to financial constraints, the New England Journal of Public Policy resumed publication in 2013 as an online, open access journal. Full issues of the entire run of the New England Journal of Public Policy are available on ScholarWorks.

Explore the Special Issue of the journal here and view all of O’Connell’s writings from the journal here.

You can also see photos and interviews with Professor O’Connell on the digital collections site for University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.


ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online, open access institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Spring/Summer 2015 issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy available on ScholarWorks

2015 NEJPP Cover_v1 (1)The most recent issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy is now available on ScholarWorks, the open access repository for scholarship and research out of UMass Boston.

Describing the topics explored in this issue, journal editor Padraig O’Malley writes: “In this edition of the journal several articles address a range of important, and in some cases too often overlooked policy issues, too broad in scope for their conclusions and recommendations to be encapsulated adequately in a brief paragraph. Their diversity, however, highlights a key characteristic of the New England Journal of Public Policy – that of being open to publishing articles that have insightful bearings on how public policy is addressed, not only in the New England states, but throughout the country and in the international community – a community of nations increasingly interdependent with constraints on national sovereignty we are still grappling to come to terms with.”

The New England Journal of Public Policy has been published since 1985 by the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Full issues of the open access journal are available on ScholarWorks.

Apart from an introductory note by journal editor O’Malley, who is also the John Joseph Moakley Distinguished Professor of Peace and Reconciliation at UMass Boston, the contents of this issue include:

To view the full issue, and to explore back issues of this publication, click here.


ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online, open access institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Special Issue on MOOCs: Latest issue of Current Issues in Emerging eLearning available on ScholarWorks

coverThe most recent issue of Current Issues in Emerging eLearning, now available on ScholarWorks, explores theoretical perspectives and pedagogical applications of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and openness in education.

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning launched in 2014 and is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal of applied research and critical thought on eLearning practice and emerging pedagogical methods. The journal is published by the Center for Innovation and Excellence in eLearning, and sponsored by the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Apart from an introductory note by editor Apostolos Koutropoulos, the contents of this special issue include:

To view the full issue, and to explore back issues of this publication, click here.


ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Special Issue on Education: Latest issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy available on ScholarWorks

New England Journal of Public PolicyThe most recent issue of the the New England Journal of Public Policy, now available on ScholarWorks, explores education policy, equity in education, and education reform. Summarizing the topics explored in this special issue, journal editor Padraig O’Malley writes: “There is a proliferation of education entrapments. Many argue persuasively, that the root of inequity in educational outcomes is growing poverty and resegregation. No Child Left Behind has become More Children Left Behind.”

The New England Journal of Public Policy has been published since 1985 by the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies (formerly the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Full issues of the open access journal are available on ScholarWorks, the institutional repository for scholarship and research out of the University.

Apart from an introductory note by journal editor O’Malley, who is also the John Joseph Moakley Distinguished Professor of Peace and Reconciliation at UMass Boston, the contents of this special issue on education include:

To view the full issue, and to explore back issues of this publication, click here.


ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

UMass Boston newsletters from 1965 to 2009 now available online

University Newsletters

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the University of Massachusetts Boston, University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library is pleased to announce that we’ve digitized nearly 50 years of campus newsletters and have posted the full, searchable run online here.

These newsletters, starting with the Bulletin in 1965 and ending with the University Reporter in 2009, show how our campus has evolved since our early years in Park Square. What began as a simple, single-page leaflet announcing campus events and news over time evolved into a twelve page publication like the University Reporter, with photographs, longer feature stories, and more. These newsletters cover a wide range of topics from campus BBQs, to faculty hirings and retirements, to book releases, to information about new programs and community-focused initiatives.

The University Reporter was replaced in 2009 by The Point, a biweekly e-newsletter featuring faculty achievements, student successes, and Campus Notes.

If you’d like to learn more about the history of UMass Boston, or if you simply want to take a walk down memory lane, visit scholarworks.umb.edu/university_pubs.


University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.