Gift Supports Biology Students
Generous Donor Lornie Bullerwell '69 says
his Gift Annuity was a Good Decision
If Lornie Bullerwell ’69 could, he would encourage everyone to major in science. That’s how much he believes in the power of the discipline to cultivate thinking and reasoning skills that are vital to solving problems.
“Science is really a way of knowing,” he says.
For 34 years, Bullerwell, a member of the university’s charter class, shared his discipline of biology and its models of thinking and analysis with generations of middle and high school students. No matter where his former students have landed, he hopes that the lessons he taught are helping them to be stronger, more effective citizens. He still hears from former students about how much his classes have meant to them.
One of them, Emily Jones, now a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, says that Bullerwell was the most influential person she studied with at Dedham High School.
“He challenged us to think critically and logically, to not take what we read at face value but to really delve deeper and separate the truth from the babble. And he made science really fun and hands-on,” she says.
“It seemed only fitting that I should continue to make that type of education available to others.”
—Lornie Bullerwell,'69
In his own life, Bullerwell says science has also helped him to become a better person, by offering him the skills to make good decisions. One such decision was to establish a flexible deferred gift annuity at UMass Boston. The gift will pay an income to him commencing at a future date he determines. The longer he waits to begin receiving the income, the higher the payment of the annuity.
When Bullerwell passes away, UMass Boston will receive the annuity principal and will establish a new scholarship for biology majors at the College of Science and Mathematics, preferably from Lynn or Dedham, MA. Bullerwell is originally from Lynn and he spent the majority of his teaching career at Dedham High School.
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Lornie Bullerwell '69 stands with Nobel Prize winner Craig Mello. Bullerwell helped connect the scientist with local teachers. |
“Teaching was the basis of my ability to make a difference in people’s lives,” says Bullerwell. He believes that UMass Boston’s biology department provided the foundation for both his successful career and his life. “It seemed only fitting that I should continue to make that type of education available to others,” he says of the The Lornie D. Bullerwell Scholar Award.
Meanwhile, Bullerwell continues his lifelong commitment to strengthening STEM teaching and learning, especially for K – 12 learners. His company, Science Solutions, advises schools on science curricula and teaching and supports hands-on science exploration. When not engaged directly with schools, he consults for science book publishers and is devoted to ensuring that K - 12 teachers have the knowledge to inspire a new generation of scientists.
He’s also taken on a leadership role with The Education Cooperative, an organization that for 20 years has been committed to enriching the capacity of high school science teachers. This past summer, after five years of trying, he was able to connect this year’s group of teachers for with the University of Massachusetts Worcester's Nobel Prizewinner, Craig Mello.
Ever an enthusiast for the quality of the university's College of Science and Mathematics, as Mello transmitted his cutting edge research to the group, Bullerwell recalled with a wry sense of humor, paraphrasing Watson and Crick’s Nobel winning paper on the structure of the Double Helix, “’it did not escape our notice’ that this great man was one of the University of Massachusetts’ very own.”
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