Richard Levy v. University of Massachusetts - Lowell (SPR 20240523)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 28, 2024 SPR24/0523 Jonathan Strunk Executive Director for Communications Strategy University of Massachusetts – Lowell 600 Suffolk Street, Suite 415 Lowell, MA 01854 Dear Mr. Strunk: I have received the petition of Richard Levy appealing the nonresponse of the University of Massachusetts – Lowell (UMass Lowell) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 10, 2024, Mr. Levy requested “...information related to vendors and corporations providing services to the UMass Lowell of Massachusetts at Lowell with an annual contract value of over $500,000 for the last five years. Specifically, I am interested in obtaining a spreadsheet containing the following fields: [1.] Vendor/Corporation Name[;] [2.] Type of Service Provided[;] [3.] Annual Cost of the Service[.] Additionally, Mr. Levy requested, “...the names of any private companies with which the University of Massachusetts at Lowell has had correspondence regarding actual or possible public-private partnerships [and] ...the most recent post FY 2020 audited financial statement of the UMass Lowell of Massachusetts at Lowell.” Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Levy petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0523, was opened as a result. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether UMass Lowell has provided a response. Accordingly, UMass Lowell is ordered to provide Mr. Levy with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Levy may appeal the substantive nature of UMass Lowell’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Jonathan Strunk SPR24/0523 Page 2 February 28, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Richard Levy