Talking Points

Robert Kraft to keynote campus's inaugural Salute to Service Awards

The campus will honor contributions to civic engagement and public service at the first-ever Salute to Service award ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
 
The event will recognize Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and the New England Patriots, Liz Walker, founder of Walker Group, LLC and co-founder of My Sister’s Keeper, and Dr. Robert Littleton, founder of the Evergreen Center, for their volunteer leadership and professional achievements. Steve Buckley, Boston Herald sports columnist and host of Press Box, will emcee the event.

Campus events to mark Veterans Day

Several campus events are planned in observance of Veterans Day to pay homage to veterans as well as family members who have been affected by military deployments.
 
The Office of Veteran Services will host its third annual Warrior Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 9 at 9 a.m. in Memorial Hall. The breakfast is open to students, faculty, staff and alumni who are veterans as well as their families. RSVP to Veteran Services coordinator Judy Gagnon at jgagnon@stuaf.umass.edu.
 
A Veterans Day vigil hosted by the Army and Air Force ROTC units will be held outside Memorial Hall near the Campus Pond

Institute addresses how to help children of military families

The School of Education and 4-H's Operation Military Kids are co-hosting “Living in the New Normal (LINN) Institute: Helping Children Thrive in Good and Challenging Times,” on Nov. 14-15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 165-69 Campus Center. The program is sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC).
 
Participants will learn about the experiences of children of deployed military personnel in hands-on sessions on topics such as grief, happiness, trauma versus challenges, stages of development, coping styles, ranges of emotion, injury and re-integration.

Campus's exit polling shows women played major role in Senate race, Question 2

The UMass Poll’s exit poll from the Nov. 6 Massachusetts election shows that the gender gap helped propel Elizabeth Warren to victory in a competitive race against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. The poll shows that women voters preferred Warren to Brown by a margin of 20 percent, while men split evenly between the two candidates. Brown was also faced with an electorate that looked much different than the one that elected him to office in 2010.
 
The election was clearly influenced by a campaign that focused significantly on women’s issues.

Diversity panel, AD remarks top Faculty Senate agenda

Athletic director John McCutcheon is scheduled to address the Faculty Senate and answer questions on Nov. 15 at 3:30 p.m. in 227 Herter Hall.
 
The meeting will also include a panel discussion, “Reclaiming and Maintaining Excellence in a Changing World: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,” with faculty and administrators outlining key ideas about the work to recruit and retain a gender-balanced and diverse faculty. Panelists will be Psychology professor Nilanjana Dasgupta,chief diversity officer Débora D.

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