William K. Price, 82, of South Deerfield, retired assistant professor of Communication, died Feb. 8 at home.
Born in Hagerstown, Md., he attended Allegany High School and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1954. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force from 1954-57. He received his M.S. and his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin in 1960 and 1964, respectively.
He also served as presiding officer of the Faculty Senate in the early 1990s.
He joined the faculty in 1963 and retired in 1996. He continued to teach until 2001.
He leaves his wife of 24 years,
Professor Susan Roberts will assume the half-time position of associate dean of the Graduate School on July 1, according to John McCarthy, vice provost for Graduate Education and dean of the Graduate School. Roberts is a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering and director of the Institute for Cellular Engineering (ICE).
Amilcar Shabazz, professor of Afro-American Studies and faculty advisor for diversity and excellence in the Chancellor’s Office, will be a panelist on “Discovering Springfield’s African American Heritage” on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Pan African Historical Museum in Springfield.
When the nearly 300-member Bands of America Honors Band marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day, the percussion section was under the watchful eye of Thom Hannum, associate director of the Minuteman Marching Band, who wrote their music and prepped them for the national spotlight.
Professor Jane Fountain of Political Science and Public Policy has published a new report that spells out the recipe for successful working relationships across government agencies. The report, titled 
Nicholas Reich, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, is the lead biostatistician for a team of researchers who recently reported results of one of the largest infection prevention trials ever conducted in children, that daily baths with an antiseptic soap can reduce the risk of bloodstream infection in critically ill hospitalized children. Investigators at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center led the work at five pediatric hospitals. Findings were reported in a recent issue of the prestigious journal, The Lancet.
Professor Laura Briggs, chair of the Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies Department, has been awarded the James A. Rawley Prize, given annually by the Organization of American Historians to the author of the best book dealing with the history of race relations in the United States. Her book, "Somebody's Children: The Politics of Transracial and Transnational Adoption," was published last year by Duke University Press.
After bringing more than 60 Pakistani students to the UMass Amherst campus for the past three summers as participants of the Pakistani Young Leaders program, Mike Hannahan, visiting scholar in Political Science, traveled to Islamabad in January, where he oversaw a reunion of the program’s alumni before embarking on a speaking tour of the country—a trip that coincided with President Obama’s second term inauguration and provided ample opportunity to discuss the U.S. government’s policies and practices. 
Two Anthropology faculty and five graduate students are taking part in an international workshop on the theme of “Space, Placemaking, and the Politics of the Local” at the University of Barcelona from Feb. 5-8.
Ian Grosse, professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department and director of the Intelligent Modeling, Analysis, and Design Laboratory has been named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).