Robert A. Sharpe, Jr., 48, of Belchertown, a former maintainer I with Residential Life, died Sept. 3.
He began his campus service as a temporary hire in fall 2010 and received a permanent appointment in December of that year. He left in August 2011.
He leaves his wife, Becki-Lyn, and two daughters, Kristi Marie and Alicia Ann, all of Belchertown and his mother, two brothers and two sisters, and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be made to the D’Amour Cancer Center in Springfield, Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or Brain Cancer Center of America.
Tameka L. Gillum, associate professor of Public Health, was honored with the Outstanding Research Award at the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community’s national conference held Aug. 13-14 in Norfolk, Va.
Eric A. Decker, professor and head of the Department of Food Science, last month received the Advancement of Application of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Award from the Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society.
Brian Umberger, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology, has been elected to a two-year term on the executive board of the 
Timothy Randhir, associate professor of Environmental Conservation, was a keynote speaker at a national seminar on climate change held Aug. 16 at Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, India.
Eric Sommers, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has been appointed a program officer in the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation.
Richard P. Halgin, professor of Psychology, has been chosen to receive the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award, which is given to a small group of American professors who inspired their former students to achieve greatness by establishing an “organization that has demonstrably conferred a benefit on the community at large.” 
The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. will honor Walter B. Denny, professor of Art History, for lifetime achievement in textile arts with its George Hewitt Myers Award on Oct. 11.
Isabel Espinal, librarian for Afro-American Studies, Native American Indian Studies and Information Literacy, has been elected vice-president/president-elect of REFORMA, a national association that promotes library and information services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking.
H. Dennis P. Ryan, professor of Environmental Conservation and coordinator of the Arboriculture and Community Forestry Program in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, this month received the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Award of Merit.