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Outstanding teaching, research and outreach honored

The highest standards in teaching, research, outreach and invention among members of the faculty were recognized April 29 at the UMass Honors dinner held as part of Founders Week.

Four faculty members and two graduate students have been chosen to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest honor awarded on campus for excellence in teaching and learning.

The tenure system faculty winners are Christian Appy, History, Elizabeth Connor, Biology, and Robert Nakosteen, Operations and Information Management.

Center for Research on Families announces student award winners

The Center for Research on Families recently awarded $39,200 in funding to 11 undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in researching issues related to the family.
 
Now in its fourth year, CRF’s Student Awards Program supports student research, training and conference travel and provides opportunities for students to work with faculty on research projects. Awardees engage with the center by attending two roundtable events to present their research.
 
The CRF Family Research Graduate Student Fellowship provided $10,000 to three doctoral students for one year to work with a faculty

UMassGives raises $83,947 in online gifts in just 36 hours

The campus’s first-ever fundraising campaign driven by social media was a resounding success this week, raising $83,947 during a 36-hour event that included 1,533 online gifts as the campus kicked off its 150th birthday celebration.

Sarah Sligo, executive director of Annual Giving, said, “Our alumni and friends, faculty and staff really rose to the challenge with this campaign. So many made it clear that UMass gives so much to the Commonwealth and beyond, and they wanted to give something back.

Page awarded Rome Prize for cross-disciplinary study in Italy

Professor Max Page of the Art, Art History and Architecture Department, is one of three scholars nationally named to receive the Rome Prize for Historic Preservation and Conservation, awarded annually by the American Academy in Rome to honor “the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.”
 
The prize includes a fellowship that provides a stipend, studio or study, room and board in Rome for up to two years—and the opportunity for recipients to expand their own professional, artistic or scholarly pursuits.

New course proposals

The following new course proposals have been submitted to the Faculty Senate Office for review and approval and are listed here for faculty review and comment. Comments on any new course proposal should be submitted to Ernest May, secretary of the Faculty Senate, at senate@senate.umass.edu.

BIOCHEM 576, “Biotechnology Process Engineering Laboratory,” 4 credits; Instructors: Louis Roberts (BMB) and Susan Roberts (ChE); A comprehensive student-driven laboratory course in biotechnology process engineering focusing on the laboratory skills necessary to bring a product to the marketplace.

Hayes awarded MWPHE scholarship

Karen Hayes, director of Research Communication and Outreach in University Relations, received the Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education (MWPHE) 2013 Professional Development Award at the organization’s statewide conference in Wrentham on April 15.

Hayes received the $1,000 award in recognition of her professional development goals and for her dedication, perseverance and leadership in the higher education community.

MWPHE is a non-profit organization committed to strengthening the status of women as professionals and enhancing the quality of higher education.

Bracey to receive honorary degree from College of Wooster

The College of Wooster in Ohio is awarding an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to professor John H. Bracey, Jr. of Afro-American Studies at the school’s 143rd commencement on May 13.

The honor recognizes Bracey’s accomplishments as a distinguished social historian and pioneer of Africana studies, and his commitment to and influence on the study of the history of identity, race and gender.

As is customary at the College of Wooster, Bracey and other honorary degree recipients will share their wisdom and advice in short addresses during the commencement ceremony.

A member of the faculty

Retirement celebration for Al Byam is May 15

The campus community is invited to a celebration honoring Allan Byam, director of Transportation Services, who is retiring after 35 years of campus service, on Wednesday, May 15 from 4-6 p.m. in the Amherst Room on the 10th floor of the Campus Center.
 
Contributions in Byam’s honor can be made by sending a check payable to the University of Massachusetts and mailed to Betsy Thornton at the Transit Service.
 
RSVP to Betsy Thornton before May 10 by calling 545-1631 or by e-mail at betsyt@admin.umass.edu.
 

Science Café explores acrobatics of jumping frogs

Gary Gillis of Mount Holyoke College will present “Brace for Impact,” exploring the acrobatics of jumping frogs and how they, like gymnasts, coordinate their muscles to effectively prepare for landings, at a Science Café on Monday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at Esselon Café in Hadley.
 
Gillis uses biomechanics and neuromuscular analysis to understand how animals are able to control their movements during rapid deceleration.  
 
Light snacks will be provided and drinks will be available for purchase. All Science Café events are free and designed for a public audience. 
 
The Science Café series is

First land animals kept fishlike jaws for millions of years, says biologist

Scientists studying how early land vertebrates evolved from fishes long thought that the animals developed legs for moving around on land well before their feeding systems and dietary habits changed enough to let them eat a land-based diet, but strong evidence was lacking. Now, for the first time fossil jaw measurements by Philip Anderson, a senior research fellow in Biology, and others have tested and statistically confirmed this lag.
 
“This pattern had been hypothesized previously, but not really tested. Now we've done that,” Anderson says.

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