News

Obituary: Irving Howards, professor emeritus of Political Science

Irving Howards, 87, of Amherst, professor emeritus of Political Science, died April 8.
 
Born in Milwaukee, he was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D.
 
He joined the Political Science faculty in 1965 and served as director of the Bureau of Government Research, assistant to the chancellor and president and coordinator of Public Affairs.

Festival of Madness and Mayhem continues with 'Merchant of Venice'

The Festival of Madness and Mayhem continues performances of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," directed by Dori Robinson, in the Black Box Theater at the Renaissance Center, 650 East Pleasant St.

Performance times are April 18, 20, 25 and 27 at 7 p.m. and April 21 at 2 p.m.

Admission is $7 adults and $5 for students. Call 577-3600 to reserve seats. Pay for seats at the time of the show, cash only.

The festival is co-sponsored by Renaissance Center and UMass Hillel and is made possible in part by a grant from the UMass Arts Council.
 
For information, contact the center at

Amherst scholar leads Five College Renaissance Seminar

Stephanie Elsky, postdoctoral fellow and visiting assistant professor in the department of law, jurisprudence and social thought at Amherst College, will discuss "Custom, Periodization, and Poetic Performance in Sidney's Old Arcadia" on Thursday, April 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the Reading Room of the Renaissance Center, 650 East Pleasant St.

Light refreshments will follow the talk.

For information, contact the center at renaissance@english.umass.edu or 577-3600.

Curator speaks on new acquisitions at Renaissance Center

The Renaissance Center's curator, David Katz, will discuss recent donations to the center and display various rare books from the collection on Wednesday, April 17 at 4 p.m.

The talk is free and open to the public and light refreshments are served after the discussion. The talk takes place in the Reading Room of the Renaissance Center at 650 East Pleasant St.

For information, contact the center at renaissance@english.umass.edu or 577-3600.

'The Witch of Edmonton' is focus of Renaissance seminar

Erika Lin, assistant professor of English at George Mason University, will deliver a talk on “Erotic Horseplay and Demonic Desires: Festive Performance in The Witch of Edmonton” on Wednesday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the Reading Room of the Renaissance Center, 650 East Pleasant St. 

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will follow.

For information, contact the center at renaissance@english.umass.edu or 577-3600.

Hayes gives ASECS presidential address

Julie Candler Hayes, professor of French and dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, gave the presidential plenary lecture on April 5 during the annual meeting of the American Society for 18th-Century Studies.

Hayes was elected vice president of ASECS in 2011 and served as the organization’s president in 2012-13. The topic of her lecture, which stems from an ongoing book project on 17th and 18th-century women writers, was “Philosophical About Marriage: Women Writers and the Moralist Tradition.”

Baran honored for contributions to audiology journal

Jane A. Baran, professor and chair of Communication Disorders, was awarded the 2013 JAAA Editor’s Award on April 4 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) in Anaheim, Calif.
 
The award, which was presented to Baran at the academy’s honors and award banquet, recognizes her outstanding contributions to the peer review of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

Obituary: Pauline Collins, first librarian of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

Pauline P. Collins, 92, of Amherst, retired librarian of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, died April 4 at the Hospice at the Fisher Home in North Amherst.

Born on April 4 in Sylva, N.C., she graduated from Cullowhee High School in 1938. She developed an early interest in Spanish and Spanish-American literature at Western Carolina University and Duke University, which led to a master’s degree at Duke and a doctorate in romance languages at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Obituary: Kenneth Cashin, professor emeritus of Chemical Engineering

Kenneth D. Cashin, 91, of Lexington, professor emeritus of Chemical Engineering, died April 6.
 
Born in Lowell, he attended Worchester Polytechnic Institute in 1940, but left to join the U.S Navy Radio and Radar Unit in 1944. He returned to WPI in 1946 to complete his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
 
He joined the faculty in 1948 as an assistant professor and initiated what became the Department of Chemical Engineering. During a sabbatical year he completed his work for a doctorate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

From 1968-70, he took a leave of absence to establish the chemical

Pianist Vonsattel debuts at London’s Wigmore Hall

Pianist Gilles Vonsattel, assistant professor of Music, made his debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall on April 5, performing music by Holliger, Ravel, Honegger and Beethoven.
 
Reviewing the recital on the website Classical Source, Peter Reed wrote, “The Sonatine was remarkable for its poise and elusive lyricism, and Gaspard de la Nuit was hugely impressive.

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