News

College of Natural Sciences, Girls Inc. of Holyoke offer summer science learning for 8th grade girls

A group of eighth-grade girls from the greater Holyoke area will get a hands-on introduction to science-related learning this summer through a new program announced June 17 by leaders of Girls Inc. of Holyoke and the College of Natural Sciences.
 
Eureka!, a nationally recognized program designed to engage girls 12-18 to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, begins on campus July 8, where about 30 participating girls will work on projects with STEM faculty members for four weeks.

Gershenson’s book on Soviet Holocaust films is published

“The Phantom Holocaust: Soviet Cinema And Jewish Catastrophe,” by Olga Gershenson, associate professor of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, was published last week by Rutgers University Press.
 
The work tells the story of unknown, forgotten or banned Holocaust films in the Soviet Union. Gershenson draws on archival research and in-depth interviews to tell the sometimes tragic and sometimes triumphant stories of filmmakers who found authentic ways to represent the Holocaust in the face of official silencing.
 
The book, which includes illustrations, is available in hardcover, paperback and

Temporary vehicle route to Student Union June 18 to July 31

Beginning Tuesday, June 18, through the end of July, a temporary delivery vehicle route will be in place extending from a point west of South College to the Student Union ellipse. The normal delivery route via Hicks Way adjacent to the south side of the Campus Garage will be closed to through traffic for utility work. Accessible parking in Thompson Lot 64 will be temporarily relocated.
 
Comments or questions about this project should be directed to project manager Jason Venditti at 413-326-1661 or venditti@facil.umass.edu.

Section of N. Pleasant Street reduced to one lane through July 1

North Pleasant Street in the Hasbrouck area has been reduced to one lane accommodating both north- and south-bound traffic for two weeks for utility work.  During the period from June 17 to July 1, there may be a brief closure of both lanes at a time scheduled to cause the least amount of disruption possible.
 
Comments or questions about this project should be directed to project manager Sara Northrup at 545-4857 or snorthrup@facil.umass.edu.

Doctoral oral exams for June 24-28

The graduate dean invites all graduate faculty to attend the final oral examinations for the doctoral candidates scheduled as follows:

Yang Song, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering. Tuesday, June 25, 10 a.m., 109 Knowles Engineering Building. Dissertation: “Toward a Secure and Scalable Internet and Economic Incentives for Evolvable Internet Architecture.” Lixin Gao, chr.

Leadership change announced in Student Affairs and Campus Life

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Jean Kim today announced that she will be leaving her position at the end of June to pursue other professional opportunities.
 
Enku Gelaye, currently dean of students and associate vice chancellor, will become interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life effective July 1.
 
Subbaswamy said, “I want to thank Vice Chancellor Kim for her service to the university and for her advocacy to establish a caring and supportive environment that fosters student success.”
 
A formal search process to select a permanent vice chancellor

NerdScholar gives campus high marks for mentoring women in STEM fields

NerdScholar, a website that tries to help students make the best decisions about their higher education, recently featured UMass Amherst on its site as one of the nation’s “Best Mentoring Programs for Women” in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
 
“We were very impressed,” says Laura Pereyra, a communications analyst for San Francisco-based NerdScholar. She manages the team’s outreach and marketing efforts to students, universities and other educational organizations. She adds, “We had to include UMass Amherst.

New stadium press box to be named for Jacobson brothers

The new football press and skybox complex at McGuirk Alumni Stadium will be named in honor of alumnus Martin Jacobson and his brother Richard, according to athletic director John McCutcheon.

Marty Jacobson of the Class of 1968 committed $2.5 million to the campus on June 10 at a ceremony with Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, McCutcheon and football coach Charley Molnar.

Jacobson said the gift is a chance to make an impact during on the campus following the transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“I’ve been a huge proponent that athletics enhance the value of going to a state university,”

Obituary: Sophie Kahle, retired cook

Sophie Mary (Ostrowski) Kahle, 91, formerly of South Deerfield and Fruitland Park, Fla., a former cook at several campus venues, died May 28 at the home of her daughter in Deerfield.

Born in Sunderland, she attended Deerfield schools before leaving school to work with her parents. She later earned her G.E.D.
 
She married the late Bernard E. Kahle in 1942, and they lived together in South Deerfield before relocating to Fruitland Park, Fla., in 1985.

She began her campus service in 1970 as a departmental assistant and then an assistant cook at the Hatch in the Student Union.

Peyton named a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences

Shelly Peyton, assistant professor of Chemical Engineering, is one of 22 researchers who have been named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholarships provide flexible funding to early career scientists researching the basis of perplexing health problems—including diabetes, autism, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer.
 
Pew’s scholars program awards recipients $240,000 over four years to pursue their projects without direction or restriction. To be considered, applicants must demonstrate excellence and creativity in their research.

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