News

UMass Amherst Distinguished Alumni Awards to Be Presented at State House on April 3

AMHERST, Mass. – The UMass Amherst Alumni Association will honor three University of Massachusetts Amherst graduates, Congressman Richard Neal and a faculty member with this year’s Distinguished Alumni Awards on Wednesday, April 3 at 11:30 a.m. in the Great Hall of the State House.
 
Alumni Association board president Ron Grasso will present the awards, which are the association’s most prestigious recognition for alumni, faculty and friends.

Study Shows Homeowner Associations Can Support Native Species in Suburban Neighborhoods

AMHERST, Mass. – Although it’s known that construction of homes in suburban areas can have negative impacts on native plants and animals, a recent study led by University of Massachusetts Amherst ecologist Susannah Lerman suggests that well- managed residential development such as provided by homeowners associations (HOA) can in fact support native wildlife.
 
For their recent study published in Ecology and Society, Lerman and her colleagues Kelly Turner and Christofer Bang of Arizona State University (ASU), Phoenix, set out to assess whether neighborhoods managed by HOAs contain more native

‘Body Politics 2013’ Staged March 29-30 at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – “Body Politics 2013,” an award-winning original production by and about women of color, will be performed Friday and Saturday, March 29-30 at 8 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
Presented by the Women of Color Leadership Network, a program of the Center for Women & Community at UMass Amherst, “Body Politics” explores a range of contemporary issues including the intersection of social identities, cultural appropriation, discrimination and racism, manifestations of internalized oppression, sexuality and violence, as well as

‘Contact Between Adoptive and Birth Families: What Works?’ Conference at UMass Amherst on April 11 and 12

AMHERST, Mass. – Adoption researchers from around the world, with practice professionals and adoptive families will gather on Thursday and Friday, April 11 and 12, for the fifth annual New Worlds of Adoption Conference at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to explore the theme,“Contact between Adoptive and Birth Parents: What Works?”   
 
The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. conference will meet in the Student Union Ballroom and is open to all interested families, practitioners, researchers, school staff and policy makers.
 
More than 200 people are expected to attend the forum, which will offer

UMass Amherst, Town of Amherst Agree on New Measures to Improve Public Safety This Spring

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Town of Amherst today agreed on a set of measures to improve public safety this spring, including funding for two additional ambulances, joint police patrols and a joint, police mobile field force designed to prevent large-scale disturbances.
 
“The university is committed to working with the town to ensure that the safety and civility of our shared community is protected,” said John Kennedy, vice chancellor for university relations.

Artist Tim Rollins Joins with Springfield Middle School to Create Works for 'Du Bois in Our Time' Exhibit at UMass Amherst

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Renowned artist Tim Rollins and members of his collective, Kids of Survival (K.O.S.), will conduct a special residency/workshop March 26-28 with middle school students and teachers at Springfield’s Renaissance Public School.
 
Sponsored by the University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA) at UMass Amherst, the project will combine lessons in reading and writing with the production of works of art. In a process Tim Rollins and K.O.S.

Penn State Scholar Speaks on 'Living with the Legacies of Violence in the Jim Crow South' on March 28 at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – Pennsylvania State University professor Nan Woodruff will present the Five College History Annual Lecture on Thursday, March 28 at 4 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Union at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
Woodruff’s lecture is titled “Living with the Legacies of Violence in the Jim Crow South: Memory, Trauma and the Civil Rights Movement.”
 
The event is free and open to the public.

University of Chicago Professor Discusses Politics and African-American Literature at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – Kenneth Warren, professor of English literature at the University of Chicago, will speak on “Reflections on Politics and African American Literature” on Thursday, April 4 from 4-6 p.m. in 904-08 Campus Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
The Fairfax M.

Robot-Delivered Speech and Physical Therapy a Success in UMass Amherst Test

AMHERST, Mass. – In one of the earliest experiments using a humanoid robot to deliver speech and physical therapy to a stroke patient, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst saw notable speech and physical therapy gains and significant improvement in quality of life.
 
Regarding the overall outcome, speech language pathologist and study leader Yu-kyong Choe says, “It’s clear from our study of a 72-year-old male stroke client that a personal humanoid robot can help people recover by delivering therapy such as word-retrieval games and arm movement tasks in an enjoyable and

UMass Amherst Institute Receives $1.6 Million NIH Award to Support Graduate Students in Biomedical Research

AMHERST, Mass. – A newly formed institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that serves as a campus-wide umbrella to coordinate diversity initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has received a four-year, $1.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund one-year internships for post-baccalaureate students from underrepresented groups interested in biomedical and biobehavioral research.
 
Sandra Petersen, director of the STEM Diversity Institute (SDI) and professor of veterinary and animal sciences, is the principal investigator of

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