Awards

SBS faculty continually receive recognition for their work in the classroom and beyond, not only from UMass Amherst but also from professional organizations, foundations, and government agencies.

• UMass Amherst Distinguished Academic Outreach Award
• UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award
• UMass Amherst Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity
• UMass Amherst Outstanding Academic Advising Award
• Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series/Chancellor's Medal
• UMass Amherst Samuel Conti Research Fellowship
• SBS Outstanding Teaching Award
• Research Leadership in Action
• Lilly Teaching Fellows
• Professional Recognitions

UMass Amherst Distinguished Academic Outreach Award
The Distinguished Outreach Award recognizes excellence in academic outreach, defined as teaching, research and service that benefit external constituencies. Outreach generates knowledge, shares resources, and applies the expertise of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in ways that advance the public good, consistent with university and unit missions.

2005–2006
Robert K. Pollin—Economics (for Outreach Research)
Maureen Perry-Jenkins—Psychology (for Outreach Research)

2004–2005
Leda Cooks—Communication

2003–2004
Daniel R. Anderson—Psychology

2001–2002
Sut Jhally—Communication

2000–2001
James M. Royer—Psychology

1999–2000
Arthur S. Keene—Anthropology

UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award
Honoring individual excellence, the campus-wide Distinguished Teaching Award is highly competitive and prestigious. Only current students and alumni may nominate faculty for this award. Each year faculty, graduate, and undergraduate student committees review more than 100 nominations in a two-step process of data collection and analysis prior to selecting three faculty and two teaching assistant awardees. Recipients receive a monetary prize and are recognized at both the undergraduate and graduate commencements.

2005
Naomi Gerstel—Sociology
Nicholas McBride—Communication

Graduate Assistants
Ventura Perez—Anthropology (now assistant professor)
Lena Zuckerwise—Political Science

2003
Graduate Assistant Viveca Greene—Communication

2002
Michael Morgan—Communication
Graduate Assistant Ieva Zake—Sociology

2001
Robert Faulkner—Sociology
Susan Whitbourne—Psychology

2000
Sut Jhally—Communication

1999
Graduate Assistant Melissa Osborne—Economics

1998
Laurie Godfrey—Anthropology
Stephen Resnick—Economics

1997
David Arnold—Psychology

1995
Graduate Assistant Alice Julier—Sociology

1994
Ronnie Janoff-Bulman—Psychology

1993
Karen List—Journalism (Communication)

1991
Martha Olney—Economics

1990
Jerome Myers—Psychology

UMass Amherst Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity
The Chancellor created the Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity in 2005 for faculty members from across campus who have, within the past three years, demonstrated outstanding achievement that has receives national and/or international recognition appropriate to the discipline. Each of the honorees receives a crystal award engraved with the Amherst campus seal at Convocation in the fall.

2006
James K. Boyce—Economics
Keith Rayner—Psychology

2005
Rachel Keen—Psychology

UMass Amherst Outstanding Academic Advising Award
One faculty member and one staff member at UMass Amherst are recognized annually for guiding students through their academic experience, advising them on career options and arranging referrals to other campus services, where appropriate. Winners receive a $3,000 monetary award and a plaque.

2006
Susan K. Whitbourne—Psychology

Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series/Chancellor's Medal
This lecture series celebrates the value of academic excellence and recognizes the distinguished achievements of faculty. Those chosen for the series also receive the Chancellor's Medal, the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to UMass Amherst.

2007 - 2008
Martin Wobst—Anthropology
Sara Lennox—STPEC

2006 - 2007
Ethan Katsh—Legal Studies
Melinda Novak—Psychology

2005 - 2006
Sut Jhally—Communication

2004-2005
Sheldon Goldman—Political Science

2003 - 2004
Nancy Folbre—Economics

2002 - 2003
Alan Swedlund—Anthropology

2001-2002
Madeleine Blais—Journalism
Jay Demerath—Sociology

2000-2001
James Boyce—Economics

1999-2000
Ervin Staub—Psychology

1997-1998
Carmen Diana Deere—Economics

1996-1997
Jane Blankenship—Communication
George N. Wade—Psychology

For additional listings, click here.

UMass Amherst Samuel Conti Research Fellowship
The Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Awards—$3,000 and a year's leave of absence—encourage award recipients to concentrate on activities related to graduate education, research, creative work and scholarly attainment. Selection of the awardees is based on demonstrably outstanding accomplishment and potential for continued excellence in research and scholarly or creative activity.

2007
Naomi Gerstel—Sociology

2005
James Boyce—Economics

2002
Rachel Keen—Psychology

2001
George Wade—Psychology

1999
Charles E. Clifton, Jr.—Psychology

1992
Susan Tufts Fiske—Psychology

1994
Sally Powers—Psychology

1991
Keith Rayner—Psychology

SBS Outstanding Teaching Award
The College Outstanding Teaching Award was instituted in 1995 to augment the University Distinguished Teaching Award in an effort to recognize a larger number of talented teachers. Nominating procedures, however, are different. Candidates for the College Teaching Award are nominated by their peers and selected by the SBS Instructional Quality Council; for the University award, nominees come from current and former students and are selected by a committee of faculty and students.

2007–2008
Art Keene—Anthropology
Tamara Rahhal—Psychology

2006–2007
Maureen Perry-Jenkins—Psychology
Lynnette Leidy-Sievert—Anthropology

2005-2006
Benjamin Bailey—Communication
Ray La Raja– Political Science

2004–2005
Karen List—Communication
Joya Misra—Sociology

2003–2004
Linda Isbell—Psychology
Maribel Casteneda—Communication
David Mednicoff—Legal Studies

2002–2003
Eve Weinbaum—Labor Center
Erica Scharrer—Communication
Robert Paynter—Anthropology

2001–2002
Michael Morgan—Communication
Melinda Novak—Psychology
Leonce Ndikumana—Economics

2000–2001
David Todd—Psychology
Leda Cooks—Communication
M.V. Lee Badgett—Economics

1999–00
Deirdre Royster—Sociology
Richard Wolff—Economics

1998–99
Mort Harmatz—Psychology
Lynnette Leidy Sievert—Anthropology

1997–98
Robert Feldman—Psychology
Stephen Resnick—Economics

1996–97
Arnold Well—Psychology
Naomi Gerstel—Sociology

1995–96
Carolyn Anderson—Communication
Sheldon Goldman—Political Science

Research Leadership in Action
Research Leadership in Action is an internal grant competition sponsored by the Vice Provost for Research for full-time UMass Amherst tenure-track and research faculty to showcase leadership in research and scholarly activity. 2005 was the program's inaugural year.

2007
Bernie D. Jones—Legal Studies
The Future of Equality in the Workplace: Women and the Opt-Out Revolution
Ventura R. Perez—Anthropology
Landscapes of Violence: Conflict and Trauma through Time
Sonia E. Alvarez—Political Science
Interrogating the Civil Society Agenda

Fall 2006
Jane Fountain—Political Science
Emergent Technologies and Public Policy Workshop on Nanotechnology

Spring 2006
Eve Darian-Smith—Legal Studies
Summer Institute on Rights and Regulation

Fall 2005
Norm Sims—Communication/Journalism
Media Giraffe Project

Spring 2005
Aline G. Sayer—Psychology
Sally I. Powers—Psychology
Scientific Conference on New Statistical Methods for Analyzing Families and Couples

Lilly Teaching Fellows
Tenure-track faculty selected by the Center for Teaching at UMass Amherst “for their promise in teaching and research, their interest in undergraduate teaching and in developing innovative teaching skills, and their potential for making a positive impact on the teaching culture in their department, college and broader campus community.”

2007–08
Lisa Sanders—Psychology
Millicent Thayer—Sociology
Emily West—Communication

2006-07
Paula Chakravartty—Communication

2005-06
Nilanjana Dasgupta—Psychology
Thomas Hilbink—Legal Studies

2004-05
Anne Ciecko—Communication
Beth Jakob—Psychology
Srirupa Roy—Political Science

2003-04
Julie Hemment—Anthropology

2002-03
Linda Isbell—Psychology
Betsy Krause—Anthropology
Mari Castaneda—Communication

2001-02
David Mednicoff—Legal Studies
Erica Scharrer—Communication

Professional Recognitions

2007
Michael Constantino—Psychology
Recipient of 2007 Early-Career Award from the American Psychological Foundation’s (APF) Division 29 (Psychotherapy). The award recognizes promising contributions to psychotherapy, psychology, and the division of psychotherapy by a Division 29 member with 10 or fewer years of postdoctoral experience.

2006
Jeffrey D. Blaustein—Psychology
Named editor-in-chief of Endrocrinology by the Endocrine Society, the first from the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology

David Mednicoff—Legal Studies
Fulbright Fellowship for research and teaching in Qatar for the 2006-7 academic year. He is the first American Fulbright scholar to go to Qatar in the field of international politics, and the first non-Muslim to receive a grant related to law and Arab politics.

Rachel Keen—Psychology
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for her stellar achievements related to child behavior.

Michael Ash—Economics/Center for Public Policy and Administration
Fulbright Fellowship for research and teaching in Hungary.

Sheldon Goldman—Political Science
American Political Science Association’s Law and Courts Section Lifetime Achievement Award.

2005
Krista Harper—Anthropology/Center for Public Policy and Administration
European Union Policy Affairs Research Fellowship from the Fulbright Scholar Program to study Roma human rights advances and attitudes

Laura Jensen—Political Science
Johnson Award for Best Paper in Ethics and Accountability in the Public Sector in the "established scholar" category, sponsored by Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership, University of Pittsburgh
Her papers “Public Ethics, Legal Accountability, and the New Governance” was co-authored with Sheila Suess Kennedy, Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Indiana
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Bernie D. Jones—Legal Studies
William Nelson Cromwell Foundation prize sponsored by the American Society for Legal History, the annual prize for excellence in scholarship in American Legal History by a junior scholar
Recognizes Jones’s work on antebellum will contests in the South, involving elite white male testators who left bequests of freedom and property to their biological slave children and the children's mothers.

Rachel Keen—Psychology
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Society for Research in Child Development, 2005

Peter Rossi—Sociology/Social and Demographic Research Institute (emeritus)
The Association for Public Policy and Management (APPAM) names annual award in his honor for lifetime achievements in the field.

Faculty Profile

A Week in the Life of a “Genius”
What’s it like to be a “genius”? In search of an answer, we tapped Nancy Folbre (economics), the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award a few years ago, and tracked her activities for a week. But before we begin our inside look, Folbre comments, “I’m actually an ‘expired’ genius, since the term of my grant is now over. I was lucky to get a MacArthur Fellowship. No one knows how individuals are selected, but I wish more could experience the delight that such a surprise confirmation can offer.”
Read more?…