SBS Newsletter – March 2010
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Upcoming Events Alumni News Following a national search, Jean Kim '73 (sociology) has been named the permanent vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life at UMass Amherst. Kim served as interim vice chancellor for the past nine months. Read more in the Springfield Republican. Henry Barr '68 (government) is the chair of the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation’s board of trustees. In its ten years of existence, the foundation, based in Framingham, MA, has provided over $30 million to help meet the region's health care needs by supporting community-based and community-administered health programs. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the foundation awarded ten $10,000 grants in March. “Every day, the foundation’s resources are being used by community groups, municipalities, and non-profit organizations to make health care more accessible and to improve the care of individuals and families through a host of innovative programs and services,” says Barr, who also is the chair of the SBS Dean's Advisory Board. Credit Suisse’s prime services group has conducted a survey that illustrates the extent to which the relationship between hedge-fund managers and their investors has changed. Overall, the relationship is on a more sustainable footing, says Benjamin Happ '98 (psychology) in a recent Asian Investor. Happ is Asia-Pacific head of capital services in the prime services group in Hong Kong and a member of the SBS Dean's Advisory Board. “The word we would use is ‘appropriate’,” he adds, when defining the circumstances in which either investors or managers adapt to the new environment. “There has been a harmonisation of thinking about terms,” says Happ. “Investors have a better understanding of hedge-fund managers’ objectives and a sense of what’s realistic or possible. Managers appreciate what investors need.” Patricia (Balbach) Reeves '82 (communication) recently formed Reeves Media LLC, an outdoor advertising consulting and buying service. In outdoor advertising since 1983, Reeves was with CBS Outdoor for over 20 years. Based in Atanta, GA, she also has a billboard advertising company in Turks and Caicos, BWI. Carole Counihan '76 MA, '81 PhD (anthropology) has published A Tortilla Is Like Life: Food and Culture in the San Luis Valley of Colorado (University of Texas Press, 2009). This ethnographic study of a Mexican American community in rural Southern Colorado uses food-centered life histories with nineteen women to explore meanings of land and water, food production and exchange, gender roles and relations, meals and family, food rituals surrounding death, and changing food consumption. James A. Smith '72, '77 MA (political science) is a managing partner with Terra Firma Risk Management, a London-based security firm. Previously, he was a senior security consultant for Clayton Consultants, a Triple Canopy company, and before that a senior consultant for Pinkerton Business Risks. Smith, who entered the private sector security field after retiring from the U.S. Foreign Service, lives on an island in northeast Florida. Wendy Darling '97 (journalism) is technical projects manager for Emory University's health sciences center in Atlanta. She has technical and content responsibility for a large website, plus maintenance of social media communications and production of videos and podcasts. Her multidisciplinary, liberal arts UMass education is "the envy of all." Heidi Nadel '93 (journalism) has been elected a partner in the law firm Todd & Weld LLP, effective July 1, 2010. Named an Up & Coming Lawyer in 2008 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, she concentrates her practice on complex commercial disputes, probate and fiduciary litigation, civil rights and First Amendment law, and appeals. Please send us your news! Also, view upcoming alumni events, sponsored by the Alumni Assocation, on their Events Listing. And check out MaroonCentral, the Alumni Association's online community. This is a FREE social networking service that encourages communication and professional networking among alumni and students through class notes, profiles, a searchable directory, and more. Faculty/Department News Professor Emeritus Ethan Katsh (legal studies) has been selected as the 2010-2011 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Haifa (Israel). Katsh is currently serving as principal dispute resolution consultant for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a new federal agency mandated to provide mediation in Freedom of Information Act disputes. SBS in the News Financial Times, 3/29/10. A blog posting on the chances that the U.S. Congress will approve any type of cap-and-trade energy legislation mentions that one bill, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Susan Collins, received support recently when the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) reported the bill would yield economic benefits. Big news.biz, 3/28/10. A study by PERI says a proposed federal clean energy and jobs bill will have economic benefits for low-income and middle class households. Tribune-Democrat [Johnstown, Penn.], 3/25/10. A study done by Donald Tomaskovic-Devey (sociology) finds that African-American men spend more time looking for work and experience less job security than whites with equivalent skills. UN Dispatch, 3/22/10. Charli Carpenter (political science) is interviewed in a video about human security, the new U.N. Security Council report on Somalia, gender equality and how Hollywood values are affecting the U.N. New York Times Economix blog, 3/22/10. Nancy Folbre (economics) writes about what she calls the resentment zone, the income range where families make just enough to lose eligibility for means-tested benefits including food stamps, Medicaid and the earned-income tax credit. She says the size of this group may help explain why some lower-income Americans are attracted by movements such as the Tea Party. Mercury News [San Jose, Calif.], 3/10/10. A letter to the editor cites a recent discussion by Folbre about underwater mortgages, in which she wrote about the unlikely possibility of a widespread homeowner revolt against lenders and banks. AOL News, 2/26/10. Folbre is cited in an article about efforts in Washington to pass federal legislation that would help set up savings accounts for all children. Proponents hope this will be a first step in combating financial illiteracy. Folbre notes that for every $5 spent on a senior citizen, the government spends only $2 on a child. Springfield Republican, 3/21/10. A course taught this semester by Stephen Fox (journalism) has student reporters probing the 2008 death of UMass Amherst student Katie Sherman during a study-abroad semester in India. The course is also focusing on the safety of study abroad programs across the country. Sherman’s death, ruled a suicide by Indian officials, was also investigated by the FBI, but no results have been released. Springfield Republican, 3/18/10. Professor Emeritus R. Brooke Thomas (anthropology), who discovered the community of Nuñoa in the Peruvian Andes more than 40 years ago, formed the nonprofit Nuñoa Project to improve peoples’ lives there. Stephen Purdy (veterinary and animal sciences), director of camelid studies and current president of the project, and his students have also volunteered over the years. A March fundraiser on campus featured speakers associated with the project. ecampusnews, 3/17/10. Adjunct faculty member Aron Goldman (public policy) comments in a story on how the FCC’s plans to expand broadband Internet access nationwide may affect so-called “anchor institutions” such as colleges and universities. Faculty and students who live in Shutesbury, for example, now use dial-up, making it difficult to complete the most basic online operations, such as e-mail with large attachments. High-speed broadband is not a luxury but is essential, especially for students, he says. Goldman served on a panel last October with Gov. Deval Patrick. Solve Climate, 3/15/10. James K. Boyce (economics) is cited in a story about differing opinions on how to draft federal legislation that would limit carbon emissions from fossil fuels in ways that won’t cripple the domestic energy industry. Boyce says setting different limits for carbon from different types of fuel reduces the efficiency of regulations and encourages lobbyists for each type of fuel to seek separate deals. Springfield Republican, 3/15/10. Robert N. Pollin (economics), co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, and James S. Heintz, associate director of PERI and associate research professor, comment in a story about how to track the use of federal stimulus funding in the region. The Real News Network, 3/7/10 (video and transcript). Pollin discusses why he thinks paying higher wages for jobs such as those needed to fix the national infrastructure or to retrofit buildings to make them energy efficient, will boost the economy. Pollin also argues that higher wages don’t automatically lead to inflation. The Hindu, 3/11/10.This remembrance of Professor Emeritus Larry Pinkham (journalism), 83, of Amherst, who died Feb. 28, notes that he helped start English-language journalism programs at several schools in China and later served as dean and distinguished visiting professor at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, India. Springfield Republican, 3/11/10. At the Altar of the Bottom Line: The Degradation of Work in the 21st Century by Tom Juravich (labor studies), published by UMass Press, is profiled. USA Today, 3/2/10. Juravich comments in a story about Ravenswood, W.Va., a small community of 4,000 people that has just one large employer, an aluminum factory that has been in decline in recent years. Ravenswood was also the scene of a major battle between unionized workers and management who locked out the workers when their contract expired in 1990. Juravich says Ravenswood is “one plant shutdown from oblivion.” WWLP-TV 22, 3/10/10. At a recent public fourm, graduate students from landscape architecture and regional planning outlined ideas for upgrading the downtown corridor in Springfield between the riverfront and the quadrangle where the city’s museums are located. Tehran Times [Iran], 3/9/10. A feature on research on lying done by Robert Feldman, dean of the College of Social and Behavior Sciences, indicates that people lie far more often than they realize. Feldman says people often lie to maintain self-esteem in the face of perceived threats. Palm Beach Daily News, 3/2/10. Feldman discussed his book The Liar in Your Life at a Parker Ladd Author breakfast meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 26. The breakfast series always includes 2 noted authors. Feldman shared the podium with Nelson DeMille, who spoke about crafting his reality-based thrillers. The Hill, 3/9/10. The work of Robert Pollin (economics), co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, and Research Fellow Heidi Garrett-Peltier (PERI) is referenced to bolster an argument that improved land management will do more to mitigate climate change than an approach focused solely on energy issues. The article cites research by the pair, indicating that every million dollars spent on forest and stream restoration and sustainable land management produces 39 jobs. Dollars & Sense, 3/8/10. Garrett-Peltier looks at the idea that increased defense spending to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan may help the damaged economy the same way any government spending is used when the economy falters. She says this “military Keynesianism” may work to some degree, but is an inefficient way to spend public money. Instead, she argues, spending on non-military projects creates more jobs and more positive economic impact. Diario Público [Spain], 3/7/10. Jane Fountain (political science and public policy), director of the National Center for Digital Government, is interviewed about intellectual property rights, business and the information potential of the internet. Providence Journal, 3/5/10. Jeff Thompson (Political Economy Research Institute) comments in a story about the unemployment rate in Rhode Island. Boston Globe, 3/4/10. Political columnist Dan Payne says President Barack Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick share many traits, including a lack of an overall unifying political goal. He notes that “UMass Amherst wise man” Ralph W. Whitehead (journalism) once suggested that Massachusetts should have its own foreign policy. Payne thinks that is still a good idea. Color Magazine, 3/3/10. C.N. Le (sociology) says the U.S. census shows that the nation’s population is becoming increasingly non-white, with the number of Latinos and Asians growing the fastest. He expects the 2010 census will continue to show those trends and that by 2046, whites will no longer be a majority in the U.S. population. Huffington Post, 2/26/10. Gerald Friedman (economics) comments in a story about price-cutting in the art market. He says price is a signal for quality in art and discounting can be viewed as sending the signal that something is not as desirable as it might seem. A Word from SBS Gifts from alumni and friends are vital to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Your investment allows us to create remarkable opportunities for today’s—and tomorrow's—students. If you are already a donor, please accept our sincere thanks. If not, please consider a donation to SBS for your department, student financial aid, or a purpose that speaks to your personal experiences and priorities. To make a gift online, click here. Or, send a check to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Draper Hall, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 40 Campus Center Way, Amherst, MA 01003-9244. Questions? Contact James Mallet, 413.545.3945. We welcome feedback related to this newsletter, the college in general, specific concerns, or topics of interest. Please address all correspondence, including story ideas, to Sabine Cray, director of communications and marketing. If you wish to add your name to the mailing list, or if you wish to unsubscribe, please contact us. If you have had a change of address, email or other personal information, you can update it online. The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences respects your privacy. Your contact information will not be shared with anyone unrelated to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. |
