Alum Funds Lecture Series to Showcase Excellence and Engagement
Last year Margaret and Robert C. Cole, Jr. ’59 (psychology), retired president and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware, made a wonderful commitment to UMass Amherst and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences by establishing the Cole Lecture in Contemporary Issues. Aiming to engage alumni with faculty whose current research has a direct impact on world issues, this year’s lecture featured Robert Pollin, professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute on campus. He presented “Building the Green New Deal” about developing a clean energy economy in the U.S. and his unique work in modeling the green recovery program for the Obama administration. Read more...

Heritage in Conflict Workshop
Associate Professor Elizabeth Chilton, chair of the Anthropology Department and director of the UMass Amherst Center for Heritage and Society, is interested in uncovering and putting together missing pieces of history. This fall she is organizing a workshop titled "Heritage in Conflict and Consensus: New Approaches to the Social, Political, and Religious Impact of Public Heritage in the 21st Century." The workshop is for professionals in the field as well as for community members interested in history and archaeology, global problems involving indigenous burial grounds, learning about the destruction of heritage all over the world, and other topics dealing with awareness and preservation of historical and cultural lands. The public portion of the workshop will be held at UMass Amherst on November 9-10. Read more...

President of Farmhouse Foods Leads Company to New Heights
Since 2006 when Lisa Noble '76 (political science) purchased Farmhouse Foods Company from the J.M. Smucker Company, she has engineered its growth threefold to the number two share of prepared rice and pasta side dish brand in the West. Noble came into the company with her eyes wide open. From 1990 to 1999 she had been vice president of marketing, guiding Farmhouse Foods' growth to a $42 million West Coast brand of all natural prepared side dishes. Read more...

Budding Archaeologist Sees a Future of Digs
This past summer Jessica Aither ’11 (anthropology) participated in the Archaeology Field School in Italy, thanks in part to the Ansin Study Abroad Fellowship. “I was able to spend a full six weeks in the country, both on the dig site of an Etruscan necropolis and traveling Italy,” Aither says. “The entire experience was completely unparalleled by any other I’ve had thus far.” Read more...

• Badgett Chosen to Present Distinguished Faculty Lecture
• Women Can Help Find Causes of Cancer
• Filmmaker Named Bateman Scholar
• SBS Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Accomplishments
• Campus Ranked Top Producer of Fulbright Students
• Ground Broken for Marching Band Building
• Spring Study Abroad Scholarships Funded: Nov. 24 Deadline

• UMass Journalism in Sicily
• "Why Hire U?" — Top Five on YouTube
• Focus on Budget Planning
• Provost Details Plans for Closing Budget Hole
• Boston-area Alumni: One Day UMass
• Upcoming Events
• Alumni News
• SBS in the News
• A Word from SBS

Badgett Chosen to Present Distinguished Faculty Lecture
M.V. Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, has been selected to present in this year's Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series. Her talk, “From I Can’t to I Do: When Gay People Get Married,” will be take place on Monday, November 9 at 4:00 p.m. in the Bernie Dallas Room of the Goodell Building. A reception will follow. After her lecture, Badgett will receive the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the campus. The lecture series is sponsored by the offices of the chancellor and the provost. Read more...

Women Can Help Find Causes of Cancer
“The Milk Study: Using Breast Milk to Screen for Breast Cancer and Assess Breast-Cancer Risk,” led by UMass Amherst researchers Kathleen Arcaro (veterinary and animal sciences) and Doug Anderton (sociology), director of the Social and Demographic Research Institute and associate dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, is among the Love/Avon Army of Women’s current projects to fight breast cancer. Read more...

Filmmaker Named Bateman Scholar
Just like a plot for one of his movies, Michael Haley's 40-year career in the film industry has taken many twists and turns. The Emmy Award-winning producer, director and actor (class of '65, speech) shared his experiences behind and in front of the camera as the Alumni Association's Eleanor Bateman Scholar in Residence. On October 29 he spoke with the campus community on the topic of "Reality, Morality and Mortality in the Arts." Haley's career started in the late 60s after graduating from UMass Amherst with a degree in speech therapy. Read more...

SBS Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Accomplishments
This year’s Faculty Convocation ceremony on October 2, which marked the official installation of Robert Holub as Chancellor, also featured the presentation of the Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity to seven nationally recognized faculty members. Three of them, Naomi Gerstel (sociology) Sheldon Goldman (political science) and Robert N. Pollin (economics) are members of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Read more...

Campus Ranked Top Producer of Fulbright Students
UMass Amherst was a “Top Producer of Fulbright Students” among research universities for the 2008-09 academic year, according to a ranking published Oct. 19 in the Chronicle of Higher Education. During the past year, eighteen UMass Amherst students applied for Fulbrights and eight received the prestigious scholarships for overseas study and teaching while a ninth was named an alternate. The eight awards were a campus record and the new ranking shows UMass Amherst is competing with some of top colleges and universities in the U.S., said Susan K. Whitbourne (psychology), director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement. Read more...

Ground Broken for Marching Band Building
Ground was broken Oct. 17 for a $5.7 million Minuteman Marching Band Building. The new, energy-efficient facility will serve as the permanent home for the 300-member band known as “The Power and Class of New England” and one of only 13 collegiate marching bands nationally to receive the Sudler Trophy given by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. Read more...

Spring Study Abroad Scholarships Funded: Application Deadline November 24
Alumni of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences have made a Spring Study Abroad Scholarship opportunity available through their generous donations. All College of Social and Behavior Sciences majors who wish to study abroad in the spring of 2010 are welcome to apply. Based on financial need and/or academic excellence, a committee chooses recipients in the fall semester for travel abroad in the spring. Approximately twenty scholarships will be given this academic year with an average award of $1,000. Deadline to apply: Tuesday November 24, 2009. Click here for pdf application.

UMass Journalism in Sicily
Travel Writing and Photojournalism in Sicily is a 3-credit course offered by Journalism during the spring semester. Accepted students study the fundamentals of travel writing and/or basic photography while preparing for a 10-day travel experience to Sicily during Spring Break. Accompanied by professional guides, they will travel throughout the Italian island, photographing and experiencing the people and the landscape. Students will also keep a reporter's notebook to record their day-to-day impressions for assignments after the trip. While preference is given to the Journalism major, students from all majors and the Five Colleges are encouraged to apply. But don't delay. Deadline for applications is coming up on November 15. Click here for details.

"Why Hire U?" — Top Five on YouTube
The Alumni Association held a "Why Hire U?" video competition on campus to give students an opportunity to practice interview skills. The top five student videos are featured here.The winner of the competition was Tonya Eckert '10 (journalism and communication). She was very excited to win the iTouch sponsored by Hanover Insurance. The other finalists received Best Buy giftcards sponsored by the Alumni Association.

Focus on Budget Planning
Taking advantage of a budgetary “grace period” resulting from an infusion of federal stimulus funds, Chancellor Robert C. Holub says that his administration is focused on developing a financial strategy to address an estimated $38.2 million shortfall for the next fiscal year. In a campus-wide e-mail sent Oct. 22, Holub said, “Once again, I am asking the Budget Planning Task Force and my leadership team to recommend ways that we can reduce costs, create efficiencies and most importantly, develop new revenue sources to carry us forward in the years ahead.” Read more...

Provost Details Plans for Closing Budget Hole
With the campus facing a $38.2 million shortfall in the coming fiscal year, new Provost James V. Staros focused his first address to the Faculty Senate to flesh out the campus administration’s plans to close the funding gap. Speaking at the Oct. 15 meeting, Staros said the projected 12.4 percent shortfall translates to $25.6 million for Academic Affairs. “Even with new revenue generation, a cut of this scale, taken all at once, would be damaging,” he said. “This is a stunning amount of money.” Read more...

Boston-area Alumni: One Day UMass
Come back to school with faculty from all 5 UMass campuses. Don't miss your chance to join fellow alumni and friends in a system-wide event for a series of short lectures on healthcare, current events, and culture. The event will take place November 12, 2009, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.,Conference Center at Waltham Woods, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA. Among the featured speakers will be SBS Dean Robert S. Feldman; his research on lying in everyday life will be the basis for discussing how deception and dishonesty play a large and crucial role in society. $50.00 per person includes continental breakfast, lunch, and six lectures from UMass faculty experts and industry leaders. Click here for more information.

Upcoming Events
Check out the Events Calendar on the SBS website. There you'll find a listing of upcoming events related to the programs and departments in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences of interest to alumni, students, faculty and/or friends. View it by week, by month, or as a listing.

Alumni News
Dani Bionda Hughes '91 (political science), principal of Divine Capital in New York City and a member of the SBS Dean's Advisory Board, appears regularly in the media to discuss financial trends. On October 14, the day the stock market passed the 10,000 mark, she opined on CNBC's "Halftime Report: Amid Earnings Deluge, Which Results Really Matter?" Read more...

Sarah (Olivier) Isenberg '91 (sociology) was honored as Bay State Parent Magazine's "Mom Who Rocks" for October, 2009. She gave up her successful law practice after being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. She went on to devote her time to breast cancer advocacy by serving on the boards of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and by founding and leading two organizations dedicated to the needs of young women with breast cancer. An eight-year survivor, Sarah now writes for the blog Semi-Sweet: A Practical Guide To Healthy Living, where she dispenses useful, cutting edge, and fun information on cooking and diet, lifestyle, exercise, environmental concerns and parenting.

Michael McWilliams '73 (speech) has been working in Sweden since last year with an international UN-affiliated NGO focused on the growing global water crisis. He says, "It's been a long, surprising, ride from my years in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur. After entering the public policy arena in 2004 with the thinktank MassINC, I somehow managed to find myself over here working on much bigger and more urgent issues. UMass Amherst is in my blood. Both of my sons are grads and doing very well, thanks to the education they got. One recently got his Ph.D. in geophysics from UC Berkeley...and the other guy is now in medical school. I will be returning to the US in 2010."

David Ambrose '03 (journalism) and Allison Wroblewski were married on July 11, 2009 at The Publick House, Sturbridge, MA, with more than 25 UMass alumni in attendance. They reside in Cumberland, RI. Dave is an English teacher at Medford High School in Medford, MA and Allie is a history teacher in North Providence, RI.

Richard Smardon '70 (environmental design), '73 MLA is professor of environmental studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His new book, Sustaining the World's Wetlands: Setting Policy and Resolving Conflicts, written both as a textbook and as a professional reference book contains detailed case studies of wetland management worldwide. Key themes addressed in the case studies include the tradeoffs between sustainable use of wetlands for food, fuel, and fiber vs. the protection of ecosystem diversity and stability, and the respective roles of big international NGO's, national and regional government, and local community-based organizations when faced with wetland management issues. Read more...

A pastel painting by Lisa Breslow Thompson '82 (political science), titled Sweet!, was on display in "Eat the Art," an exhibit of food related artwork at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, MA through 10/31. She also had paintings on view at the Danforth Museum School of Art and Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, MA during September and October. She writes, "While at UMass I never took an art class, but my involvement in student government and an internship junior year sparked my interest in graphic design. [After graduation] I had an epiphany that the field of visual communication was my path and attended New England School of Art and Design. I have worked as a graphic designer for the past 25 years, and am [now] experiencing the joy and exhilaration of painting and drawing. I live in Framingham with my husband Mark Thompson '81 (political science) and our two sons, Jeremy and Connor. I would love to hear from old friends."

Douglas Storey '84 (political science) is managing partner of Two Storey Building of Bolton, MA, a custom builder and remodeling company. This long-time proponent of green building practices has been named to the 2009 Big 50 Award by Remodeling magazine, one of only two companies named from all of New England. The Big 50 is a remodeling business excellence award for best practices and annually goes to 50 companies around the country that have set the standard for professionalism and integrity through smart marketing, exemplary business practices, unique design, and extraordinary impact on their community or the industry at large. "Building green is building better," says Doug, who is a Certified Green Professional (CGR) by the National Association of Home Builders. Read more...

George Patrick Tripp '99 (communication) and Susan Bell were married on October 24 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. They reside in Ashland, MA. Eric Schwarzenbach '06 (economics) and numerous other alumni attended.

Christy (Stanley) Orser '03 (communication) has taken command of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Space Brigade, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. She previously served as an electronic warfare platoon leader, a company executive officer, a battalion operations officer (S3) and as an assistant brigade intelligence officer (S2). She has served one combat tour in Iraq.

Daniel Lamothe '04 (journalism) and Erika Lovley '06 (journalism) were married on July 17 in Northampton, MA. They reside in Alexandria, VA, where Dan is a journalist with the Military Times Media Group and Erika is a reporter with Politico, a political newspaper and web site. Their wedding was celebrated by the Rev. John McDonagh, a former director of the Newman Catholic Center at UMass Amherst. It also featured a special performance by Sam the Minuteman, after Dan surprised Erika and their wedding guests by inviting the mascot from his hiding place to the dance floor. See the YouTube video!

Lew Hoff '62 (economics) has been elected to the Westchester County (NY) Association (WCA) Board of Directors. Hoff is president of Bartizan Connects, a developer of hardware and software used for electronic data collection, in Yonkers, NY. He is also the chairman of Addressograph Bartizan, the world’s largest manufacturer of credit card data recorders, based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Westchester County Association is committed to business advocacy, economic vitality and to providing a strong and clear voice for the interests of businesses on the regional, national and international levels. Hoff serves on the SBS Dean's Advisory Board, and his daughter, Orly, is a UMass Amherst undergrad.

Please send us your news! Also, view upcoming alumni events, sponsored by the Alumni Assocation, on their Events Listing. Also, 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.

SBS in the News
Press Telegram [Long Beach, California], 10/26/09. Janet Rifkin (legal studies), former dean of SBS, attended the Women's Conference 2009, a two-day event attended by 24,000. The Conference, also known as the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women, has grown from a California initiative for working professionals into an international network of women from all walks of life, backgrounds and perspectives, and a life-changing experience for the thousands of women who have attended. Rifkin says she was cynical about attending, suspecting it might be "superficial and filled with a lot of rhetoric." Instead, she found the event a rewarding experience.

Valley News Dispatch [Pittsburgh], 10/25/09. Stuart Shulman (political science) comments in a story about whether the Internet and social networking sites will have the same impact on local political campaigns as they have had on national campaigns such as the recent Obama presidential run. He says use of the Internet can help local officials try out new ideas and make them available to many people in a very short time.

Providence Journal, 10/18/09. Elizabeth Chilton (anthropology) says an ancient Native American coastal village site found in Rhode Island is unique because unlike most parts of the region, it hasn’t been disturbed by farming or development.

Radio Free Europe, 10/12/09. Charli Carpenter (political science) authors a column about how both sides in the recent war between Georgia and Russia are manipulating the facts to their own advantage.

Forbes.com, 10/12/09. Nancy Folbre (economics) says the choice of Elinor Ostrom for one of this year’s Nobel Prizes in economics is significant not only because she is the first woman to win the prize, but because her research into why collective action works so often is significant. Independentmail.com [S.C.], 10/7/09. An editorial about how improving preventive health care will save money in the long run notes that Folbre has written that the savings may not be as large as some proponents claim because preventive care allows people to live longer and therefore consumes more health care. Overall, however, the column argues that preventive care is a good idea, if for no other reason than that it makes people more responsible for their own health. New York Times, 10/5/09. Folbre blogs about what happens when state financial support for public higher education declines. She notes major funding cuts in states such as California due to the economic hard times and a “funding cliff” at UMass Amherst. In the end, Folbre argues that if states want to maintain their public universities, they have to pay for them and not hope someone else picks up the tab.

Livemint.com, 10/7/09. A business columnist cites the work of Richard Wolff (economics) on core reasons why the U.S. and world economies nearly collapsed last year.

New York Times, 10/5/09. Michael Sugerman (anthropology) writes a letter-to-the-editor about standardized testing and why some people believe it doesn’t accurately measure the academic abilities of students (scroll down).

Boston Globe, 10/3/09. Raymond J. La Raja (political science) comments in a story about wealthy candidates running for high office. Stephen Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics, is running for the open U.S. Senate seat created when Edward M. Kennedy died.

A Word from SBS
This e-letter has been created for alumni and friends of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. SBS includes the degree-granting departments and programs of Anthropology, Communication, Economics, Journalism, Labor Studies, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP), Legal Studies, Political Science, Public Policy and Administration, Social Thought and Political Economy (STPEC), and Sociology. Among our ranks are 38,600 alumni, 3,800 undergraduate majors, and 560 graduate students. In addition to its departments, SBS is home to numerous centers and research institutions. Through the general education courses that SBS offers, the College’s 200 faculty members teach one quarter of the nearly 20,000 undergraduates on campus in any given semester.

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.