Anthropologist Plays Key Role in Return of Native American Remains for Burial
On November 16 Northern Mexico's Yaqui Indians buried their lost warriors after a two-year effort to rescue the remains from New York's American Museum of Natural History. where the victims of one of North America's last Indian massacres lay in storage for more than a century. These victims of one of North America’s last Indian massacres in 1902 lay in storage for more than a century. The bones were forgotten until Professor Ventura Perez MA '00, PhD '06 (anthropology) and a fellow anthropologist started to study them in 2007 and realized their gruesome history. Read more in the New York Times. The AP story appeared in major media outlets across the nation.

Professor Whitehead Goes to Washington
Professor Ralph Whitehead (journalism) was part of a panel (along with Vice President Joe Biden) at the Center for American Progress earlier this month--the topic: The Challenges Facing the Middle Class in the 21st Century Economy. The vice president, who chairs the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families, invited Whitehead and five other scholars from around the country to take part in the discussion. Watch video of the discussion.

Alice Rossi Dies
Prominent feminist and scholar, Alice S. Rossi, the Harriet Martineau Professor of Sociology emerita, died peacefully on November 3. Born in New York City, she graduated from Brooklyn College and obtained a Ph.D in sociology from Columbia University. Prior to her appointment at UMass Amherst, Rossi held faculty positions at Harvard University, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and Goucher College. She was one of the 16 founders of the National Organization of Women (NOW). Read more....

Badgett to Present Distinguished Faculty Lecture
M.V. Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, will 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...

Servaes Keynotes International Conferences in Thailand, China
Jan Servaes (communication), director of the SBS Center, Communication for Sustainable Social Change (CSSC), recently keynoted two international conferences and was appointed an honorary guest professor at the Huazhong University of Technology and Science in China. Read more...