Economics Expert Advises Arizonans on Municipal Finance
Twice each year about 150 Arizona citizens come together for three days to address a topic of major concern to the state’s future. Most recently, the 91st Arizona Town Hall focused on Land Use: Challenges and Choices for the 21st Century and included in the background report a chapter by Professor Carol Heim (economics) on “Taxes, Incentives, and Fiscal Policy Choices.” Read more...

Open Software for Research and Teaching
The Linux-Open Source Lab is the nation's first open-source laboratory focused on the social sciences. It also provides a place on campus where UMass faculty and students from all disciplines can explore the innovative capabilities of open source software for research and teaching. Read more...

Fine-tuning the Brain
Infants refine and narrow their ability to discriminate between things they see and hear in their first year, revealing what appears to be a decline in ability at a time when most other skills and functions are dramatically increasing, says Lisa S. Scott, assistant professor of psychology. Read more...

Labor Studies Students Awarded AFL-CIO Scholarships
Two graduate students from the Labor Studies Program have been selected to receive the Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship from the Union Plus program of the AFL-CIO. Harream Purdie and Edgar Chen are both working towards their master’s degrees through the Labor Relations and Research Center. A third award winner, Amanda Rasmussen, will also use her Union Leaders Scholarship to pursue studies at the center. Read more...

Anderson Speaks About Sesame Street
On November 20 Professor Daniel Anderson (psychology) was interviewed on NPR's "Day to Day" about the recent release of old episodes of the children’s program “Sesame Street” on DVD and a warning that some of the material in them may not be suitable for pre-school children. Potentially objectionable subjects in the old shows were that Bert and Ernie lived together and Cookie Monster frequently gobbled carb-filled desserts, but Anderson says these are adult concerns and children probably didn’t understand or care about them. Anderson was a consultant on the show. Read more and listen.

Alum Tapped to Run Mass Turnpike Authority
Alan LeBovidge '64 (economics), replaced in June as commissioner of revenue by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, is in line for an even higher-profile job: running the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen forwarded LeBovidge's name in mid-November to the Turnpike board to become the agency's executive director, succeeding Mary Jane O'Meara, who has been interim director since the summer. LeBovidge is a member of the SBS Sean's Advisory Board. Read the Boston Globe article...

Journalism Builds Community Ties
Journalism Lecturer B.J. Roche and the Journalism Program Lecture Series on Broadcast and the Media have invited an English class and the newspaper staff from Springfield's Commerce High School to the November 14 lecture by Pulitzer Prize winner H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger, author of the best-selling book Friday Night Lights. Made into an award-winning movie, it has also become a hit NBC television show. Read more...

First Rossi Lecture Available on Streaming Video
On October 18, the Department of Sociology proudly presented the first annual Alice S. and Peter H. Rossi Lecture. "The Great American Prayer Scandal: Why Americans Pray" was presented by Father Andrew Greeley, priest, novelist, syndicated columnist, and sociologist at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona. To view the video of the program's introductions and Greeley's presentation, click here. Read more about Greeley...

Gamble Lecture to Feature International Political Economist
Dani Rodrik, Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and faculty chair of the MPA/ID program there, will be on campus Thursday November 15 to present the 11th annual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture. His talk, sponsored by the Department of Economics, is entitled “Saving Globalization from Its Cheerleaders” and will take place in the Gordon Hall 3rd Floor Conference Room at 4:00 pm. It is free and open to the public. Read more...

MBA Internship Available for Spring
The Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) and all 210 banks across Massachusetts are pleased to partner with the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) in offering a paid internship with potential academic credit for the Spring 2008 semester. MBA is looking for 2-3 students to meet with bankers for two sessions early in the spring semester to become trained in basic financial literacy issues and obtain resource materials for use in developing programs on campus. For more information and application, click here. For commentary about the internship experience from past recipients, click here.

Several Mellon Mutual Mentoring Grants Go to SBS
Ten academic units, including Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and 11 faculty members, including Lisa Scott (psychology) and Shawn Shimpach (communication) have received Mellon Mutual Mentoring Grants from the Office of Faculty Development and the Provost’s Office. The grants, awarded for the 2007-08 academic year, are part of the Mutual Mentoring Initiative, which was funded by a three-year, $400,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Read more about the awards granted. Read more about the Mellon Mutual Mentoring Grants Initiative.

Psych Services to Offer Support for Military Families
In response to the stresses of separation and combat that active duty military personnel and their families face, the Psychological Services Center is offering two free support groups to help family members cope. The center’s director, Christopher Overtree explained to Karen Brown in a WFCR interview that the program “is a direct response to the growing needs of military families for support during this prolonged conflict, efforts we hope to see mirrored by other local and national organizations.” Listen to the mp3 interview. Read more..

Internship Application Season Is Here
Students: It's never to early to start thinking about summer internships. Piper Jaffray & Co., a leading, international middle-market investment bank and institutional securities firm, for example, is hiring summer analysts, but the deadline for the application is November 30. Don't miss out. Read more...

Pre-law Workshop
All students who are thinking about or are in the process of applying for law school should consider attending this workshop, The Law School Application Process, on October 9, 4:30-6:00 pm, Thompson 102. Meet with Pre-law Advisor Matthew Light, Legal Studies Professor Judith Holmes, and visiting representatives of law school admissions offices. Following the presentations, there will also be time for student questions. The event is sponsored by the Pre-Law Advising Office and the Department of Legal Studies. Read the Pre-Law Blog.

Constantino chosen for New Researcher Award
Assistant Professor Michael J. Constantino (psychology) has been selected to receive the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration’s (SEPI) 2007 New Researcher Award. The award will be presented at SEPI’s 24th annual meeting in May. Read more...

Greeley to Present First Rossi Lecture
The Department of Sociology proudly presents the first annual Alice S. and Peter H. Rossi Lecture. "The Great American Prayer Scandal: Why Americans Pray" will be presented by Father Andrew Greeley, priest, novelist, syndicated columnist, and sociologist at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, on Thursday, October 18 at 4:00 pm, Fine Arts Center Lobby. A public reception will follow. Read more...

STS Initiative Receives $300k for Ethics Education in Science and Engineering
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a group of eight researchers, led by Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy), a $300,000 grant to create, implement and refine a series of international ethics modules for science and engineering students through the Science, Technology, and Society Initiative. The group represents six academic departments from four colleges. Read more...

Mind the Gap: Women and Technology Career Summit for Students
Students: Mark your calenders now for September 27, 2007. Don't miss attending all or some of this Women and Technology Career Summit from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Campus Center Auditorium. This FREE event is designed to encourage women to pursue careers in information technology fields. It will showcase professional women with careers related to technology throughout the day. Registration is required and lunch is provided. Click here to register and see event details. Attendees will also be registered to win free gifts! This event is organized by the Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education.

Center for Research on Families Announces New Family Research Scholars
Five outstanding individuals have been selected to participate in the Center for Research on Families' Family Research Scholars Program for the coming year. The program supports faculty in securing grant funding for family-related research while build a multidisciplinary community of researchers studying issues of relevance to families. Family Research Scholars participate in a year-long interdisciplinary seminar which supports the them in conceptualizing, writing, and submitting their planned grant proposals. Read more...

Anthropologist Featured on Public Radio
Professor Elizabeth Chilton '91 MA, '96 PhD (anthropology) discusses on WFCR public radio's "Field Notes" her theory of Native American agriculture in the area, how English settlements altered Native American lifestyle in western Massachusetts, and her team's recent discovery in Deerfield of a Native American Fort that had been noted in fragmentary historical references but had never been pinpointed. Listen to the program (mp3). Read more about the fort and the Anthropology Department's Archaeological Field School.

Hanson Looks at Social Impact of Internet, Cell Phones
24/7: How Cell Phones and the Internet Change the Way We Live, Work and Play, a new book by Professor Jarice Hanson (communication), was recently published by Praeger Publishing. Read more...

Brazilian Cabinet Member to Speak on Eliminating Racial Discrimination
On Thursday, Sept 13 Minister Matilde Ribeiro, head of the Special Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality (SEPPIR), the first cabinet-level post in Brazil aimed at eliminating racial discrimination in that country, will be on campus to present a public lecture. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies, the presentation will take place at 4:30 pm, in the Campus Center’s Amherst Room, 10th floor. A reception will follow. Read more...

CPPA DIrector Testifies before Congress
Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration at UMass Amherst and Research Director at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, testified before Congress on September 5 that the passage of HR 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal nondiscrimination law including sexual orientation and gender identity, would benefit both LGBT people and employers. Badgett summarized findings from a recent Williams Institute study, Bias in the Workplace, which reviews 50 studies over the last decade and demonstrates a disturbing and consistent pattern: sexual orientation-based and gender identity discrimination is a common occurrence in many workplaces across the country. Read Badgett's testimony... [pdf]

Fiss to Present Fall Alfange Lecture
The Dean Alfange, Jr. Lecture Series on Constitutional Law continues this fall with Owen M. Fiss, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, on Monday, September 17 at 4.00 p.m. His presentation, The Perils of Minimalism: The War on Terror and the Constitutional Claims of Guantanamo Prisoners,will be held in the Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union. It is free and open to the public, followed by a reception. Read more...

Center for Research on Families to Host Workshop on Crafting Effective Media Messages
On Wednesday, October 3, 2007, the Center for Research on Families (CRF) presents “Taking Research on Families Outside of the Academy: How to Craft Effective Media Messages.” This is the first in a series of panels that CRF is organizing to bring together researchers with interest in taking their research outside of the academy and speaking about it to the media. The event takes place from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., in 803 Campus Center at UMass Amherst.  It is free and open to all. Read more...

Communication Professor Participates in Prestigious Advertising Program
Assistant Professor Emily West (communication) spent two weeks participating in the Advertising Educational Foundation's Visiting Professor Program in Chicago this summer. This competitive program places 15 to 18 professors each summer in advertising agencies where they learn firsthand about the industry. Read more...

Sanders Wins Grant to Study Auditory Processing
Lisa Sanders, assistant professor of psychology, has won a three-year, $224,746 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how people process rapidly changing auditory information. “Speech comprises an overwhelming amount of pitch and loudness information that changes rapidly over time,” says Sanders. Her research aims to determine whether people select only the most important information for detailed processing or struggle to deal with all the information equally. Read more...

Nanotechnology and Society Workshop Presentations Available Online
Video presentations from the Science, Technology and Society Initiative’s highly successful workshop, Nanotechnology and Society: The Organization and Policy of Innovation, are now available on the STS Spring 2007 Workshop website. The workshop brought together more than 80 national and international faculty, public officials, scientists and students to discuss a range of important issues related to the societal implications of emerging nanoscale technologies. Read more...

RLA Award to Support Inter-American Consortium Meetings
Sonia Alvarez. Leonard J. Horowitz Professor of Latin American Politics and Studies and director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies, has received a Research Leadership in Action grant of $25,000 from the Vice Provost for Research for her proposal, “Interrogating the Civil Society Agenda.” Alvarez's award will support the annual meetings of an inter-university, inter-American consortium centered on the study of social movements. The first one will be held on the UMass Amherst campus in April 2008. Read more...

fMRI Facility to Enhance Research Efforts on Brain Function
This summer researchers within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as interested colleagues from other colleges across campus, will have access to their own brain imaging facility. Read more...

SBS Student is Commencement Speaker
Alison C. Briggs '07 (psychology and sociology) was this year's student speaker at commencement. "I really never thought I'd get picked," Briggs said about her speech. "I don't quote any great philosophers—I just talk about how I feel." At the end of the fall 2006 semester, Briggs, from Sharon, Mass., was surfing through pages on the UMass website and happened to notice that the school was searching for a student speaker. Read more...

Students Receive SBS Scholarships
Congratulations to all of this year's SBS students who earned scholarships for internships, study abroad and meritorious academic achievement. Present at this year's ceremony were several indivudals whose generosity established some of the awards. Among them was Ron Ansin, pictured here with Candice Watch'08 (legal studies), one of this year's recipients of an Ansin Study Abroad Fellowship. Read more....

Crotty Named First Sheridan Chair in Political Economy
The Economics Department has seleceted James Crotty as the first occupant of the Helen Sheridan Memorial Chair in Political Economy. Crotty is internationally recognized for his work in domestic and international macroeconomic theory and policy. For nearly 30 years this extraordinarily effective and well-liked professor has been a lynchpin of the Economics Department's undergraduate and graduate programs in macroeconomics. Read more...

Harper Testifies before U.N. on Status of Hungarian Roma (Gypsies)
Krista Harper, assistant professor of anthropology and public policy, testified in early May before the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) in Geneva, Switzerland. Her topic was health, housing, and environmental disparities faced by Hungarian Roma (Gypsies) and governmental failure to address these disparities. Read more...

Novak to Give Distinguished Faculty Lecture
Psychology professor Melinda A. Novak will deliver the final Distinguished Faculty Lecture of this year’s series on Monday, April 23 at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center. Read more...

Early Career Award Honors Constantino
Assistant Professor Michael Constantino (psychology) is the recipient of the 2007 Early-Career Award from the American Psychological Foundation’s (APF) Division 29 (Psychotherapy). The award, to be presented at the 115th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in August, recognizes promising contributions to psychotherapy, psychology, and the division of psychotherapy by a Division 29 member with 10 or fewer years of postdoctoral experience. Read more...

SBS Presents Outstanding Teaching Awards
Maureen Perry-Jenkins (psychology) and Lynnette Leidy Sievert (anthropology) are the 2007 recipients of the College Teaching Award, presented by College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst. Read more...

Psychology Student Cited for Outstanding Service
Second-year graduate student Mamta Dadlani received the Jamie Smile Award for outstanding service from the clinical division of the Psychology Department. In 2001, professor emeritus Norm Simonson created a fund, named after his newborn son, Jamie, to honor graduate students in clinical psychology who have demonstrated outstanding service to the department in community service, clinical work or research. Jamie, now 6 years old, presented the award, which includes a stipend. Read more...

Freedom from Fear and Depression
On Friday, May 11, as part of National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week (sponsored by Freedom From Fear Foundation), the Psychological Services Center (PSC) at UMass Amherst will be offering free anxiety and depression screening sessions for the local and campus community. Read more...

Andrew Card Kicks Off "Talking Politics" Series
Andrew H. Card, Jr., who served as White House chief of staff from 2000-06, was on campus April 11 to present the inaugural lecture in the “Talking Politics” series. Sponsored by the UMass Civic Initiative run by the Donahue Institute and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the series is aimed at bringing a diverse group of working politicians to campus to expand student understanding of the challenges and rewards of political life. Read more....

Hot Flashes In Women Linked To High Blood Pressure
Medical News Today, 4/10/07, reports that Lynnette Leidy Sievert (anthropology) is co-author of a new report that finds women who get hot flashes have higher blood pressure than those who don’t. While previous research has linked menopause to high blood pressure, the new Weill Cornell study, published in the March/April issue of Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, may be the first to link hot flashes to high blood pressure. Read the article....

Science, Technology and Society Initiative Launches Nanotech Workshops
What are the critical issues for policy makers and society emerging from the nanotechnology revolution? To address this challenge, the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Initiative has brought together a team representing five research centers and seven degree-granting departments and programs in the College of Social and Behavioral Scieinces (SBS).  The STS Nanoscience and Society Research Group (NanoSRG) is part of a $16 million award from the National Science Foundation and a $7 million investment by the university and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that established the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing (CHM) at UMass Amherst. With this award, the STS Initiative is organizing research and a series of international workshops to contribute to the policy debate. Read more...

Labor Studies Prof Brings Knowledge to U.K.
Tom Juravich, professor of labor studies and director of the Labor Center, was in London, March 11-15, teaching a course on “Strategic Corporate Research and Campaigns” for the Trades Union Congress, the U.K.'s labor federation. Addressing union leaders from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, Juravich adapted his model for research and campaigns that has been used by unions across the U.S. Read more...

Science, Technology and Society Initiative to Increase Women's Participation in IT
The Science, Technology and Society Initiative (STS), based in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) and the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA), has received funding to broaden the participation of women in technology. The effort is part of a $1.9 million grant awarded to the Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative (CITI) from the National Science Foundation. Read more...

SBS Welcomes New Director of Development
In March James F. Mallet ’91 joined the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences as director of development. Mallet is not new to the UMass Amherst campus, having begun his tenure with the advancement staff in 1998 as a leadership gifts officer, eventually moving into the director of development position for the Isenberg School of Management. His many responsibilities there included leading the effort that resulted in the school’s major building addition. Read more...

SBS in New York City (and Elsewhere)
"The city's grandest palazzo, the Metropolitan Club, was organized by J. P. Morgan in protest against not being admitted to some of the city's other exclusive private men's clubs. He showed them," wrote Carter B. Hosley of architect Stanford White's sumptuous creation in Manhattan. "Its supremely elegant white marble exterior with its strong accents and regal demeanor is but a hint of its very lavish and spectacular interiors." Twenty-three alumni and friends enjoyed those accommodations—no longer restricted to men only—for cocktails and dinner in late February. Keynote speaker for the evening was Pamela Liebman '84 (communication), president and CEO of The Corcoran Group, a real estate company in the city. She shared secrets about why New York real estate continues to be hot. Read more...

Summer Methodology Workshops Offered through CRF
The Center for Research on Families actively supports and disseminates social and behavioral sciences research on issues relevant to families. Its Methodology Program is a resource for consultation and training in advanced statistical and methodological techniques that are relevant to family research. This summer offers an outstanding lineup of workshops: Analyzing Developmental Trajectories, June 19-21, taught by Daniel Nagin, professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie-Mellon University; Hierarchiacal Linear Models 1, June 25-29, 2007, taught by Aline Sayer, associate professor of psychology and director of CRF's Methodology Program, and Natalya Verbitsky, statistician, Mathematical Policy Research, at the University of Chicago; and Modeling Longitudinal and Dyadic Data with HLM, July 23-25, 2007, taught by Aline Sayer, associate professor of psychology and director of CRF's Methodology Program. These courses have proven to be very popular. Class size is limited. Click here for more information.

Tay Gavin Erickson Lectures for Spring 2007
Each year the Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series, sponsored by the Center for Research on Families, brings nationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus. These public lectures highlight the importance of family research and its implications for public policy. The speakers also offer consultation to CRF Family Research Scholars. The lecture series began in 1999 though an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson. For a listing of this year's speakers, click here.

Eyetracking Lab Ties Research to Industry and Government
At the Eyetracking Lab in the psychology department, researchers explore cognitive processes related to vision. The lab's research related to reading has been especially outstanding. Housed in the Psychology Department under the direction of Keith Rayner, the lab is a shared facility that pulls in projects from several industry and government partners and other departments on campus. In addition to serving faculty in the Cognitive Processes area of the Psychology Department, researchers from the departments of Linguistics and Industrial Engineering have utilized the lab’s facilities. Read more...

New England News Forum to Sponsor Conference
Up to 200 journalists, bloggers, planners, citizens, and teachers are expecte to convene at UMass Lowell on April 7 to consider the future of New England, the effect of “shield laws,” and how technology-driven changes in media are affecting participatory democracy. “The New(s) England Revolution: From Politics to Courtroom to Classroom,” is the kickoff event launching the New England News Forum (NENF), a new journalism initiative based at UMass Amherst. Read more...

Jhally to Deliver Distinguished Faculty Lecture
Sut Jhally (communication) will give a Distinguished Faculty Lecture on Thursday, March 8 at 4 p.m. in the Bernie Dallas Room in Goodell Hall. In his talk,“The Factory in the Living Room: How Television Exploits its Audience,” Jhally will discuss how media critics tend to focus on how powerful messages in movies, programs and advertising affect the public. He contends, however, they miss something else. Read more...

Calling Qatar: Checking in with Professor David Mednicoff
David Mednicoff (legal studies; public policy and administration) is in Qatar for the year as a Fulbright Scholar doing research and teaching. With him are his wife, Joya Misra (sociology) and their four-year-old daughter, Amina. UMass Magazine checked in with Mednicoff this past October to talk about his work on the rule of law in Arab society and life in Qatar. Read article in UMass Magazine. Since that story appeared, Mednicoff spoke at a London conference, “Seminar on Political Change in the Gulf Cooperation Council,” on the rule of law in Arab countries with particular reference to Qatar. Government ministers from the Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, along with policy-makers and academics from the Gulf region, the United Kingdom and the United States attended.

Uncommon Leadership Series Features Kenneth Feinberg '67
The Uncommon Leadership series, led by University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson and Glenn Mangurian '70 (mathematics), MBA '73, founder of the UMass Executive Alumni Group, examines leadership today with well-known individuals outside traditional business organizations. The online series also includes guest commentaries. Currently featured is Kenneth Feinberg ’67 (history), Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and author of What is Life Worth? The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11. Read more...

Alumni Lawyers to Share Career Info with Students at Networking Event
On Thursday, February 15 from 5:30 - 7:30, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Commonwealth College will be hosting "Careers in Law: 8 Minute Networking." Numerous UMass Amherst alumni, who are practicing attorneys (or currently in law school) in diverse fields, will be on campus to network with students. Read more...

Political Scientist to Participate in International Environmental Conference
Last September French President Jacques Chirac announced before the United Nations General Assembly: “We all know that uncontrolled human activity is bringing about a sort of slow collective suicide. Disaster can only be averted if nations can come together to support jointly agreed commitments." Chirac proposed creating a United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO), "the expression of the world's ecological conscience." Acting on these words, France is hosting an international environmental conference in early February to convene some of the best known global evironmentalists, including Peter Haas (political science), an expert on multilevel governance and the role of science in international and environmental regimes. Actively engaged in the practice of global governance, Haas is co-author of the newly published Global Environmental Governance. Read more...

Students Take Note: Investment Banking Internships Available, Application Deadline Looms
For the first time, the international investment banking group Piper Jaffray is coming to UMass Amherst to recruit college juniors for its Summer Analyst program, thanks to the efforts of Chris McCabe '81 (political science) and Mike McCaffrey '89 (accounting), both of whom are affiliated with the company. But don't delay. The deadline for applications is coming up on February 8, 2007. Read more...

New Development Officer Joins SBS Team
In mid-January Saige Reisler joined the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences team as Associate Director of Development, bringing with her more than ten years of nonprofit development experience. Her forte: relationship building and generating revenue from individual donations, foundations, corporations, and events for regional and national organizations. Read more...