News and Events Archives
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Senior Campaign Committee Awards Scholarships
The UMass Amherst Senior Campaign Committee, a program of the Student Philanthropy Committee, is proud to announce that three students, including Ashley Boudrow '13 (sociology), received scholarships this year thanks to the generosity of the Classes of 2008 and 2011. Read more...
Online Journalism Certificate Offers Fundamental Tools of the Trade
About a year ago, journalism faculty members Brian McDermott and Razvan Sibii became co-directors of the online Certificate of Journalism. “Our goal is to provide a diverse student body access to high quality journalism classes online,” says McDermott. “The instructors in the program pride themselves on their teaching and working closely with each student.” Read more...
Paul R. Shuldiner Memorial Scholarship
The Paul R. Shuldiner Memorial Scholarship was established by Professor Paul W. Shuldiner (civil engineering) and the Shuldiner Family in memory of Paul R. ("Randy") Shuldiner '75. The scholarship is open to all sophomore, junior and senior legal studies majors. Applicants are required to submit an essay, the topic of which changes each year (due February 15). For more information about Shuldiner and this year's competition, click here.
Chilton Addresses Conferences in Spain and Turkey
Prof. Elizabeth S. Chilton MA '91, PhD '96 (anthropology) was an invited presenter at the meeting of the Study Group on the Heritage Status of Aboriginal Cultural Property at the University of Barcelona in November. Immediately afterward she traveled to Turkey to present a paper at the international conference “Heritage and Risk” at Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul. Read more...
Can People Educate Themselves Out of Unemployment and Poverty?
Jeannette Wicks-Lim MA '04, PhD '05 (economics) of the Political Economy Research Institute on campus discusses her study that shows about two-thirds of new jobs being created in the U.S. require only a high-school education or less. Watch the interview with The Real News Network.
UMass Community to Honor Rep. John Olver During Symposium
UMass will host the campus community and area organizations, elected officials and residents while honoring retiring Rep. John Olver during a symposium on Nov. 19. M.V. Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA), will speak about Olver’s strong record at home and abroad in fighting for social justice and defending human rights. CPPA faculty Jane Fountain (political science), Michael Ash (economics) and Charles Schweik (environmental conservation) will serve as moderators. To attend, please register by November 13. Read more...
Election Media Coverage for UMass Poll
Election season brought UMass Poll, which combines Internet polling technology with leading expertise, extensive media coverage. "The students were so excited that the media were so interested in this," says Brian Schaffner, director of UMassPoll and chair of the Political Science Department. "I think the news interest underscored for them the importance of this activity, so it has enriched the experience. I also think it was great exposure for UMass and the awesome things students have the opportunity to do here!" Read more...
SBS to Celebrate ISSR Inaugural Event
On Friday, October 26, 2012 at
3:30 pm the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) at UMass Amherst will be hosting the inaugural event for the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR). The event will take place in the Massachusetts Room at the Mullins Center. ISSR serves as a general resource and a research incubator for social scientists across campus. Besides supporting faculty initiated interdisciplinary research, methods consulting and instruction, ISSR offers faculty grant mentorship and support. Read more... Update 11/1/12: Watch the summary of the event, put together by Amy Chaunt '13 (journalism) and UVC-TV 19, the student-run campus television station.
CPPA Team Helps Organize U.N. Environmental Project
A team from the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) helped organize a successful and robust Massachusetts component of an international day of dialogue about environmental regulations and policies. CPPA lecturer Gretchen Gano with graduate students Maria Delfin Auza MPPA ’13 and Lindie Martin MPPA ’14 recruited nearly 200 applicants from across the state to fill 100 spots for a guided discussion last month about biodiversity in our region and policies that affect our natural environment. The Massachusetts conversation, held at the Museum of Science in Boston, was one of 34 that took place on the same day in 25 countries as part of the World Wide Views on Biodiversity project. Read more...
Got Opinions? Tell UMass Pollsters
UMass Poll, which employs Internet technology to take the pulse of citizens, is a new initiative for the Department of Political Science and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences with a threefold mission: offer a public service to the state, expand faculty research, and create opportunities for undergraduate research. “As part of its mission, the flagship campus should be gathering citizens’ opinions on important issues and using that to inform policy makers,” says Brian F. Schaffner, director of UMass Poll and chair of the department. Read more...
Filmmakers Bring Professor's Book about Young Women and Sexuality to Screen
"Flirting with Danger," a powerful new documentary film adaptation of the book by Lynn Phillips, lecturer and chief undergraduate advisor (communication), examining how young women navigate their relationships and hookups, will screen at a special event at Amherst Cinema on Sunday, October 21, at 11 a.m. Produced by the Northampton-based Media Education Foundation (MEF), the film examines how mixed messages about women’s sexuality affect young women’s relationships with men. Read more...
SBS Welcomes New Faculty
Fall has brought a host of new faculty faces to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in anthropology, economics, landscape architecture and regional planning, political science, and sociology. Read more about them...
SBS Wing Thing Welcomes SBS Majors, Raffles iPad
The annual SBS Wing Thing, a welcome-to-campus event for all SBS majors, again was a smashing success. Besides offering good eats—wings, chili, chips, salsa, desserts—and some great music, the event offered opportunities to network with other SBS students, undergraduate advisors, faculty, and staff. One lucky student, Rebecca Kanter '15 (political science), pictured here, won an iPad. Read more and view pictures.
Epstein To Receive Recognition for Accomplishments
Congratulations to Economics Professor Gerald Epstein, who will be receiving an Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity at the 2012 Faculty Convocation on Sept. 14. Epstein is co-director (and co-founder) of the Political Economy Research Institute, and former chair of the Economics Department. Widely known and respected in his field, he recently was awarded a grant by the Institute for New Economic Thinking to study, with the collaboration of his colleague James Crotty, the impacts of financial regulations on functionally efficient finance, productivity growth and income. Read more and watch a video.
Bodybuilding: High Schoolers Reconstruct Human Skeleton in UMass Anthro Summer Workshop
By the end of their weeklong workshop in biological anthropology, seven Greenfield High School students could reconstruct a human skeleton, make no bones about it. They were given that very opportunity in August, when a fictional dog “discovered” the bones of a human hand. A mock crime scene was erected at the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area, as students carefully mapped out the area and identified other bones discovered nearby. Read more...
Alum Directs Music Video to Promote Women in Science
Lindsay Van Dyke '11 (sociology) directed a new music video for the band Mates of State to help promote the "Science Fair" CD put out by Florence, MA-based label Spoil the Child, Spare the Rock. Says Van Dyke, "'Science Fair' was created to promote women in science and proceeds are going to Girls Inc. It premiered in Paste Magazine, and was covered in Boing Boing, Wired,
and other national outlets. I had several UMass production assistants on the set with me too. You can learn more about the album on Spoil the Child, Spare the Rock's website."
Ndikumana to Serve on UN Committee for Development Policy
The UN Secretary General has nominated Léonce Ndikumana, Glyn Professor of Economics, to serve on the UNs Committee for Development Policy (CDP), 2013-15. This is a great honor and we all are thrilled! CDP is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It provides inputs and independent advice to the Council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development, focusing on medium- and long-term aspects. The Committee is also responsible for reviewing the status of least developed countries and for monitoring their progress after graduation from the category. Read more...
Anthropologist Presents at Paris Conference, Engages in Fieldwork
It’s been a busy summer for Professor Jacqueline Urla (anthropology). At the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) conference in Paris she made a plenary presentation at the EASA conference. Her “Reflections on a ‘Thick’ Description of Resistance,” reviewed the emergence of resistance as an object of ethnographic study. Read more...
Chilton Receives NSF Grant for Collaborative Research
Congratulations to Elizabeth Chilton (anthropology) who has been awarded $237,921 from the National Science Foundation as PI for a collaborative research grant entitled "Interacting Influences of Climate, Land Use, and Other Disturbances on Regime Shifts in Forest Ecosystems: Holocene Dynamics in the Northeastern United States." The total project budget is $1.1 million and includes collaborators from Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. Read more...
SBS Scholarship Recipients
The annual SBS Scholarship Ceremony is always a highlight—so many outstanding students, happy families, and many of the scholarship benefactors all coming together! Congratulations to all of you. View the photo album.
Boxing Changes Lives of Coach, Student
They came together by accident—a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam and a college sophomore— at the fitness center and soon formed a bond based on mutual respect and a passion for the sport known as “the sweet science.” Since then boxing has changed the lives of Stephen “Rocky” Snow, 61, and Josue Lopez '13 (legal studies), 21, who has won the 2012 national championship in the lightweight division. Read more...
Goldman Named Distinguished Professor
The University of Massachusetts Amherst Board of Trustees has appointed long-time political science faculty member Sheldon Goldman, a top expert on the politics of judicial selection and confirmation, a Distinguished Professor. This appointment recognizes his outstanding research, service, and teaching in the Department of Political Science. Read more...
Folbre Quoted in MSNBC.com Article
In the article "Dads' household duties worth less than moms'" Nancy Folbre (economics) says the workload between men and women in families is shifting, but women still do more of the heavy lifting. She cautions against relying on statistics about who does domestic chores saying they underestimate what both moms and dads do within the family. Read more...
Badgett Testifies Before Senate for Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act
M.V. Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration and professor of economics at UMass Amherst, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today that Congress should pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because lesbian, gay and bisexual people are nearly as likely to file discrimination complaints as those already protected by federal anti-bias laws. Read more... View the video of Badgett's testimony.
Lennox awarded Honorary Degree by DePauw University
Sara Lennox, director of the Social Thought and Political Economy Program (STPEC) and professor of German and Scandinavian Studies, was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree on May 20 by DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. Lennox, who retired on May 31 after 38 years on the UMass faculty and is a DePauw alumna, was honored as a pioneer in broadening German studies to include questions of race and gender. Read more...
SBS Senior Celebration
The Mullins Center was packed and spirits were high as the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences congratulated the Class of 2012 on May 12 at its annual Senior Celebration. Blue skies, balmy breeze, 75 degrees—who could ask for better weather for the graduates' last day on campus? View Photo Album... View slideshow, featuring members of the senior class, shown to audience prior to the processional. Facebook users, tag yourselves (and friends) and comment on images posted there.
Fountain Named to New Commonwealth's Council for Innovation
Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy), a member of the World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council on the Future of Government, has been named by Governor Patrick to the newly established Commonwealth’s Council for Innovation. Read more...
SBS Outstanding Teaching Awards Recognize Faculty
This year’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award goes to Lynn Phillips, chief undergraduate advisor and lecturer in Communication, and Associate Professor of Journalism Nicholas McBride ’76 (political science). Read more...
Law Dinner Provides Students/Alumni Networking Opportunities
The Careers in Law dinner, sponsored by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Commonwealth Honors College, and the Office of Pre-Law Advising, engaged about 30 students and a number of alumni attorneys, including the Massachusetts Northwestern District Attorney, David Sullivan '81. Following ameal, students engaged in a speed-dating style format, with one attorney per table, and groups rotating every 8 minutes. Read more and view photo gallery...
SBS Faculty Help First-Year Students
Many SBS faculty, lecturers and TAs were recognized with the Residential First-Year Experience (RFYE) Student Choice Award. All recipients were nominated by first-year students because they had a profound influence on them during their first semester. Read more...
Longtime UMass Journalism Prof Dies
Howard M. Ziff, 81, professor emeritusof journalism, has died. Ziff helped establish the journalism program and taught here until his retirement in 1997. Read more...
Ride with UMass Pride!
The Alumni Association has unveiled a new UMass Amherst special license plate aimed at promoting the image of the state's flagship campus and raising money for scholarships and alumni programs. The plate, which features the Athletic Department's Minuteman logo, carries a UM number designation and is also emblazoned with the slogan "You were. You are. UMASS." Read more...
The Arab Spring: Year Two—A Panel Discussion
As the Arab uprisings enter their second year, this pane will reflect on broader issues concerned with regional and global change. It also will examine the current state of events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region. Be sure to mark your calendars for April 12, 2.30-4.30 pm,
Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union on campus. Read more...
University of Kentucky Provost Appointed Chancellor of UMass Amherst
Dr. Kumble R. Subbaswamy, a physicist who is Provost at the University of Kentucky, was appointed on March 26 by the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees to lead the system’s flagship campus in Amherst, capping a six-month nationwide search for a new Chancellor for the University’s oldest and largest campus. Read more...
New Academic Classroom Building in the Works
Construction began over spring break on the New Academic Classroom Building, which will house Communication, Journalism, Film Studies and Linguistics. Providing state-of-the-art classroom and academic space, this state-of-the-art, energy efficient LEED facility is sited near the Campus Center and Student Union, north of the Campus Pond. In addition to classrooms and faculty offices, it will house studios and specialized rooms for TV broadcasting and production, editing rooms, film screening rooms, computer classrooms, speech perception and auditory phonetics labs. Read more...
Overhaul of Global Environmental Governance Needed, Says Haas, et al
Thirty-two leading governance experts, including Prof. Peter M. Haas (political science) say that reducing the risk of potential global environmental disaster requires a "constitutional moment" comparable in scale and importance to the reform of international governance that followed World War II. Their article appeared in the March 16 issue of the journal Science. Read more...
Lying OnLine
On WGBY's "Connecting Point" in mid-March Dean Robert Feldman, professor of psychology, discussed his paper “Liar, Liar, Hard Drive on Fire: How Media Context Affects Lying Behavior.” He found that people are more likely to lie in instant messages and emails than in face-to-face interaction. View the program.
Covering the President
Brian Canova '13 (journalism) got credentials through the White House and went to Nashua, New Hampshire, in early March to cover President Barack Obama's speech on energy and the economy at Nashua Community College. Read his story, accompanied by his video and photos, on MassLive.com.
IPO Sponsors IRC/Model UN Travel
Recently the International Programs Office (IPO) sponsored the International Relations Club (IRC) to attend the Model United Nations Assembly at McGill University in Montreal. Ranked the fourth most competitive conference, the third largest on the North American circuit, and the best in Canada, the McGill event has established itself as the standard for professionalism, provocative and substantive debate, and impeccable organization. Read more...
Globe Publishes Journalism Students' Work
Steve Fox's Investigative Journalism class, which has been covering the aftermath of last June's Western Massachusetts tornado, was all over the paper and online versions of the Boston Sunday Globe (2/19/12). Included were stories, videos or podcasts by Amy Chaunt '13 (journalism), Lindsey Davis '12 (journalism/legal studies), Anna Meiler '12 (journalism), Lyntoria Newton (Hampshire College), Rachel Roberts '12 (journalism) (front page article), Nick Russo '12 (journalism/BDIC), and Colin Spence '12 (journalism). In case you missed these terrific features, you can access them here.
Essay Collection Examines Women and Work
In 2008 the UMass Amherst Center for Research on Families (CRF) held a national conference entitled “Women and Work: Choices and Constraints.” Now, based on that informative event, a new book, Women Who Opt Out (New York University Press), has been published. This collection of original essays, including one by Joya Misra (sociology) and another by Maureen Perry-Jenkins (psychology), takes a multi-disciplinary approach in questioning the basic thesis of “the opt-out revolution.” Read more...
IS to Examine DuBois Legacy; Invites Faculty Proposals
The newly established Interdisciplinary Studies Institute (IS) in 2012–13
will take up the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois for its inaugural seminar entitled “Engagement: The Challenge of Public Scholarship.” No matter your field, period, cultural focus, or perspective, IS invites faculty from the humanities, social
sciences, and natural sciences to bring inspiration and engagement to this theme and submit a proposal setting out particular interests. All fellows will receive a $2000 research allowance. Deadline: Friday, February 24, 2012. Read more...
CPPA's Badgett in Spotlight for Gay Rights Work
M.V. Lee Badgett (economics), director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration and research director of the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA, has been in the media spotlight this month— first in the New York Times and then on National Public Radio—for the work she does championing the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Read more about Badgett...
Offering Support, Guidance, Sense of Community, Peer Advisors Gain Personal Enrichment
“In a large department like Communication (app. 800 majors), it’s especially important to ensure that students feel well-oriented and receive the support they need to feel both challenged and comfortable,” says Professor Lynn Phillips, chief undergraduate advisor and founder of the Department of Communication Peer Advising Program. “It’s also important to offer upper-level students opportunities to develop a professional repertoire for life beyond college.” Read more...
Study Abroad Scholarship Recipients Selected
Many students—now more than ever—need financial assistance to help turn dreams into reality. And because the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences encourages its students to study abroad for a semester or two—or at least a summer—we are determined to raise more funds to help support this experience. Thanks to the generosity of alumni, particularly Jeffrey Katz ’69 (economics) and Thomas Whitford ’77 (psychology), the College was able to assist 30 students with scholarships up to $1,000 for their spring semester travel abroad experience. Read more...
In Remembrance: Professor Emeritus Gordon Sutton
After a courageous battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Professor Emeritus Gordon F. Sutton (sociology) passed away peacefully Jan. 1, 2012, at home in Washington, D.C. A memorial service was held on Jan. 7 in Amherst, MA. The family requests that donations be made to the Gordon and Dolores Sutton Scholarship Fund at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in honor of their dedication and lifetime commitment to promote ethnic diversity and economic opportunity. Read obituary.
