NewsSubscribe

Undergraduate Maria Bastos-Stanek Awarded as a Rising Researcher
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Maria Bastos-Stanek, an undergraduate art history student in the graduating class of 2017, recently received the UMass Amherst Rising Researcher Award for her excellence in art historical research and scholarship. Maria was nominated by Professors Nancy Noble and Karen Kurczynski of the Department of the History of Art and Architecture. Read more about the award and Maria's achievements here.
The Rising Researcher program recognizes students who excel in research, scholarship, and creative activity. The award is designed to raise the profile of the most promising undergraduate students and to publicly acknowledge their excellent work. The award is open to all undergraduate students, but only twelve are awarded each year. The program is jointly supported by University Relations and Research & Engagement.
Maria was recognized for a number of academic and activist achievements including her art history honors thesis on the art of AIDS activist and artist, David Wojnarowicz, and for Day With(out) Art, a pop-up exhibition of AIDS-related art she curated for World AIDS Day in 2015. Maria was also recognized for her publishable paper on the early 20th century American artist Paul Cadmus, which she presented at both graduate and undergraduate academic conferences.
In addition, Maria won the Senior Leadership Award this year. The Senior Leadership Award is presented by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association to honor eleven graduating seniors who have "distinguished themselves through important contributions to student organizations, campus jobs, academic excellence and community service."