November 19, 6-7pm

Join us for an exploration of Sleep Science. Dr. Rebecca Spencer, Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst, will present "Snoozefest! Why we sleep and how to get more of it!"

Wellbeing Wednesdays are monthly programs exploring topics in health and wellness. Presented in partnership with RecWell (UMass Amherst Recreation and Wellbeing), these events are free and open to all. Registration is recommended at the link below.

Register Here

Dr. Rebecca Spencer graduated from the Purdue University Neuroscience graduate program, concentrating in neural control of movement. After graduating from Purdue with a PhD in neuroscience in 2002, she went to UC Berkeley where she was a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute until 2008. Her postdoctoral work on neural control of motor sequence learning was funded by an NIH NRSA. Subsequently, she was awarded an NIH Pathways to Independence Award (K99/R00) for studies on the age-related changes in sleep-dependent consolidation of motor learning. 

In 2008, Rebecca joined the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2013. Her current work is broadly on the functions of sleep, including topics such as the function of naps for preschool children and the role of age-related changes in sleep on age-related cognitive decline. For this work, she holds two NIH R01 awards and has over 60 publications.

November 6, 7pm

Presented in partnership with the Amherst Business Improvement District, Writers Reading is a curated series featuring local authors. In our next installment of the reading series, join us for a line-up curated by featured writer Abigail Chabitnoy. Fellow authors Melissa Dickey, Hannah Brooks-Motl, and Joan Tate will join Chabitnoy in sharing selections from their work. See author bios below. This event is free to attend and open to all.

Abigail Chabitnoy is the author of In the Current Where Drowning Is Beautiful (Wesleyan 2022); How to Dress a Fish (Wesleyan 2019), shortlisted for the 2020 International Griffin Prize for Poetry and winner of the 2020 Colorado Book Award; and the linocut illustrated chapbook Converging Lines of Light (Flower Press 2021). She currently is an Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst and teaches at the Institute of American Indian Arts low-residency MFA program. Abigail is a member of the Tangirnaq Native Village in Kodiak. Find her at salmonfisherpoet.com.

Melissa Dickey is the author of three books of poems -- The Lily Will, Dragons, and Ordinary Entanglement, which received a citation from the Mass Book Awards in 2024. She earned her undergraduate degree in writing from the University of Washington and her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Born and raised in New Orleans, she now lives in Western Massachusetts where she teaches high school and community classes, consults with rivers, raises children, and studies the tarot.

Hannah Brooks-Motl was born and raised in Wisconsin. She is author of the poetry collections The New Years (2014), M (2015), Earth (2019), and Ultraviolet of the Genuine (2025), named a finalist for the New England Book Award, as well as chapbooks from the Song Cave, arrow as aarow, and The Year. She earned an MFA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and PhD from the University of Chicago. She lives in western Massachusetts.

Joan Tate is a southern poet, mystic, and transexual living in Western Massachusetts. Her work engages with questions of grace, earnesty, esotericism, and snakes. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in magazines such as Prairie Schooner, b l u s h, Discount Guillotine, Stone of Madness, and Little Mirror.

October 29, 6-8pm

Calling all dreamers! Do you have an idea? Are you looking for some help turning that idea into a reality? Innovate413 and @umassdowntown are teaming up to host a hands-on startup workshop.

Bring your curiosity, your passion, or even just a small spark, and get guidance from local mentors. No prior business experience needed. Free and open to all. Registration is required at the link below.

Register Here

First Tuesdays, 10am-4pm

Looking for job opportunities at UMass Amherst? Need help with your application or have questions about the hiring process? Are you a new employee with questions about onboarding? UMass Amherst Human Resources is here to help! 

The UMass HR team offers weekly community office hours at UMass Downtown to provide application assistance and interview guidance for prospective employees and CORI verifications and onboarding support for new hires. 

No appointment necessary. Just stop by during UMass HR's community office hours!

Fourth Wednesdays, 10am-4pm

The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center provides free advising for Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce members on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Meet with Rob DelMastro, Regional Director of the MA SBDC, and receive confidential one-on-one support tailored to your business. 

Hosted in partnership with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, with thanks to presenting sponsor Greenfield Northampton Cooperative Bank. Registration is required. Learn more and register for a slot at amherstarea.com/events.

James oversees the university's multipurpose retail, event and meeting satellite space in downtown Amherst, which opened this week.

The conversations, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 24, May 6 and June 10 in the university’s new multipurpose retail, event and meeting space at 108 North Pleasant St. in downtown Amherst, are free and open to all.

Attendees at the event, scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. at UMass Downtown, will learn about various volunteer opportunities and discover ways to contribute their time and skills to support local organizations and strengthen our community.