Faculty Excellence

WORLD-CLASS FACULTY

UMass Amherst is home to over 1,400 full-time instructional faculty members, including 12 of the world's most highly cited researchers (Clarivate Analytics, owner of Web of Science, 2023). They are creative and passionate researchers, teachers, and mentors striving to improve the world and empower the next generation through the pursuit of knowledge and innovation.

FACULTY DISTINCTION

Guggenheim Fellowship Recipients

National Endowment for the Humanities Grant Recipients

AAAS Fellows

Explore More Faculty Awards

DISTINGUISHED FACULTY LECTURES

Dating back to the 1970s, many of UMass Amherst's most esteemed and accomplished faculty members have shared their research at the annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture series. From climate change to the ongoing challenges of healthcare and the ethics of advancing technologies, these researchers address some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Explore the Distinguished Faculty Lectures

Flower Power in the Adler Lab

As bee populations decline, Professor of Biology Lynn Adler is leading research on the role of flowers in feeding and protecting the health of bees, and as sites of disease transmission.

Learn More About this Pollinator Research

Investigating the Erosion of Soil in America's Heartland

Associate Professor Isaac Larsen in the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences is studying the effects of agriculture in depleting rich topsoil in the American Midwest, with serious implications for the country's food production and more.

Read About This Research on Soil Erosion

Spotlight Scholar Michael Constantino: "I’m really interested in applying science to something that is sometimes viewed as more of an art—the work that psychotherapists do to try to help their patients."

Spotlight Scholar Melissa Mueller: "I’m interested in reading Greek literature in ways that can speak to audiences—especially readers new to the study of Classics—today."

Spotlight Scholar Charmaine A. Nelson: "I always say to my students, don't be afraid of the absence of yourself in a discipline because that means your questions haven't been posed yet."

Spotlight Scholar Caitlyn Butler: "I think there's a lot to be learned from sewers in terms of disease dynamics."

Spotlight Scholar Elizabeth Evans: “It’s important to hear the stories of those affected by addiction—the factors they perceive as leading them to begin substance use, and what the experiences of addiction and treatment have felt like over the lifespan.”

Kirby Deckard — Spotlight Scholar Kirby Deater-Deckard: “Each child is so different. The role of parents and caregivers is to provide a foundation of love, security, and knowledge, but also to reinforce the uniquely individual strengths of each child.”

NEWS David Cort — Spotlight Scholar David Cort: "There are many social problems that are directly related to issues of stratification. You cannot disentangle those issues from health.”

Spotlight Scholar Shelly Peyton: "We want to find new treatments for patients with metastatic disease and to make those treatments as gentle as possible.”

Spotlight Scholar Monideepa Tarafdar: "“Technology can be used in many ways. When we build healthy patterns of responsible and intelligent use, there is the potential to do a lot of good.”

Spotlight Scholar Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, professor of English and the Paul Murray Kendall Chair in Biography: “I’m fascinated by people’s lives and how they lived them.”

BOLD THINKERS. BRIGHT LEADERS.

The Spotlight Scholars initiative shines a light on faculty working for positive social change through research, scholarship, and creative activity. Learn more about the work of these leading minds.

Meet the Spotlight Scholars

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Academics

Office of the Provost