Cristiano Mazzei, senior lecturer in Comparative Literature and director of the online Certificate in Professional Translation and Interpreting, was elected as one of the directors of the board of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) by its membership. With the mission of promoting and enhancing language access in health care in the US, this non-profit organization is a pioneer in establishing culturally competent standards and code of ethics for spoken language interpreters in healthcare settings.

As Sabine Jacques, a UMass Amherst graduate students and recipient of the Multicultural Theater Certificate, considered how she could support the Black community while people grieved the killing of George Floyd and protested police brutality, it was her experience as an artist that helped her find a way.

Professor of linguistics Alice Harris has been named a British Academy Corresponding Fellow in recognition of her outstanding contributions to subjects within the humanities and social sciences. This week, the British Academy welcomed 86 new Fellows from across the humanities and social sciences to its world-leading Fellowship, including 52 UK-based Fellows, 30 overseas Corresponsing Fellows, and four Honorary Fellows.

Asha Nadkarni, associate professor and graduate program director of nutrition, has recevied a 2020 Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award. She is one of three recipients in the university-wide competition. These prestigious awards recognize “extraordinary guidance in research, excellent teaching in both formal and informal settings, and strong support for students' professional development as they prepare for their chosen careers,” as well as “making significant and consistent contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion in graduate education at UMass.”

This award recognizes one graduate student and one faculty member for their outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion in graduate education at UMass Amherst. Stephanie Shonekan has brought an engaged approach to the support and recruiting of an inclusive body of majors and graduates to Afro-American Studies.

John Higginson, professor in the Department of History is one of seven inaugural winners of the prestigious UMass ADVANCE Faculty Mentoring Award, and one of three winners of the university-wide of the 2020 Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award.