Two UMass Amherst Professors Awarded 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships

Academics
An aerial, high-angle shot of South College at UMass Amherst. The foreground features the historic red-brick building with its distinct gabled roof and stone accents, seamlessly connected to a modern glass and steel addition. Manicured green lawns and paved walkways surround the complex. In the background, other campus buildings, lush green fields, and rolling blue hills stretch toward a clear horizon under a bright blue sky.

University of Massachusetts professors Stephen Platt, history, and Juana Valdés, art, have been awarded prestigious 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The 223 members of the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows, announced on April 14, work across 55 disciplines. They are chosen through a rigorous application and peer-review process from a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants based on both prior career achievement and “exceptional promise,” the foundation said, adding that each Fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue a project that is meaningful to them under “the freest possible conditions.”

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Award or honor posted in Academics