HFA Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award

Three awards of $1,000 are made annually to recognize junior, mid-career, and senior HFA faculty for their outstanding contributions in scholarship, performance, or creative activity. Recipients are recognized at the end-of-year HFA Awards and Recognition Ceremony.  

Nomination and Selection 

• Nominations are due on January 31, 2026.  The nomination form is available on the UMass InfoReady portal on August 26, 2025.
• Full-time HFA faculty and lecturers on continuous appointments may be nominated.
• Department chairs or department personnel committees, and directors of centers or institutes may nominate one faculty member from each of the following career categories: junior, mid-career, and senior. Career categories are defined as:
  • Junior Faculty: Full-time Assistant Professor or full-time Lecturer on a continuous appointment)
  • Mid-Career Faculty:  Associate Professor or Senior Lecturer on a continuous appointment)
  • Senior Faculty: Professor or full-time Senior Lecturer II on a continuous appointment)
• Nominations require a 750–1,000-word statement highlighting the nominee’s accomplishments in scholarship, performance or creative activity and a copy of the the nominee’s current CV.
• Repeat nominations are allowed, however departments are encouraged to rotate nominees.
• All nominations are confidential.
• An ad-hoc committee ranks the nominations and submits their recommendation to the Dean.  The Dean’s finalists are announced in the spring.   

Award Management 

• The HFA Business Office transfers the award monies to the recipient's retention account.
• Funding must be used in accordance with the University Business Expense Policy. 

Who to Contact 

Amy Fleig,   afleig [at] umass [dot] edu (afleig[at]umass[dot]edu,) Director of Faculty Development & Programs 

Pari Riahi, priahi [at] umass [dot] edu (priahi[at]umass[dot]edu,) Associate Dean for Research & Engagement