HFA Dean's Fellowship Program

Awards & Fellowships

HFA Dean's Fellowship

The HFA Dean’s Fellowship Program is an initiative designed to recognize and reward outstanding faculty contributions in research, teaching, and creative activity in HFA.  Each fellowship includes $8,000 in research/professional development support for the three-year duration of the fellowship. After three years, financial support ends, but recipients retain the title of HFA Dean’s Fellow unless superseded by a higher honor (e.g., Provost Professor, Distinguished Professor).

Recipients are recognized at the annual HFA Awards and Recognition Ceremony.

The nomination form is available on UMass InfoReady.
Nomination deadline: Friday, 10/30/2026, 11:59 p.m. 

Fellowship Categories

Departments, including those with multiple units, may submit up to two nominations, one for each of the following categories: 

  • HFA Dean’s Outstanding Midcareer Fellow
    For tenured associate professors. Recognizes outstanding, innovative, and impactful contributions in research or creative production with noteworthy national (and, if appropriate, international) recognition. Dossiers may include materials from the nominee’s entire UMass appointment.
     
  • HFA Dean’s Outstanding Fellow
    For tenured full professors. Recognizes extraordinary, sustained contributions in research or creative production with national and/or international recognition. This is the highest honor bestowed by the College. Dossiers may include materials reflective of the entirety of the nominee's UMass appointment.
Eligibility and Nomination Procedure

  • Department Chairs and all members of the HFA faculty are encouraged to submit nominations to their Department Personnel Committee (DPC). Individuals may self-nominate and in doing so are expected to provide all nomination materials.  

  • DPCs shall rank the nominations received, identifying up to one departmental nominee for each fellowship category.  The ranked departmental nominee dossiers are then submitted to the Department Chair for review and ratification.   

  • The Department Chair or their designee shall advance the department’s nominees to the Dean’s Office using the InfoReady nomination form by Friday, October 30, 2026.  

  • The Dean will convene a committee to review nominations. The final selection will be made by the Dean. 

Nomination Materials

Nomination dossiers for the HFA Dean's Outstanding Fellow and Midcareer Fellow shall include: 

  • The nominee’s complete CV. 
  • Supporting materials (e.g., published works, creative samples, performance videos). 
  • One 1–2 page letter from the nominator addressed to the DPC describing the significance of the nominee’s work and providing justification for the nomination. When the nominator is the Department Chair, the letter shall also serve as the Chair’s letter of recommendation to the Dean.
  • One 1-2 page letter of recommendation from the Chair addressed to the Dean for the department's finalist.  The letter should describe the significance of the nominee's work and provide a justification for the nomination. If the Department Chair is the nominee, the letter of recommendation to the Dean shall be written by the DPC Chair.           
Who to Contact

Rebecca Dingo, rdingo [at] umass [dot] edu (rdingo[at]umass[dot]edu), Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs

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