Joye Bowman Social Justice Award

Award

Named in honor of Joye Bowman, Professor of History and former Chair of the History Department and Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, the award celebrates her enduring legacy of leadership, integrity, and dedication to social justice.  

This award recognizes HFA faculty, students, and staff who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing equity, justice, and service to the College. Up to three awards, one in each of the following categories, will be made annually: 

  1. Joye Bowman Social Justice Faculty Award
  2. Joye Bowman Social Justice Student Award
  3. Joye Bowman Social Justice Staff Award  

Recipients will have a proven record of sustained impact on the College in the realms of leadership, teaching, scholarship and/or outreach. Each awardee will receive a $500 award and be recognized at the end-of-year HFA Awards and Recognition Ceremony. 

Eligibility, Nomination Procedure, and Selection  

  • Nominations are due on March 1, 2026. The nomination form is available on the UMass InfoReady portal.  
  • Full-time HFA faculty and lecturers on continuous appointments, full-time staff and full-time undergraduate and graduate students may be nominated.
  • Nominations should include a statement of up to 1,000 words describing the nominee’s contributions in advancing equity, justice, and service to the College through leadership, scholarship, education, and outreach. The statement should include specific examples of the nominee’s impact on the HFA community.
  • Nominations may be submitted by any member of the HFA community with a UMass Amherst email account, though self-nominations will not be considered.
  • Individuals may submit up to three nominations, one for each award category (Student, Faculty, and Staff).
  • Repeat nominations are allowed.
  • All nominations are confidential.
  • The HFA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice 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 faculty award monies to the recipient's retention account.  Funding must be used in accordance with the University Business Expense Policy.
  • The student award is disbursed as financial aid.
  • The staff award is disbursed through payroll.  

Who to Contact  

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

Cara Takakjian, ctakakjian [at] umass [dot] edu (ctakakjian[at]umass[dot]edu), Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Professional Development