Announcing the 2018-2019 ISSR Scholars

The Institute for Social Science Research is pleased to announce the selection of our 2018-19 ISSR Scholars, who represent six departments across four Colleges at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst: the College of Education, College of Nursing, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. ISSR's mission is to promote excellence in social science research, and the Scholars Program is one of our key strategies for strengthening social science infrastructure at UMass.

ISSR's Grants Development Panel Explores Diverse Pathways of Research Funding

In early March, ISSR held its first grants development panel entitled “Grants and Your Research Trajectory,” moderated by Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development, Jennifer Lundquist and featuring panelists Mari Castañeda, Professor and Chair, Department of Communication and Larry King, a new Professor in the Department of Economics. This panel was designed to explore a range of successful grantmaking trajectories, and raise awareness of new capabilities within ISSR to assist faculty in building successful research proposals strategizing interdisciplinary grants and identifying prospective funders. 

Apply to the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Scholars Program | Applications Due April 06, 2018

The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) announces a competition to fund independent research during 2018-19, culminating in a high-quality working paper relevant to the Department’s policymaking. Awards will be made in the range of $20,000–$50,000 for projects that would contribute to the Department’s mission of fostering, promoting, and developing the well-being of wage earners, retirees, and job seekers.

U.S. Federal Budget Update | President's FY2019 Budget Request Disproportionately Cuts NSF Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences

ISSR calls your attention to the details, of the President's FY 2019 Budget Request, newly analyzed by the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA). COSSA reports that, revisions to the President's initial budget request restore much of its proposed 30% cut to the National Science Foundation. While the new proposal restores overall NSF funding the enacted FY2017 levels, it disproportionately reduces allocations to the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate. In the revised request, SBE would see a cut of 9.1 percent from FY2017 (11.2 percent to its research an education activities).

Reception and Public Lecture | Understanding Emerging Technologies, Racial Equity and the Future of Work | April 5

Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 3:30pm to 5:30pm
John W. Olver Design Building | UMass Amherst
The Institute for Social Science Research, in collaboration with the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Information and Computing Sciences, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and the Chancellor's Office invites the public to attend a welcome reception and keynote address on "Understanding Emerging Technologies, Racial Equity and the Future of Work," delivered by Moshe Vardi, the George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering and Director of the Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology at Rice University. Enobong (Anna) Branch, Associate Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Sociology at UMass Amherst will follow with a critical reflection on racial inequalities in the workforce and the future of work. This conversation is part of a larger project sponsored by NSF grant #1744356.

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