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The Office of Faculty Development has announced that five UMass Amherst faculty members have been selected to receive the Mid-Career Post-Tenure (MCPT) Fellowship for the 2026-27 academic year.

The competitively awarded fellowship provides a research-intensive semester to associate professors whose service and teaching responsibilities have exceeded the norm. Chosen by Provost Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, the award’s recipients will be provided with one semester of release from teaching responsibilities, department obligations and college service, in accordance with Article 15.18 of the collective bargaining agreement between UMass Amherst and the Massachusetts Society of Professors.

2026-27 MCPT Fellowship Recipients:

• Jeffrey Blanchard - Associate professor of biology, College of Natural Sciences
• Jennifer Kish-Gephart - Associate professor of management, Isenberg School of Management
• Rong Rong - Associate professor and graduate program director of resource economics, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
• Jennifer Whitehill - Associate professor and graduate program director of health promotion and policy, School of Public Health and Health Sciences
• Caroline H. Yang - Associate professor and associate chair of English, College of Humanities and Fine Arts