OFD Announces Appointment of Leyla Keough-Hameed to Director of Faculty Development

Michelle Budig, senior vice provost for faculty affairs, has announced the appointment of Leyla Keough-Hameed to the position of director of faculty development (DFD) in the Office of Faculty Development. In her new role as director of faculty development, Keough-Hameed will provide leadership in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of signature programs and new initiatives to enhance the success of all UMass Amherst faculty. The appointment is effective Sept. 1, and is the culmination of a search that launched in February 2022.

Leyla Keough-Hameed is a cultural anthropologist, which has supported her work in her current position as associate director for the Institute of Diversity Sciences (IDS) at UMass Amherst. At IDS, Keough-Hameed supports multidisciplinary and socially impactful research collaborations. She facilitates research groups and manages IDS's seed grant programs. She oversees the operations and budget of all IDS's programs, communications, and events, supervises staff and manages the Massachusetts-wide NSF-funded IDS research-practitioner network.

Keough-Hameed's own research has crossed disciplinary boundaries to better understand migrant work and social justice in the Middle East. Her book, “Worker-Mothers at the Margins of Europe: Gender and Migrations between Moldova and Istanbul,” explores the world of undocumented migrant women in Turkey. Her focus on global equity informs her writing, teaching, and public engagement activities.

In the past, she worked as research development coordinator at the UMass Amherst Vice Chancellor's Office for Research and Engagement, where she managed the university’s membership in the Worldwide Universities Network. She also holds extensive teaching experience, most recently at Hampshire College, UMass Amherst and Mount Holyoke College.

Keough-Hameed holds a B.A. in international relations from George Washington University, an M.A. in social science from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst 2008.