UMass Amherst and The Ken Blanchard Companies have entered a strategic collaboration to provide a new online learning experience for professional development.

Bernard (Ben) Joseph Doherty, UMass Amherst alumnus and former trustee, died April 11 from COVID-19 complications at the age of 83. 

Two students were honored for their dedication to public service at the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy’s virtual celebration of its class of 2020 on May 7. Olivia Laramie and Jessica Sizer received Philip Hertz Scholarship Awards, established in 2004 by alumnus George Hertz, ’69, MPA ’73, an emeritus member of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences advisory board, in honor of his father, Philip Hertz, a lifelong public servant. 

For the first time in its history, UMass Amherst today held a virtual Commencement celebration to honor its graduating class of 6,600 students. The Class of 2020 persevered through a difficult final semester, completing their studies remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were hailed in a streaming video presentation viewed on the UMass website and as a Facebook Live event.