September, 2015

Dear Colleagues,

Students have moved in, classes are underway, and the campus has come alive with events, activities, and milestones for students and staff alike. It's a great time to explore, expand your horizons, create connections, and get involved. Start with some of the highlights below ... and enjoy the journey!

Best wishes,
The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life
319 Whitmore
Phone: 413-545-2300 • Email: sacl@umass.edu
Student Affairs and Campus Life Website

Announcements

Welcome, Class of 2019!
We're grateful to all who worked to make opening weekend a time packed with fun, friends, and plenty of school spirit. Special thanks to the Minuteman Marching Band and the Amherst Fire Department, whose aerial bucket truck made this great class picture possible!

Common Read events
Take a moment to check out the Common Read events calendar and encourage students to engage in four special opportunities to interact with both the author and central figure of "The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas."

Volunteer to Make a Mass Impact for the local community!
Mass Impact day of service is Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check out a few volunteer sites here. Email Boone Shear to volunteer.

Save the date: CMASS fifth anniversary celebration
Thursday, October 1, 3 to 6 p.m. Durfee Conservatory
The Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success (CMASS) five-year anniversary celebration will include a tree-planting ceremony, music, and a delicious barbecue meal.

Internship photo contest winners
See the winners of the 2015 Career Services photo contest in this new YouTube video ... and remind your students to check out Career Services and learn more about opportunities during and after their UMass experience.

Check out some of our new and updated UMass websites

School supply drive helps area kids
Thanks to all who donated during Student Engagement's school supply drive in support of Foster Dignity for area foster children. Donations of clothing, personal hygiene items and more are always needed; check the agency's wish list for details.

Education and personal development

Webinar: Academic freedom and Title IX
Join the Dean of Students Office for a September 16 webinar on balancing the demands of Title IX compliance and respect for academic freedom. Legal expert Peter Lake leads the free session, taking place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Campus Center room 165-69; no RSVP is required.

Regional opioid conference
Register online for "Safe Prescribing and Opioid Abuse," Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Continuing education credits are available.

LMWEP fall course registration open
Labor/Management Workplace Education's fall lineup of free courses includes computer skills, Drupal training, communication and leadership, workplace writing, mindfulness meditation, and more.

Digital storytelling conference
Register now for "Voices for Change: Storywork in Activism, Education, and Public Service," the sixth International Digital Storytelling Conference, September 25 to 27 at UMass Amherst and Smith College. Join instructors, students, scholars, filmmakers, media practitioners, and activists for panels, media screenings, exhibitions, workshops, and special events.

This month's free trainings
Free workshops offered by Workplace Learning and Development in September include orienting student workers; sexual harassment prevention; harassment prevention for new faculty and staff; and a new supervisors' orientation.

Events

Mon. September 14 – Yuri Kochiyama Cultural Center open house
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Worcester Dining Commons, under the Oak Room
Check out the cultural center, meet CMASS staff, learn about upcoming activities, and discover cultural student organizations on campus.

Mon. September 14 – Student Union Craft Center open house
6 to 8 p.m. Student Union, room 208E
Tour the center, meet the staff, experience hands-on demonstrations, and more.

Tues. September 15 – Latin American Cultural Center open house
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Hampden Dining Commons, second floor
The campus celebration of Latin@ Heritage Month begins. Check out the cultural center, meet CMASS staff, learn about upcoming activities, and discover cultural student organizations on campus.

Wed. September 16 – Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center open house
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Chadbourne Hall, lower level
Stop by, check out the cultural center, meet CMASS staff, learn about upcoming activities, and discover cultural student organizations on campus.

Thurs. September 17 – CCPH open house
4 to 6 p.m. New Africa House, fourth floor
Stop by the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health's (CCPH) new satellite location to see the space, meet providers, and find out more about CCPH’s offerings.

Thurs. September 17 – Constitution Day lecture
4 p.m. Campus Center, Amherst Room
The university marks Constitution Day with "Griswold at 50: Privacy and its Progeny," the 2015 Dean Alfange, Jr. Lecture in American Constitutionalism. Speaker Linda Greenhouse will explore how privacy as a constitutional concept has changed over the past half-century.

Thurs. September 17 – Celebrate Amherst block party
5 to 9 p.m. downtown Amherst
Downtown streets close to traffic and open for fun at this annual street fair! Enjoy performers, vendors, and great food.

Thurs. September 17 – Malcolm X Cultural Center open house
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Berkshire Dining Commons, lower level
Check out the cultural center, meet CMASS staff, learn about upcoming activities, and discover cultural student organizations on campus.

Thurs. September 17 – Theory and Practice of Direct Action lecture
6 to 8:30 p.m. Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences' speaker series opens with "Theory and Practice of Direct Action," a panel discussion featuring four prominent Pioneer Valley activists and organizers who've participated in action to resist war, torture, racism, police violence, home foreclosures, and nuclear power.

Sat. September 19 – UMass football home opener
3 p.m. Gillette Stadium, Foxboro
Coach Mark Whipple leads the Minutemen football squad into action against Temple in the season's home opener at Gillette Stadium.

Mon. Sept. 21– True Talk – The Common Read
7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Student Union ballroom (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Join colleagues and students for "True Talk," a conversation about this year's Common Read, "The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas." Professor Sut Jhally leads the discussion with author Anand Giridharadas and central figure Raisuddin Bhuiyan

Tues. September 22 – International coffee hour
4 to 5 p.m. Blue Wall, Campus Center
Meet other international students, faculty, and staff, while enjoying free coffee, tea, and snacks.

Tues. September 22 – "Living Los Sures"
7 to 8:30 p.m. W.E.B. Du Bois Library, room 1320
A screening and dialogue about the 1984 documentary showcasing 30 years of resilience by Dominicans and Puerto Ricans living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Part of Latin@ Heritage Month events.

Wed. September 23 – The State of Resistance lecture
Noon, Campus Center, Room 1001
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences' speaker series continues with "The State of Resistance Studies: The Field and its Challenges" by Stellan Vinthagen.

Wed. September 23 – Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan performs "Rice"
7:30 p.m. Fine Arts Center concert hall
A multimedia performance about a community tainted by chemical fertilizer that regains its status as a rice producer through organic farming.

Sat. September 26 – "Hot Sardines" performance
8 p.m. Fine Arts Center concert hall
Hear a magnetic mashup of hot traditional jazz and sultry standards from the 1920s through the '40s, with a dash of New Orleans Dixieland. Come dressed to impress for the period at a pre-concert "Speakeasy" party in the lobby starting at 6:30 p.m.

Wed. September 30 – "Ser Indigena Latin@"
Noon to 2 p.m. Wilder Hall, room 102
Join a lunch-and-learn discussion on Latino identity and language with School of Education faculty member Laura Valdiviezo and graduate student Daniel Morales. Part of Latin@ Heritage Month events.

Staff news

Two new UMass Police Department (UMPD) officers are being officially welcomed into the department with a badge-pinning ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2 to 3 p.m. in the UMPD community room. Colleagues are invited to attend and congratulate Kelsey Whelihan and Jeff Silva.

Whelilhan, who joined the force in July, is a graduate of the Municipal Police Training Committee’s Western Massachusetts Regional Police Academy. Her father, Officer Mark Whelihan, has been on the UMPD for 28 years; this is the first time the department has had a parent and child serving together.

Silva began with the department in June. He holds an associate's degree in criminal justice from Holyoke Community College and is a graduate of the Western Massachusetts Regional Police Academy. For the past four years, he served as a patrolman for the Southampton Police Department.

Derek Doughty has accepted the position of athletics case manager in the Dean of Students Office (DOSO). Doughty previously served in the position on a temporary basis, defining the role, connecting with and training student athletes, serving on the university’s Title IX committee and supporting the Student Life team in the DOSO's office.

Welcome to Raquel M. Manzanares, new staff attorney in the Student Legal Services Office (SLSO). Prior to joining the university, she was an associate attorney at Springfield-based Heisler, Feldman, McCormick & Garrow, P.C., practicing mainly in employment and housing law. She is a graduate of New York University School of Law and Smith College.

Melissa Rotkiewicz has been appointed interim associate director of clinical services at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH). In her new role, she will oversee the center's daily clinical operations, and work closely with CCPH and wellness cluster leadership.

Congratulations to Dylan Larke, who has assumed the role of director of student retention and programming in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts advising center. Since 2010, Larke has served as a residence director in the Cance, Hamlin/Leach, and Dickinson clusters.

Harry Rockland-Miller, director of the CCPH, was quoted in a CNN story about college mental health and suicide prevention. The September 9 feature was promoted on the network website's home page and in its health and parenting sections.

Chuck DiMare, who recently retired after 36 years as director of the Student Legal Services Office, will receive a 2015 President's Award from the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, at a reception Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Campus Center. The UMass community is invited to attend; RSVP online.

Twenty-five organizations have signed onto a national letter to the Common Application, requesting addition of optional demographic questions about gender identity and sexual orientation, according to Genny Beemyn, director of the Stonewall Center and coordinator for Campus Pride's Trans Policy Clearinghouse. The Common Application evaluates prospective students for admission at more than 500 colleges, universities, and other organizations. Campus Pride is at the forefront of addressing issues affecting LGBTQ students in higher education recruitment, admissions, and retention.

UMass Police Department officers received diversity and communication skills training in preparation for the new academic year. The six-hour workshop on August 24 included active listening techniques, strategies for communicating with diverse constituencies, and techniques for handling racially-charged situations.

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