College of Social & Behavioral Sciences UMass Amherst

08/31/2026

08/27/2026

Anthropology doctoral student Laura Haynes has earned a 2026-27 Fulbright-National Geographic Award! The award designates Haynes as a National Geographic Explorer, a recognition that honors exceptional changemakers and innovators. Explorers receive funding and support from the National Geographic Society, and Haynes will further her dissertation research on primate microbiomes in Uganda.

Congratulations, Laura! 🙌

The award provides Haynes with the opportunity to conduct dissertation research on primate microbiomes in Uganda.

08/27/2026

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08/26/2026

POV: our famous UMass Amherst campus wind tunnel 🌬️🍃📚

08/26/2026

Congratulations to Michael Borowski, Public Policy '28, on his election to the role of Segmental Advisor to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education! In the role, he will advocate on behalf of students across the entire UMass system.

When asked what he hoped to accomplish during his time serving, Borowski said that, "I would like to expand student protections like the Wellman Document, which enshrine students’ right to self-governance and collaborative campus policy at other public institutions in Massachusetts, as well as advocate for student-first issues like the cost, accessibility, and importance of higher education."

Congrats, Michael!

08/24/2026

08/12/2026

Throwback to the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024! Were you among the thousands who viewed it on campus?

Today (August 12, 2026) brings a partial solar eclipse, but nothing compares to the vibe on campus a couple of years ago when we all paused to witness the cosmic event 🌘🌞

08/11/2026

Excited to share news of the most recent book by Prof. Rodrigo Zamith (UMass Journalism): Journalism in the Age of AI (Polity Press, 2026)! Co-authored with Seth C. Lewis (University of Virginia) and Tomás Dodds (University of Wisconsin-Madison), the book offers a critical look at what AI means for journalism by drawing on questions of creativity, democratic accountability, platform power, and human agency.

The printed edition is now available for pre-order, but you can download a complete, open-access (free!) copy of the book in PDF form or get the Kindle version at journalismandai.com (also linked in our bio) ✨📖

07/31/2026

A new UMass Amherst project is connecting researchers, students and community organizations in Puerto Rico and Western Massachusetts through shared conversation about energy resilience, climate justice and community leadership! The initiative, "Puerto Rican Power: Networking Across the Diaspora to Design Energy Resilience," grew from years of collaboration and work across disciplines.

One of the effort's leaders is Carolina Aragón, associate professor at UMass Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, who teaches graduate design studios that emphasize community-led approaches to sustainable energy solutions. Aragón says Puerto Rico’s experience has value far beyond the island.

“They’re being leaders,” she says. “They’re farther ahead of the game than we are in being proactive in their energy conversations and in how they’re shaping their system.”

Read more:
https://www.umass.edu/news/article/center-latin-american-caribbean-and-latino-studies-project-connects-puerto-rico-and

07/29/2026

Celebrating three SBS faculty members for the recent honors highlighting their impactful research and leadership:
➡️ Joya Misra (UMass Amherst Sociology & School of Public Policy UMass) received the American Sociological Association’s 2026 Jessie Bernard Award, which noted that “Dr. Misra’s scholarship provides the foundational empirical evidence that has irrevocably shaped comparative policy analysis on a global scale. … The Jessie Bernard Award is reserved for those who have truly enlarged the horizons of sociology. By combining rigorous scholarly innovation with an enduring ethic of care, Joya Misra has done precisely that, leaving an indelible imprint on the fabric of our discipline.“

➡️ Alasdair Roberts, School of Public Policy UMass, received the Kernaghan Award for Excellence in Research from the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration. The Kernaghan Award is for career achievement in research by a faculty member who is part of the Canadian public administration community. Roberts’ last book, “The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century,” was shortlisted for the 2025 Shaughnessy-Cohen Prize for Political Writing, a national book award in Canada.

➡️ Tania Lopez DoCarmo, Legal Studies UMass & Department of Political Science at UMass Amherst, was named to the 2026-2027 cohort of the CRF Family Research Scholars. Dr. DoCarmo’s research centers on the intersections of law, society and culture, with an emphasis on migration. The Center for Research on Families (UMass Center for Research on Families) contributes to innovative and evidence-based solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing families today through interdisciplinary research, and CRF Scholars look at the influence of biological, social, cultural, and environmental factors on families, and how they impact the health and well being of families.