Outreach Highlights
April 2009

UMass Amherst Honors Outreach Scholarship and Community Impact

Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl (left), UMass Provost Charlena Seymour (center), UMass Chancellor Robert Holub (right)

UMass Amherst’s connection with and commitment to neighboring urban communities – and particularly those in the cities of Holyoke and Springfield – are being spotlighted by the university’s 2009 Distinguished Academic Outreach Awards.

Three members of the university faculty were honored for their outstanding contributions to outreach and to the scholarship of community engagement as UMass Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub and Provost Charlena Seymour joined Vice Provost for Outreach Sharon Fross in presenting this year’s awards during ceremonies on April 15.

In addition, Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl received the Outreach Award for Community Partnership for strengthening the relationship between UMass Amherst and Springfield in areas ranging from economic and environmental sustainability to opening expanded opportunities for STCC graduates at UMass Amherst.

Vice Provost Fross noted that the award recipients have had an especially profound impact in helping to give voice to women, people of color, and ethnic communities in the Pioneer Valley.

Receiving the Outreach Award for Research is Professor Joyce A. Berkman of the Department of History, a founder and director of the Valley Women’s History Collaborative. Sharing the Outreach Award for Teaching were Professor Todd Crosset of the Department of Sport Management, a founder of the Key Players Program honoring men of color for their role in young people’s lives, and Professor Mari Castañeda of the Department of Communication, a key figure in developing Holyoke’s Community Outreach Partnership Center.

The 2009 Outreach Awards Honorees: Professor Joyce A. Berkman, Professor Mari Castañeda, Professor Todd Crosset, President Ira Rubenzahl

The Distinguished Academic Outreach Awards were established in 1997. This year’s awards were presented in conjunction with a celebration of UMass Amherst’s recent designation as a Community-Engaged University by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

“Our recognition this year is especially meaningful,” said Vice Provost Fross. “Not only are we honoring four people who have contributed greatly to scholarly engagement with the community in this region, but we are celebrating our own institution’s commitment to outreach and community engagement.”

The following is a brief synopsis of remarks by Vice Provost Fross at the April 15 presentation of the 2009 Distinguished Academic Outreach Awards.

Professor Joyce A. Berkman of the Department of History is the winner of the 2009 Distinguished Outreach Research Award. As a founder and executive director of the Valley Women’s History Collaborative, Dr. Berkman has given voice to the oral history of women in the Connecticut River Valley, assembling rich and captivating narratives that have contributed greatly to historical scholarship, to the identity of our local communities and to the dignity of the women who have helped shape them. She has assembled a true community of scholarship extending far beyond the university, bringing together students, artists, scholars and women from throughout the area.  Her work, and the work of the Valley Women’s History Collaborative, has ennobled the lives of the women of the Pioneer Valley, and forever enlivened our understanding of those lives.

Professor Mari Castañeda of the Department of Communication shares the 2009 Distinguished Outreach Teaching Award. Dr. Castañeda has engaged her students in building critical links between the university and the city of Holyoke. She has been a key figure in ambitious and multi-faceted community efforts aimed at capacity building in educational support and mentoring, economic development, nutrition and sustainable food production, fair housing and lending, and support for the arts and local cultural heritage. She has fostered and advised the Student Bridges program, through which UMass Amherst students work in a spirit of community involvement and reciprocity to mentor and support young students in Holyoke. Her work with her own students and with the community of Holyoke has been transformative, bringing scholarship, mentorship, citizenship and friendship together to make a real difference in the community.

Professor Todd Crosset of the Department of Sport Management shares the 2009 Distinguished Outreach Teaching Award. Dr. Crosset’s teaching is infused with the force of a firm commitment to building social justice and creating new opportunities for university students and the community – particularly communities of color in the city of Springfield. With his students and with the Boston Celtics basketball organization, he has built the Key Players Program to honor men of color for playing a key role in young people’s lives, while engaging his students in marketing and strategic planning in addressing problems like violence in the community. In addition, he has help mobilize city teachers and UMass Amherst faculty members to find new ways to make university resources available to the community. Through reciprocity, and seamlessly uniting teaching, research and outreach, Dr. Crossett helped remove obstacles from the road between UMass Amherst and the Commonwealth’s second largest urban center.

President Ira Rubenzahl of Springfield Technical Community College is the winner of the 2009 Distinguished Outreach Community Partnership Award. Dr. Rubenzahl’s commitment to students, to the diverse communities that comprise the city of Springfield, and to the economic and educational future of the region provides the context for a profoundly valuable and productive relationship between the university and the city. Springfield Technical Community College, or STCC, has become a key urban base for UMass Amherst programs and a launching pad for STCC graduates to move on to programs in engineering, business, liberal arts and others at UMass Amherst. His forward-looking, optimistic and evenhanded manner is proving extremely effective in helping propel the economic development, educational advancement, and cultural vitality of the entire region. In addition, his support for the arts, business incubation, young entrepreneurship, and training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has helped ensure that the region will be able to count on local jobs, and the local talent to fill those jobs. He continues to build a relationship between the city and the university in which the commitment, the benefits, and the decisions are shared – a partnership in the very best sense.