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Wilson announces winners of the President's Public Service Awards for 2007

Click here to visit the President's Public Service Award home page.

10th Anniversary of awards designed to recognize faculty who excel in contributions to community

BOSTON-University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson today announced the names of the latest winners of the President's Public Service Award on the 10th anniversary of the faculty award.  The awards are presented annually to faculty members from the university's Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester campuses who have been nominated by the chancellors of their respective campuses for providing exemplary public service to the Commonwealth. 

The awards were presented to Professors M. Idali Torres of UMass Amherst, Gary Siperstein of UMass Boston, Memory Holloway of UMass Dartmouth, Kay George Roberts and Fred Martin of UMass Lowell, and Stephen Doxsey of UMass Medical School at a reception for the recipients at the University of Massachusetts Club.

"This is the 10th anniversary of the university's President's Public Service Awards and this year's winners continue in the impressive tradition of the earlier recipients," said UMass President Jack M. Wilson. "These six professors are outstanding examples of public service-they have a passion for their professional fields and a commitment to their students and colleagues, but also an exemplary commitment to community engagement and service. Their achievements are a credit to all of the dedicated, talented and hard-working faculty members who teach at our campuses and also contribute so much to our communities, locally, state-wide, nationally and globally."

President Wilson added, "Today, we are adding our own recognition to the honors that they receive from local, professional, and national organizations.   With these awards, we acknowledge the importance of their public service and the value we place on their contributions to the University of Massachusetts."

Since the inception of the President's Public Service Awards in 1998, a total of 59 UMass professors have received the honor. The Massachusetts State House will host an exhibit, featuring photos and information about this year's winners, in Doric Hall from February 19 through February 29th.

The latest President's Public Service Awards winners are:

• M. Idali Torres, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health, UMass Amherst: For her longstanding dedication to enhancing the public health of our communities and addressing public health issues throughout Western Massachusetts, with a particular focus on the cities of Springfield and Holyoke.
  
• Gary N. Siperstein, Ph.D., Professor; Founder and Director of the Center for Social Development and Education, UMass Boston: For his work in addressing the needs of at-risk children and families and founding the Center for Social Development and Education, recognized nationally for its expertise in enhancing social development of children with learning and behavioral problems.
  
• Memory A. Holloway, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Art History, UMass Dartmouth: She is a model of civic engagement who has passionately merged her education and research with service to the community. She believes that public service is an integral part of education and that showing students how to serve by positive action is an important part of their university education.  Her public service has included feeding the SouthCoast region's neediest and engaging her students in that effort.
  
• Kay G. Roberts, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Music, UMass Lowell: She has dedicated her career to advocating for the underrepresented and overlooked in society, promoting music education for children and using music as a bridge to connect cultures. She utilizes her love of music to reach out to the community, advancing K-12 music education in the City of Lowell.
  
• Fred Martin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, UMass Lowell:  With the goal of transforming science education, based on the concept that science is rigorous not "orderly," he is a champion of K-12 science education using robotics as the platform to encourage creative scientific investigation for students and teachers.
  
• Stephen J. Doxsey, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Cell Biology, UMass Medical School: He is the co-founder of the program "UMass Laboratories for Worcester Area High Schools" which brings high school students to the UMass Medical School campus for hands-on research experiences in state-of-the-art labs, while providing opportunities for faculty to encourage high school students to consider careers in the sciences. 

For more information about the latest UMass President's Public Service Award winners, please go to http://www.massachusetts.edu/staff/psa2007.html

The University of Massachusetts was established through a land grant in 1863 as the Massachusetts Agricultural College and it became the University of Massachusetts in 1947. With campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and a Medical School in Worcester, the University's annual research expenditures exceed $400 million and more than 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in degree programs across all academic disciplines.

Contacts: 

Libby DeVecchi, 617-287-7023
Bill Wright, 617-287-7065

2/6/08

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