Initial analysis of the Phase II/III TeenCOVE study of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine, in which UMass Medical School is participating, showed vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 of 96 percent and the vaccine was generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns identified to date, the company reported in a business update May 6.

As we’ve learned countless times over the past year, things change quickly. Commencement went virtual. Then conditions improved so we could celebrate on campus with limited capacity. With Governor Baker’s recent announcement that statewide COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted on May 29, UMass Dartmouth will be able to hold larger Commencement ceremonies and host up to 6 guests for each graduating student. We are excited to welcome more of your friends and family to cheer you on as you cross the stage.

UMass Dartmouth, along with partners Massasoit Community College and UMass School of Law, were awarded a $150,000 Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) grant from the Office of the Governor to research and gather evidence-based data toward the creation of a multi-campus curriculum for a Transformative Justice Certification Program. This initiative will help institutions of higher education implement training, certification, and workforce readiness for Transformative Justice Practitioners.

This past week the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives received a donation from the Associação Académica (commonly known as the Academica Club).  The Academica building, located on 627 South Main Street, is being sold and the Association is being dissolved.  The materials, which include the Associação Académica flag, the portraits of past club presidents, team photos, opposition team pennants, and other ephemera, will be collected and curated at the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives.

AMHERST, Mass. – Seven University of Massachusetts Amherst undergraduates, graduate students and an alumna have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to travel abroad as English teaching assistants or to perform research projects they designed.

Additionally, two students have received Boren National Security Education Scholarships and Graduate Fellowships to study critical languages in regions critical to U.S. interests. While living abroad, the students will immerse themselves in the culture of their host country.

UMass Dartmouth College of Nursing and Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor Kiley Medeiros is the recipient of the 2021 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Medeiros was chosen for her commitment and passion for Nursing education. The faculty members — one from each of the five UMass campuses — will receive $10,000 awards in recognition of their exceptional teaching and commitment to their students.

Missed the live broadcast?

All seven ceremonies are available for viewing, as well as the roll call of student slides. Visit Facebook to see photos from all three days.

WATCH NOW.

AMHERST Mass. – One of the recent revolutions in computing has been the advent of cloud-based platforms, which handle everything from music and video streaming to crunching enormous amounts of data for scientific research. Cloud infrastructure, used by companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and others, is growing exponentially, and demands an ever-increasing amount of energy, and any serious attempt to grapple with global climate change will therefore have to address computing’s carbon footprint, says a University of Massachusetts expert leading a team to work on the issue.