Though the University of Massachusetts has been around since 1863, its graduate school is just celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The graduate school kicks off its centennial with a series of alumni colloquia and presentations titled “A Century of Scholarship, 1908-2008,” on Wednesday, April 9.
In the Campus Center, from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., graduates representing the different schools and programs with advanced degree programs and the W.E.B. DuBois Library will speak on topics related to their fields.
The graduate school, established in 1908 by the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts Agricultural College, has 5,700 students in 73 masters and 52 doctoral programs.
Michael Blakey, an alumnus of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, will give a talk titled, “The Idea of Race and Nature Politic.” Blakey is currently a professor of American studies at the College William and Mary and a National Endowment for the Humanities professor of anthropology.
Priscilla Clarkson, the current dean of Commonwealth College, and representing the School of Public Health and Health Sciences will give a lecture titled “My Last Lecture: Ten Things that Really Matter.”
Dev Gupta, the CEO of NewLANS, a firm developing high-speed, wireless data transmission is an alumnus of the College of Engineering. His talk is titled “Built to Last.”
Rajan Varadarajan, an alumnus of the Isenberg School of Management is giving a speech titled “Global Outsourcing of Goods and Services: Business Decisions in the Face of Public Denouncements and Disapprovals.”
Varadarajan comes from Texas A’M University and is the associate dean for research and doctoral programs, distinguished professor of marketing, and the Ford Chair in marketing and E-Commerce.
Representing the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is David J. Mazzo, speaking about “From Classroom to Boardroom: One Analytical Chemist’s Journey.” Currently, Mazzo is the President and CEO of Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a biopharmaceutical company.
Also speaking will be an alumnus from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Gennaro Chierchia currently at Harvard University where he holds the Haas Foundations Chair of Linguistics. His talk in titled “Logic and Grammar: How Language and Reasoning Shape Each Other.”
Noel Anderson, an alumnus of the College of Natural Resources and the Environment will give a talk about “Perspectives of Research Careers.” Anderson is the vice president of the Worldwide Technical Insights organization of the Pepsi-Cola company.
Homer “Skip” Meader II, a W.E.B. DuBois scholar, is the senior area director for National Evaluation Systems, a division of Pearson Education Inc. He represents the campus library system and the School of Education and talking about “The University’s Archives: Inspiration from Days Gone By.”
Deborah J. Kenny a graduate from the School of Nursing will give a talk titled “Military Nurses Making a Difference: Diffusion of Military Research into Civilian Nursing Practice.” Kenny is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and is currently serving at the Uniformed Service University in Bethesda, Md.
The colloquia are free and open to the public.
Kate Olesin can be reached at [email protected].
