Students Working to Fight Racism
Amherst students don't wait until graduation to make an impact on the world. Two student-led initiatives have been launched in the past week to combat racism. Here, Jeremy Thomas ’21 discusses one of these initiatives, #AmherstActs, a partnership between the Black Student Union and the College. We'll report later this month on the second effort, in which the Amherst Association of Students is matching students’ gifts to anti-racism organizations.
College Celebrates New Grads
Amherst conferred degrees during the virtual Celebration of the Class of 2020 on May 31. The event featured remarks from President Biddy Martin and Stanley O. Dunwell III ’20, a Choral Society performance and one surprise appearance. Also: Read about winners of this year’s senior awards.
Amherst Board Welcomes New Trustees
Bill O’Malley ’84 is CEO and co-chief investment officer at Income Research + Management, a Boston-based fixed-income investment adviser. He is a board member of the firm and also chairs the management committee and co-manages the investment team. Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne ’01, the winner of the Alumni Trustee Election, is a writer whose nonfiction has been published in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Amherst magazine and elsewhere, and whose debut novel, Holding On To Nothing, won a gold medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for Best Regional Fiction from the South.
Amherst Hires Three New Head Coaches
Marlon Sears was named the head coach of men's basketball. He was, most recently, associate head coach at Columbia University. Busani Xaba, the new head coach of men's and women’s squash, was director of squash and athletics at the University Club of San Francisco and, prior to that, an assistant coach at Dartmouth. The new head coach of men’s lacrosse is Rashad Devoe, who was head coach at NCAA Division I Hampton University, and who has coached and mentored three All-Americans, 29 All-Conference selections and two conference Rookies of the Year, including the 2015 NESCAC Rookie of the Year.
How to Improve Civics Education
Professor of History and Black Studies Hilary Moss was interviewed alongside Nikole Hannah-Jones and Arielle Jennings for the Scene On Radio podcast episode “Schooled for Democracy.” Listen now.
Empty Exam Rooms: A Stark Reminder
Dr. Megan M. Tschudy ’00 co-authored a JAMA Pediatrics article about how COVID-19 creates additional challenges for low-income children—the consequences of which may last a lifetime. Read more.