Donny has been awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship that will provide him with 3 years of funding for his graduate studies. In the words of the award notification, "Being chosen as a NSF Graduate Research Fellow is a significant national accomplishment and places you among an elite group of Fellows, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers."
Thanks to his mentor, Alex Theodoridis, for relaying the great news. You can send congratulations to Donny via desnyder@umass.edu

Associate Professor Jamie Rowen's new article on MA Treatment Court Adapation to COVD-19 is now out for first view in Law and Social Inquiry. This article was written with the assistance of former graduate students Alexandria Nylen and Catie Fowler, who conducted 81 interviews with treatment court personnel in the summer of 2020 to create the first comprehensive account of how treatment courts responded to state shutdowns. The findings illustrate how these courts adapted and, in the process, personnel shifted their understandings of surveiillance and sanctions. (Law and Social Inquiry, Cambridge University Press, 3/30/23) 

Tatishe Nteta, professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll, says polling shows “a steady majority” of Massachusetts residents approve of the job performance of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who announced her bid for a third term yesterday. (GBH , 3/27/23)

Peter Haas, professor emeritus of political science, has written an opinion piece looking at the intricacies of the debate over providing reparations to the descendants of slaves. “Current efforts by Amherst and Northampton appear to go beyond performative politics through the creation of committees to develop policies for implementing reparations locally,” he writes. “As with most ethical arguments, the devil is in the details of their application. There is precedent for reparations. Post-World War II Germany paid out sizable reparations to surviving Jews for lost earnings. The U.S. offered paltry and delayed reparations to Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Evanston, Illinois and Asheville, North Carolina have committed funds under reparations plans for African Americans, although their amounts are relatively small.” (Gazette, 3/13/23)