Press Releases

$300,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Grant and Purchase of Adjacent Property Will Significantly Enhance the Celebrated Amherst, Mass., Museum’s Offerings 

(AMHERST, Mass., November 12, 2018) — The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Mass., today announced a major upgrade and expansion made possible by a $300,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant, which will protect historic collections at the existing museum, and the purchase of an adjacent property that will eventually open even more of the poet’s Homestead to visitors. The Museum, which attracts an average of 15,000 visitors each year, holds the largest and most diverse collection of objects related to poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) and her family, illustrating important themes in 19th century social and cultural history such as gender and domesticity, changes in aesthetic tastes, class and social prominence, and civic engagement.

The Meiklejohn Fellows Program and the Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program will increase student career opportunities.

(AMHERST, Mass., November 7, 2018) — Amherst College today announced that it has launched two new, innovative programs as a part of its rapidly modernizing and expanding Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning: The Meiklejohn Fellows Program and The Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program. These initiatives will significantly expand the opportunities for summer internships, research positions and other experiential offerings for Amherst students to help prepare them for post-graduation careers and endeavors. 

(AMHERST, Mass., November 5, 2018) — The Common, the award-winning literary journal based at Amherst College, has received a $50,000 gift from Sally Wood, whose daughter and late husband attended Amherst. The gift supports student interns who show exceptional editorial promise and leadership skills. The students funded through this gift—one per year for four years—will be known as the Thomas E. Wood ’61 Fellows, in honor of the donor’s late husband, an English major, avid reader, and gifted writer and poet.

(AMHERST, Mass., September 10, 2018) — Amherst College has received a gift of $50 million by an anonymous donor as part of its comprehensive campaign, Promise: The Campaign for Amherst’s Third Century. This gift, along with a $100 million gift from an anonymous alumnus announced at the campaign’s launch in April, has provided a strong base for the College’s goal of raising $625 million over the next five years.

“The extraordinary generosity of our donors makes it possible for this gem of a College to provide students with the best possible education, one that has close colloquy between faculty with students at its heart,” said Amherst President Biddy Martin. “The priorities of our Promise campaign are straightforward and focused on the fundamentals of great education—a faculty of distinguished scholars who treat teaching as a calling, financial aid that allows us to enroll promising students regardless of means, curricular and pedagogical experimentation, new approaches to career exploration, and more creative ways of building and enjoying community. This generous gift will ensure that we can continue to develop independent, versatile, and creative thinkers.”

(AMHERST, Mass., August 27, 2018) — Amherst College today announced that, in keeping with a decision made by the board of trustees in 2016, the Lord Jeffery Inn will become the Inn on Boltwood shortly after the New Year. The new name of the property highlights its location on Boltwood Avenue in Amherst, where it has been since its opening nearly a century ago. Although the avenue is only a quarter of a mile long, it directly connects Main Street in downtown Amherst to the heart of the College’s campus and serves as a symbolic and a tangible connection between town and college. The Inn’s full-service restaurant has been named 30Boltwood since 2012 when it opened.

(AMHERST, Mass., July 30, 2018) — The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College has acquired The American Library Collection (Activists), a large-scale installation piece by the Britain-born, Nigeria-raised artist Yinka Shonibare MBE. Consisting of 234 books wrapped in Shonibare’s signature Dutch wax print fabric, each book holds the name of a first or second generation American “activist” writer inscribed on its spine in gold foil. This is the first artwork by Shonibare in the Mead’s collection; it will be on view at the Museum beginning October 30, 2018.

(AMHERST, Mass., June 26, 2018) — The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College has appointed Emily Potter-Ndiaye to the position of head of education and Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programs, effective Aug. 20, 2018. In her role, Potter-Ndiaye will promote primary research with the museum’s collections to faculty and students across disciplines as an integral part of the liberal arts educational experience at Amherst College — and a growing area of activity for the Mead, which has expanded its collaborations with faculty, staff and students over the past three years.

(AMHERST, Mass., June 6, 2018) — Matthew L. McGann has been named Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Amherst College, it was announced today by Biddy Martin, President of the College. McGann has been Director of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2012, having been a member of the admissions staff since 2001.

Reporting to the president and serving as a member of her senior staff, McGann will be responsible for all aspects of admission and financial aid, including student recruitment, selection, and the financial aid process. He will serve as a highly visible advocate for the College’s mission and offerings, as well as the principles of access and need-blind admissions. McGann will join the College on July 23, 2018, and will manage a staff of approximately 32. He succeeds Katharine Fretwell ‘81, who has served in the role for the past four years, has been at Amherst for nearly 30 years, and is retiring at the end of this month.

(AMHERST, Mass., May 21, 2018) — Andrew J. Nussbaum ’85 has been elected chair of the Board of Trustees of Amherst College, it was announced today by Cullen Murphy ’74, the outgoing chair. Nussbaum’s six-year term, renewed annually, begins on July 1, 2018. Murphy has served as chair since 2012 and as a trustee since 2000.

“During his eight years as a trustee,” said Murphy, “Andy has been involved in virtually every aspect of the board's activities—always on call, always collaborative, always available to offer insight and knowledge—and has demonstrated time and again that wisdom goes hand in hand with collegiality and a sense of humor.”