UMass Amherst University Without Walls

Last week, UMass Amherst Alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends celebrated the 55th anniversary of UMass Amherst University Without Walls with a pre-game ceremony at UMass Amherst at Fenway! Since 1971, we've been proudly helping adults finish their bachelor's degrees at a world-class university.

Congratulations to UWW Interdisciplinary Studies graduate Joanne Charland for earning the 21st Century Leaders Award! The 11 graduating leaders selected for this prestigious campuswide award will be honored at the main commencement ceremony on May 15.

We are proud to introduce our 2026 University Without Walls Interdisciplinary Studies student commencement speakers, Ana Ximena Peralta Pedroza and Joanne Frances Charland! They will deliver addresses during the UWW Senior Recognition Ceremony, next Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. in Tillis Hall at the Bromery Center for the Arts on the campus of UMass Amherst.

Read their bios and get a streaming link in the comments 👇

Scholarship spotlight: forty-three-year-old First Generation college student, nonprofit founder, and mother of eight Kenya Brown-Milfort was awarded a UWW Faculty Student Scholarship this spring.

“I’m a full-time student, the founder of Sis, It’s Safe, and I continue to work per diem as a personal care attendant after more than 16 years in that field. My life story is really about learning how to keep going, even when things didn’t turn out the way I first imagined. I became a mom young, and from then on, my focus was always on taking care of my kids and doing what I had to do for my family”

Part two of our In These Times community conversation and workshop series begins this Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m.! Co-presented with the UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield, the series is free and open to the public.

Telling Stories with Oral History Research features a conversation with Princess Garrett, Dr. Patricia Romney, and Millicent Jackson (March 3, 6 to 8 p.m.), followed by a workshop with Dr. Sam Redman and Dr. Emily Hamilton (March 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

More info and workshop sign-up: https://www.umass.edu/uww/news/conversation-and-workshop-series-itt--telling-stories

Thank you to co-sponsors UMass Department of History, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, and UMass Amherst Office of Equity and Inclusion.

UWW Interdisciplinary Studies and UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield Present Spring 2026 Community Storytelling Series | UMass Amherst “In These Times: Documenting Stories Through Our Own Lenses” is a free, public community conversation and workshop series presented throughout the spring at the Springfield campus.