Psychology Prof, Head of Center for Women and Work is Named Distinguished University Professor
Image by Meghan Moore
12/04/2018
Contacts for media: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Psychology Prof. Meg Bond has been named the 2018 Distinguished University Professor for her research on workplace sexual harassment and her efforts to transform organizations into more welcoming and equitable environments for everyone.
The annual award is the highest accolade bestowed on a UMass Lowell faculty member. It honors educators who are recognized by their peers for outstanding contributions to teaching, research and service.
Bond directs UMass Lowell’s Center for Women and Work, which brings together faculty across colleges and departments to research and seek remedies for gender-based inequality in the workforce. Bond’s appointment as distinguished university professor coincides with the center’s 20th anniversary.
“Meg has been so dedicated to the university in so many ways,” said Chancellor Jacquie Moloney. “Meg can build consensus; she gets everyone fired up about a cause. Her leadership has been a big element of elevating the university. She’s someone who really understands how to build community.”
Moloney, Bond and Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Julie Chen are leading the Making WAVES (Making Women Academics Valued and Engaged in STEM) project, which is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to tackle issues across higher education, including biases and microaggressions, that drive female science and engineering faculty out of academia.
Bond, a Cambridge resident, teaches courses in community social psychology, workplace diversity and interpersonal dynamics and conducts research on diversity and empowerment within organizations. Most recently, Bond has offered expertise to many audiences about the relationship between workplace dynamics and sexual harassment in response to the #MeToo movement.
The distinguished university professor is selected each year by a faculty committee and serves for three years. Bond was nominated by interim Psychology Department Chair Richard Serna and Associate Prof. Jana Sladkova, who said that Bond excels in every qualification the committee must consider.
“Dr. Bond has had a consistent, strong and longstanding positive impact within the field of psychology, on her students, on her fellow faculty and on the university across her nearly 30 years at UMass Lowell,” Serna and Sladkova wrote in their nomination.
Joey Mead, a professor of plastics engineering who was named distinguished university professor last year, served on the committee that selected Bond.
“Meg has worked with us on teams and mechanisms to bring groups of faculty together to go after grants, which has been very helpful, as engineers aren’t known for their collaboration skills,” Mead said.
Bond is the 11th professor to receive the award since it was established in 2008. She will deliver the annual Distinguished University Professor Lecture in the spring.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu