2026 News 2026: Inside UMassD January 29, 2026

Campus Community Accomplishments

Professor Eric Mitnick (Law) was interviewed on SiriusXM's "The Michael Smerconish Program" about President Trump's AI executive order and its legality, explaining that constitutional limits and federalism principles mean only Congress can establish a comprehensive national AI policy.

Professor Chris Eisenhart (English & Communication) published "Large Language Model Applications for Style Pedagogy" in an edited collection with Computers and Composition Digital Press. The article explores the use of AI in composition pedagogy. 

Associate Professor Maryellen Brisbois (Nursing) authored two chapters in Health and Healthcare Systems: A Global View. The chapters examine the system structure, performance, and policy context of healthcare in the Dominican Republic and Portugal.

Assistant Professor Lauren Hicks (Nursing) co-authored "Facilitators and Barriers to Prenatal Exercise from the Biopsychosocial Perspective of Pregnant Individuals: 'If You Keep Moving, Then You Won't Stop'" in the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. The article advances evidence-based clinical knowledge in midwifery and women's health by addressing key practice, policy, and care-delivery issues within the field.

Research Associate Kelsey Roberts (Fisheries Oceanography) co-authored a piece in The Conversation analyzing a proposed climate engineering technique intended to remove carbon or counter warming that would substantially change ocean chemistry and biology, carrying varied risks for marine ecosystems that require careful evaluation.

UMass Dartmouth earned the prestigious 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, recognizing the campus's sustained, high-impact partnerships through the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement that link teaching, research, and service with local and regional communities. 

Commonwealth Professor Anna Klobucka (Portuguese) was honored at a tribute symposium hosted by Oxford University. The colloquium was dedicated to Klobucka's research on Lusophone literatures and cultures.

Professor Mahzad Hojjat (Psychology) was awarded $326,000 by the Binational Science Foundation for "Singlehood as an Identity: Deciphering Today's Singles' Self-Concepts, Contexts, and Trajectories in a Comparative Look." The project will examine the rise of singlehood as a personal identity.

Professor Steve Cadrin (Fisheries Oceanography) was selected to chair the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea's newest team to carry out a review-level benchmark of the Northern Shelf cod stock assessment.

Scott Tingle ('87) was named NASA's Chief of the Astronaut Office, where he will oversee astronaut resources, crew operations, and assignments for future human spaceflight missions, including Artemis. His appointment caps a distinguished career that began with his mechanical engineering degree at UMass Dartmouth and includes service as a U.S. Navy test pilot and a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.