Western New England University

What does it take to earn a Cupola Award of Excellence? Since 1989, Western New England University has honored seniors whose academic success, leadership, service, and campus involvement exemplify the best of our Golden Bear community.

The 2026 Cupola Award winners include student government officials, resident advisors, student-athletes, researchers, tutors, and mentors. "This year's class has so much to be proud of," said JP Powers, Executive Director of the Student Hub.

Congratulations to all 16 honorees! Learn more about this year's recipients at the link in the comments.

It’s kinda chic… ⭐️🐻💙

Less than half of U.S. pharmacy programs sufficiently address complementary and alternative medicine, herbal products, and dietary supplements in their curricula. That's one of the findings three WNE College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences students brought to the national stage this summer.

Doctor of Pharmacy candidate Sumaiya Zakir presented research examining how U.S. pharmacy programs teach pharmacognosy, herbals, and CAM modalities, work conducted under the guidance of Associate Professor Dr. Natalia Shcherbakova. Student pharmacists Yanixa Quiñones-Avilés and Cecil James Buguis presented research on public knowledge and perceptions of genetics and pharmacogenomics, conducted with faculty mentor Dr. Shannon Kinney.

"As pharmacists, we need to be prepared to provide evidence-based counseling on herbal medicines, dietary supplements, and potential drug-herb interactions so that patients can make informed decisions," Zakir said.

All three students presented at the 2026 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting in Grapevine, Texas, one of the nation's leading gatherings for pharmacy educators and researchers.

Read the full story on their research: https://wne.edu/news/2026/08/Pharmacy-students-at-AACP

A new chapter in WNE history. 💙💛

The Western New England University community came together today at the installation ceremony of Dr. Joseph C. Hartman, as our University’s seventh president.

Surrounded by students, faculty, staff, alumni, delegates, and friends of WNE, the ceremony marked an important moment in our University’s history and the beginning of what’s ahead under President Hartman’s leadership.

Here’s to the next chapter for WNE and our Golden Bear community. 🐻

"We were inspired to make a gift in support of Western New England University because it helped me in my professional career, which enabled our family to live the American dream."

That's Bill Tilley '72MBA, who, along with his wife, Joyce, has made a gift supporting two of Herman Hall's most heavily used student learning spaces: the Alice J. Tilley Memorial Computer Lab and the Sophie M. Roman Memorial Math Center, named in honor of their mothers.

The gift will fund professional staffing, peer advisors, and ongoing technology enhancements in both spaces, which together serve students across science, engineering, business, health-related disciplines, and beyond. As Dean of Arts and Sciences Marcus Davis put it, the Tilleys are "helping our students build the quantitative, computational, and problem-solving skills they need to be leaders in tomorrow's careers."

Read the full story on how the Tilleys are investing in the next generation of Golden Bears. https://wne.edu/news/2026/07/Tilley-family-gift

For the 26th year in a row, Western New England University School of Law brought together alumni and students of color to celebrate how far they've come, under this year's theme, "Rooted and Rising: Honoring the Past and Inspiring the Future."

The Law Alumni Luminary Award, presented for the third consecutive year, went to the Honorable Tracy E. Duncan L'88. Her legal career spans more than three decades, from juvenile court in the 1980s to the United States District Court in 2023, and she now serves as an associate justice of the Superior Court for Western Massachusetts, only the second person of color in state history to hold the role.

Student speaker Alexis Serra and young alumni speaker Attorney Tasha Marshall L'16 also shared remarks during the evening.

Read the full story in our Summer 2026 issue of WNE Magazine. https://magazine.wne.edu/2026-summer/17-alumni-news-law-alumni-students-of-color.cfm