Music has always played a central role in Hilda Greenbaum’s life. Her mother was a conservatory graduate. Her father took weekly opera lessons.

As a teen and young adult, she attended concerts and theater performances. Her late husband, Louis—a longtime UMass Amherst history professor—was a singer. And one of their three children, Jessie, is the Principal Viola of the Naples Philharmonic. 

That deep, personal connection to the arts, and her concern for its future, inspired Greenbaum to make a generous $100,000 gift to establish the Dr. Joye Bowman Cultural Resources Fund Endowment at UMass Amherst.

The fund, named in honor of former College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) Interim Dean and History Department Chair Joye Bowman, provides support for students to attend plays, concerts, gallery openings, museum visits, and other cultural experiences across western Massachusetts, Boston, New York City, and beyond. 

“I grew up in a house with a lot of music, and my kids had the same experience. These days, though, it’s hard to get people excited to go to a concert or the opera,” Greenbaum says. “That was my impetus for this fund. We need supporters of arts in every way possible.”  

Greenbaum, who earned her bachelor’s degree in experimental psychology from Mount Holyoke College in 1958 and a PhD in psychoacoustics from Columbia University in 1963, worked with Bowman to conceptualize the endowment. 

They drew inspiration from a longstanding HFA program called New York Professional Outreach Program (NYPOP). Established in 1990, NYPOP brought students to New York City to meet professionals working in the arts. It gave aspiring artists a glimpse into what their careers could become and helped make the arts feel attainable and relevant.   

Though NYPOP ended during the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenbaum and Bowman hope this new fund will revive a similar spirit of exploration and inspiration among students.  

“I remember years ago as an undergraduate having an opportunity to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Students had a chance to meet and speak with the performers. Those kinds of connections can be life changing,” Bowman says. “They can turn a student into a lifelong lover of the arts.” 

Bowman recalls one instance in which she bought tickets for her history class to attend an on-campus student performance of “The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite,” by Wole Soyinka. 

“There was one young undergraduate who came up to me after the performance to say he’d never seen a live play, except for in grammar school,” Bowman says. “He was so taken away by the performance. It was a brilliant thing to see.”   

As for how Bowman feels to have the fund established in her name, she says it’s an honor.  

“I’m humbled by it,” she says. “I’m excited to see what it might become, and I’m hoping others will recognize its potential and make this program sustainable for years to come.”  

The Dr. Joye Bowman Cultural Resources Fund Endowment is the latest in a long line of generous gifts made by the Greenbaums. They have made several contributions to the university through the years, supporting scholarships in the Department of History and the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community. 

For Greenbaum, giving back is second nature.  

“It’s a family value. You grow up in a family that’s always giving back, and it sticks with you,” she says. “UMass allowed my husband many years to do what he loved most, to teach, and they’ve been supporting us. So now it’s nice to be able to give back in this way.”

With this newest gift, Greenbaum hopes to give UMass students meaningful access to the arts.

“I want to give students an opportunity to see what’s going on in the world,” she says. “We need to support artists and build an audience who can appreciate those who are producing the art—whether it’s music, theater, sculpture, or otherwise.”  

Bowman agrees, adding: “Arts and humanities programs are being defunded nationally, and the value of the arts and humanities is being questioned. We must do what we can to push back against that, to save the cultural institutions that we have, and to make sure that students understand that survival of the arts depends on a populus that understands why the arts matter. If people haven’t been exposed to the arts, how can they fight for them?”

Help expand student access to the arts by making a gift to the Dr. Joye Bowman Cultural Resources Fund Endowment today!