, director of research development for the arts and humanities in the and the (A&S), has been recognized with the 2026 Innovation Award from the (NORDP).

The award recognizes professionals who advance research development through partnerships, new tools and techniques or the creation and sharing of knowledge that produces demonstrable results. Workman and her NORDP colleague, Allison DeVries of Chapman University, received the award in recognition of the evolution of the (CASSH) affinity group, which they founded in 2022. The group, which has grown to more than 150 NORDP members across the country, helps them marshal and create collective resources and share best practices, case studies and challenges in support of faculty in the humanities, creative arts and social sciences areas.

鈥淚鈥檓 honored to receive this award and proud to have had a part in bringing the CASSH group together four years ago when it seemed rare to have a designated arts and humanities research development staff member housed in an R1 institution,鈥� Workman says. The group has gained momentum 鈥渂ecause higher education recognizes the value of this support nationwide as integral to the national research landscape and vital to an individual institution鈥檚 research ecosystem,鈥� she says.

Workman came to 性视界 in 2019 and built a dedicated arts and humanities research development infrastructure from scratch. She now connects with more than 200 faculty across eight schools and colleges and partners with and several University-affiliated arts organizations.

Beyond campus, she is part of the , an 11-university consortium for collaborative research, teaching and programming. She co-leads its HF4 Corridor Futures and Initiatives working group with program manager Aimee Germain to offer professional development opportunities for faculty.

Impact on Faculty and Funding

Prior to Workman鈥檚 arrival, scholars navigated grant funding alone or through informal networks, often missing critical opportunities, says , senior director of research development in the Office of Research, who co-nominated Workman for the award.

She says Workman has contributed to faculty winning prestigious awards, including summer stipends, a and a grant. Workman has also supported a fellowship, an digital justice grant and several successful applications.

In 2025, Workman supported 64 grant proposals seeking $44 million in funding. She recently helped nine arts faculty and five organizations secure awards, making 性视界 the only university in the state to receive multiple awards in that cycle, Chianese says.

, professor of women’s and gender studies and director of the 性视界 University Humanities Center and the Central New York Humanities Corridor, says Workman鈥檚 Corridor support has deepened scholarly community across the region and has had significant impact on 性视界 faculty success.

“Sarah has been instrumental in several prestigious Mellon awards, including our first and ensuing New Directions fellowships and many other highly competitive awards and grants,” says May, who co-nominated Workman for the award. 鈥淢any of these awards have been substantial enough to transform individual career trajectories and drive transformational work at the University and in聽 wider communities locally and nationally.” May says faculty frequently remark about how much they enjoy collaborating with Workman and appreciate her support.

, assistant professor of music history and cultures in A&S, credits Workman with helping her secure a , a first for 性视界 among 200 competing institutions. “I am deeply grateful for her thoughtful engagement with my research and for helping make its relevance accessible to a broader interdisciplinary readership,” Pe帽ate says.

, associate professor in women鈥檚 and gender studies in A&S, says Workman’s guidance “proved instrumental in shaping two grant proposals into competitive, fundable projects. Her careful feedback led to key revisions that directly contributed to securing a major award from a private funder. In a context of shrinking funding, Sarah’s leadership has been indispensable for the success of humanities’ interdisciplinary, social justice-centered research.”

While Workman focuses on the arts and humanities, the Office of Research supports faculty across disciplines through a broader research development team. Researchers across campus partner with team members on proposal development, funding searches, cohort writing programs for competitive federal awards and strategic guidance on funding opportunities. Faculty interested in support for their projects can learn more about .

From insightful conversations to shared reflections on meaningful work, the聽聽(EHN) Community Showcase offered a powerful reminder of what鈥檚 possible when people come together in collaboration.

The event brought together faculty, students and staff from the University with community partners to celebrate projects that address local and regional needs and opportunities through research, teaching and creative work.

The third annual showcase featured panel discussions and table presentations highlighting dozens of initiatives connected to EHN, housed in the (A&S). Collectively, the showcased work represented collaborations across more than 50 departments from nine schools and colleges at 性视界 University, and partnerships with more than 75 community-based organizations.

Projects ranged from arts- and storytelling-based initiatives to STEM research and educational programs focused on community empowerment, environmental sustainability and cultural preservation.

鈥淭his is an annual event where we showcase all of the projects, courses and community engagement happening all across the city and region,鈥� says Mary-Jo Robinson, program manager for the EHN. 鈥淭he hope is to demonstrate the incredible work that鈥檚 being done, broaden exposure to these projects and help strengthen connections between partners.鈥�

The event featured panel discussions, allowing speakers to share lessons learned, reflect on challenges and discuss opportunities to sustain and grow their work. Panels focused on EHN鈥檚聽听补苍诲听 initiatives, the new聽, sustained long-term partnerships and聽.

The showcase underscored the continued growth of EHN since its founding in 2020 by聽, Dean鈥檚 Professor of Community Engagement and associate professor of writing and rhetoric in A&S. Today, EHN supports more than 350 collaborators from across the University and works with dozens of community partners locally and nationally, from neighborhood-based organizations in 性视界 like the Northside Learning Center to the nation鈥檚 preeminent cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

鈥淭he EHN approaches the humanities not as a bounded academic domain, but as a set of practices that span disciplines and permeate everyday life鈥攁cross ages, institutions, cultures and communities,鈥� says Nordquist. 鈥淭he work of the EHN is to recognize, support and connect these practices so that we can collectively respond to the demands of the present while sustaining long traditions of reflection, inquiry, creativity and learning.鈥�

Robinson emphasized that the event is as much about relationship-building as it is about visibility. 鈥淓HN exists to support this work and to help make connections,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen people come together in a space like this, it creates new possibilities for collaboration and helps ensure that community-engaged work remains central to the University鈥檚 mission.鈥�

Free and open to the public, the Community Showcase welcomed attendees of all ages and backgrounds, reinforcing EHN鈥檚 commitment to accessibility and mutual exchange. As the network continues to grow, the annual showcase remains a key moment to reflect on the impact of community-engaged scholarship in Central New York.

Projects and courses represented at the event included: The Refugee Assistants Program鈥檚 Artisan Pathways, Black Women’s Art Ecosystems, Black/Arab Relationalities Initiative (BARI), CODE鈭HIFT, Deaf New Americans CODA Tutoring Program, Documenting the Haudenosaunee Influence on American Democracy (EHN Engaged Course), Environmental Storytelling Series CNY, Geography of Memory: Unsettling Stories (EHN Engaged Course), Hear Together, La Casita, Advanced Methods for Language Teaching (EHN Engaged Course), ME/WE Art Therapy Lab and Studio, Mindfully Growing, Narratio, Native America and the World: The Haudenosaunee (EHN Engaged Course), Natural Science Explorers Program, NOON, Not in the Books, Indigenous Values Initiative, Poetry and Environmental Justice (EHN Engaged Course), Project Mend, Public Scholarship Certificate Program, Safeguarding 性视界 Communities, Southside Connections/Southside Stories, Stories of Indigenous Dispossession Across the Americas (EHN Engaged Course), Teens with a Movie Camera, Traveling Teaching (EHN Engaged Course), Visualizing Care and Resisting Gentrification, We/Re-do Shakespeare (EHN Engaged Course) and Write Out.

The first time Carrie Mae Weems H鈥�17 came to 性视界, she was an emerging artist with a restless curiosity and a camera. That was in the early 1980s, when 鈥攖he internationally recognized artist residency program on the 性视界 University campus鈥攊nvited her to come and work. She did not yet know that the city, and the University, would shape her life in ways she could not have anticipated, including meeting her husband, photographer and Light Work director Jeffrey Hoone.

Nearly 45 years later, Weems has come full circle. Appointed in January 2020 as the University’s inaugural artist in residence, Weems spent six years weaving herself into the fabric of the institution she had first encountered as a young artist. She is now concluding that tenure, leaving behind a legacy as layered and far-reaching as the bodies of work that have made her one of the most celebrated artists of her generation.

鈥淐arrie Mae Weems鈥� work has long challenged the world to see with greater honesty and imagination, and she brought that same spirit to 性视界 University. Her presence here has strengthened our academic community in meaningful ways,鈥� says Candace Campbell Jackson, senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud. 鈥淲e thank her for her leadership, her artistry and the lasting imprint she has made on this campus. Carrie has defined possibilities for what the artist in residency can be, and for this we are truly grateful.鈥�

A Legendary Career

Over four decades, Weems has built a practice that spans photography, text, audio, video, installation and performance. Her series 鈥淔rom Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried鈥� repurposed 36 appropriated images from the 19th and 20th centuries to interrogate the relationship between African American subjects and photographic history. Her 鈥淜itchen Table Series鈥� turned domestic space into a stage for intimate, complex narratives of Black womanhood.

The institutions that hold her work read like a map of the world’s great museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Canada, among many others. In 2014, she became the first African American woman to receive a solo retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, a milestone she noted had arrived “really late in the day.” Rather than simply presenting her exhibition, she transformed the Guggenheim’s auditorium into a five-day convening of artists, thinkers and performers

Her honors include the 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2023 Hasselblad Award, the Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship, the BZ Cultural Prize and the U.S. Department of State’s Medal of Arts. In October 2024, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presented her with the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony, the highest honor the United States government bestows upon artists. She was the first African American female visual artist to receive it. Weems has installed a permanent work that will be featured in the Barack Obama Presidential Library, opening to the public in Chicago on June 19.

Yet for all the accolades, some of Weems’ most telling work during her 性视界 residency happened in studios, classrooms and conference rooms.

Mentorship Flowing in Both Directions

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Weems went to her studio. She designed posters, billboards and campaigns that honored frontline workers. What began as a response to the situation in 性视界 became a national effort, eventually spreading worldwide. Shopping bags carrying text that she composed were distributed at food banks. Buttons, masks and murals went out by the thousands. Students were at the center of the work, packaging materials, designing alongside her and earning wages she insisted upon.

That insistence on reciprocity, on the idea that mentorship flows in both directions, threads through everything she did at the University. She founded the Institute of Sound and Style, a rigorous workshop for teenagers in 性视界 struggling against the weight of community violence.

Graduate students served as her assistants on the project, and she was candid about what she received in return. “As much as I found that I was helping them,” she said, “they were helping me as much as I was helping them. I’m not simply the giver. I’m also the receiver.”

In April 2024, she traveled to Florence to deliver a public lecture鈥�”Resistance as an Act of Love”鈥攖o students enrolled in the , reviewing the work of studio arts students there. She then brought eight of those students to Venice for the Black Portraitures conference, held in concert with the Venice Biennale.

Her “Monumental Concerns” convenings, which she organized through the University and were held at the Museum of Modern Art, drew hundreds of scholars, artists and thinkers into conversation about monuments, memory and contested public space.

Engaging Deeply

鈥淭hrough her residency, Carrie Mae Weems has created opportunities for 性视界 University to engage deeply with some of the most pressing cultural conversations of our time,鈥� says Miranda Traudt, the University鈥檚 assistant聽provost for strategic initiatives and director of arts. 鈥淏y bringing together artists, scholars and communities, she has helped make this campus a hub for dialogue that shapes contemporary art and culture.鈥�

At the celebration marking the close of her residency, held March 16 at Light Work, Campbell Jackson reflected on what it had meant to work alongside her. “You’ve shown us how essential creativity is to the strategic future of this institution,” she said, “and to our broader society.”

Weems herself was characteristically humble. “I never think that I’m doing anything that is important,” she said. “I just feel that I need to work at things that matter to me, that uplift me, that inspire me, that carry me.”

In an age when artificial intelligence can generate content instantly, the human ability to write with clarity, originality and critical insight has become more essential than ever.

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have ample opportunity to strengthen their writing through a rich landscape of publications and digital platforms. Aurantium, Broadly Textual, Intertext and Mend are among the outlets where students build strong portfolios, sharpen their professional communication skills and engage in experiential learning that prepares them for careers in writing, publishing, media and advocacy.

Aurantium: Making Philosophy Accessible and Alive

Like its namesake, 聽(the Latin word for orange) is vibrant, inviting and full of fresh perspective. Founded in 2023, this student-led undergraduate philosophy journal was created to invite curiosity, creativity and conversation across disciplines. Supported by the and the Philosophy Club, the journal publishes two issues each year: one focused on the 性视界 University and SUNY ESF community and another open to contributors worldwide.

Essays, reflections, creative writing and artwork all find a home in Aurantium, making it a space where philosophy is explored not as an abstract exercise, but as a living, interdisciplinary practice.

For editor-in-chief Brielle Brzytwa 鈥�28, discovering philosophy was anything but immediate. 鈥淚n high school it felt abstract, inaccessible and frustratingly stuffy,鈥� she recalls. It wasn鈥檛 until college that philosophy began to feel meaningful, and that transformation shaped her vision for Aurantium. 鈥淧hilosophy doesn鈥檛 have to be confined to dense texts or exclusive academic spaces,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t can鈥攁nd should鈥攊nvite curiosity and conversation.鈥�

As editor-in-chief, Brzytwa has made accessibility a guiding principle. She describes the journal as a place where ideas are not only preserved but 鈥渟hared, challenged and reimagined,鈥� with an emphasis on amplifying a range of undergraduate voices.

Broadly Textual: Building Community Through Public Scholarship

For graduate students eager to share their ideas beyond the boundaries of academic journals, 聽offers an inviting and meaningful platform. Overseen by William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor , the online publication highlights graduate student work designed for public audiences, featuring literary and cultural commentary, , and thoughtful explorations of digital media and identity. With its focus on a broad variety of subject matter, the publication encourages students to see scholarship as both collaborative and accessible.

Co-editor Elena Selthun first encountered Broadly Textual as a contributor during their first year of graduate study and quickly recognized its value. They describe the experience as 鈥渓ow-pressure and supportive,鈥� an ideal introduction to publishing. Equally important, Selthun was drawn to the publication鈥檚 commitment to public humanities. 鈥淭he public-facing nature of the blog allows graduate students to apply what we learn beyond academia,鈥� they say.

For fellow co-editor Meg Healy, the appeal initially lay in skill-building and community engagement. Over time, she gained a deeper appreciation for the publication鈥檚 role in demystifying the publishing process. 鈥淭here is a strong incentive to publish while in graduate school, but that can be daunting,鈥� Healy says.

Both editors emphasize the sense of connection the publication fosters. Selthun points out that graduate research can often feel siloed, and “Broadly Textual” helps bring students across departments into conversation.

Intertext: Celebrating Writing Across WRT Courses

For more than three decades, has celebrated writing by undergraduate students in the (WRT), and community partners. In April 2026, editors and contributors gathered to mark the release of the journal鈥檚 .

Reflecting on their involvement, editors Jules Vinarub and Kairo Rushing wrote in the introduction to the 2026 issue, 鈥淭his publication relies on the willingness of 性视界 University students to be vulnerable enough to let their truth be on display鈥攕haring themselves with you, allowing you to hear and see their stories.鈥�

Throughout the year, students met with publishing professionals and authors like Rand Timmerman, member of the at 性视界 University, whose essay about a is published in the 2026 issue along with a .

Any student who has taken a WRT course can submit their work to “Intertext,” and submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Students interested in joining the editorial team can enroll in WRT 340: Advanced Editing Studio. For more information, contact Professor Patrick W. Berry.

Mend: Amplifying Voices, Honoring Stories and Creating Purpose

聽is an annual publication started by , WRT associate professor, and is dedicated to celebrating the lives and creative work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, as well as individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. Featuring fiction, poetry and nonfiction on a wide range of topics, the publication offers contributors the freedom to explore personal experience while centering dignity, creativity and voice.

Editor Drew Murphy 鈥�26, who is majoring in writing and rhetoric, and in psychology in A&S, first encountered Mend as a junior through an Engaged Humanities course, WRT 413: Rhetoric and Ethics after Prison, taught by Berry. Guest visits from formerly incarcerated writers involved with Mend left a lasting impression.

鈥淭heir stories represented a powerful intersection of my two majors, writing and rhetoric and psychology,鈥� Murphy says, describing the experience as one that immediately sparked curiosity on both personal and professional levels. When Murphy learned about internship opportunities with , the decision felt natural.

鈥淭he opportunity to work with impacted individuals while contributing to a publication that shares their stories has been meaningful for both my academic studies and future career ambitions,鈥� she explains.

As Murphy prepares for graduate study in social work, she credits Mend with deepening her belief that thoughtful writing can contribute to meaningful change.

The in the College of Arts and Sciences observed Dalit History Month again this April with a two-part program featuring Chinnaiah Jangam, associate professor of history at Carleton University in Ottawa. Hosted on April 14 and 15, the program included a workshop and a public lecture exploring the history and present of Dalit communities in North America.

Dalit History Month was established by civil rights activists, inspired by Black History Month, to commemorate the intellectual legacy, activism and lives of caste-oppressed people, communities historically labeled 鈥渦ntouchables.鈥�

Caste, a form of structural oppression originating in ancient India, divides people into categories at birth, and members of Dalit communities continue to face discrimination and violence both in South Asia and across the diaspora. The term 鈥淒alit,鈥� meaning 鈥渂roken鈥� or 鈥渙ppressed,鈥� was adopted as an act of political self-identification.

On April 14, Jangam led the Anti-Caste Methodologies workshop for graduate students and faculty in Sims Hall. The workshop explored approaches for writing history from anti-caste and critical-caste perspectives capable of countering dominant narratives.

A day later, Jangam delivered his public lecture, “Dalit Diaspora and Anti-Caste Movements in North America,” at Watson Theater. He examined what it means to be a Dalit in North America and argued that the Dalit diaspora on the continent is as old as that of the Savarna (dominant-caste Hindu) diaspora.

Drawing on stories of survival and resistance, he highlighted Dalit-led community mobilizations and social equity movements in the United States and Canada, and showed how intersectional solidarity is reshaping diaspora identity politics.

Jangam is the author of “Dalits and the Making of Modern India” and translator of “Gabbilam (Bat): A Dalit Epic,” which received the Association for Asian Studies A.K. Ramanujan Prize for Translation in 2024. He co-founded the South Asia Dalit Adivasi Network (SADAN) in Canada, whose advocacy led the Toronto District School Board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission to address caste discrimination.

The events were organized by faculty members and of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, with co-sponsorship from the Humanities Center, South Asia Center, LGBTQ Studies, History, CODE^SHIFT, English, Social Science Ph.D. program, Engaged Humanities Network, Feminist Pedagogy Collective, the Dean’s Office and the College of Arts and Sciences.

From art ecosystems to social robots to how people grow and learn, University faculty, staff and students are writing, editing and illustrating the books the moment demands.

On Wednesday, April 29, the University鈥檚 will host its , to celebrate humanities-related works that hit the shelves in 2025 and the scholars behind them. The showcase will feature 44 books by 43 authors, editors and illustrators representing 22 departments or programs across 10 University schools, colleges and divisions. Check out the that will be recognized.

The reception, which will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Strasser Legacy Room, 220 Eggers Hall, is additionally supported by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Research and the 性视界 University Libraries. All are welcome to attend.

“While this annual event highlights individual scholarly accomplishments across schools and colleges, it also underscores how, collectively, University researchers are publishing cutting-edge works that enrich our understanding of the world around us, encourage us to envision our shared futures and invite us to unpack the past in new ways,鈥� says Vivian May, professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies in the and director of the Humanities Center.

“As labors of love, books certainly take some time to come into the world, from initial idea to publication,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t is our honor to highlight such a rich array of volumes (and diverse range of scholars).鈥�

鈥淭he scholarship on display in Books in the Humanities reflects A&S鈥� commitment to bringing humanistic insight to the questions that matter most,鈥� says A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi. 鈥淭hese works, spanning food justice, cultural well-being and the healing power of creative writing, show how the humanities drive meaningful change in our world. A&S is proud to support and celebrate this vital work.”

The books featured this year span a range of fields and topics. Many focus on sustaining communities and well-being through diverse means, bearing witness through creative writing and cultural reflection. Some of those titles include:

• 鈥淏lack Women鈥檚 Art Ecosystems: Sites of Wellness and Self-Care鈥� (University of Illinois Press) by Tanisha Jackson, assistant professor of African American studies in A&S. Jackson analyzes visual and personal narratives, historical archives and artmaking practices to reveal how Black women artists facilitate wellness through creative expression and cultural knowledge.
• 鈥淔ood Justice Rhetorics and Literacies鈥� (Bloomsbury Academic) by Eileen Schell, professor of writing and rhetoric in A&S. Schell presents the case that through understanding complex patterns of discrimination and social action in relation to land ownership and food production, we can begin to imagine and enact a more just and sustainable food system.聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
• 鈥淭he Gathering Table鈥� (Alfred A. Knopf) by Antwan Eady, illustrated by London Ladd, assistant teaching professor in the School of Art in the . This is a picture book about how a Southern family gathers around a special table for year-round celebrations that highlight the importance of family, community and coming together.
• 鈥淢othering in the Time of Coronavirus鈥� (University of Massachusetts Press) by Amy Lutz, professor of sociology in the, Sujung Lee G鈥�19, G鈥�24 and Baurzhan Bokayev G鈥�22, G鈥�24. The authors focus on remote and essential workers in Central New York during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the evolving demands on mothers as well as public policies that may have hindered their ability to balance work and caregiving.
• 鈥淗ungry Ghost鈥� (Arrowsmith Press) by Bruce Smith, professor of English in A&S. The book of poetry is based on Buddhist reflections.

Inform the Humanities Center about your upcoming release via.

The University is once again taking part in “,” the long-running celebration of visual arts organized by CNY Arts that spotlights the creative talents of avocational artists across the region. This year marks the program’s 53rd anniversary.

Active, full-time or part-time faculty and staff who paint, sculpt, photograph, weave, weld or create using a number of other media are invited to submit original work for the campus exhibition, “On My Own Time 鈥� Celebrating the Artistic Talents of 性视界 University Faculty and Staff.” The show will be on display at Bird Library from May 28-June 11 during regular library hours.

Artists must by May 15 and be able to submit finished pieces on or before May 28. Colleagues are encouraged to visit the exhibition and vote for their favorite piece in the People’s Choice Award.

A selection panel that includes a CNY Arts representative will also choose standout works to advance to the “On My Own Time Grand Finale,” a five-week exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art running Oct. 3-Nov. 8.

A reception for artists, University colleagues, family and friends will be held Oct. 8. Finale tickets will go on sale in September.

If you have questions or would like to volunteer to assist with the exhibition at Bird Library, email聽OMOT@syr.edu.

A group of 性视界 University students has spent months working with 性视界 youth, guiding them through theater, design and media workshops that will culminate in a live public performance this spring.

The students are leading (Theater Workshop), an annual, bilingual creative arts program based at on 性视界’s Near West Side.

The program, which involves and in addition to La Casita, delivers culturally oriented arts education for community youth, says , the University’s executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community. The workshops build dual-language skills, artistic presentation abilities and stage-presence confidence for children ages 6 and up.

The public performance will be held on Saturday, , at La Casita as part of the annual Arte Joven/Young Art exhibition, a celebration of visual art, music and dance. The event is open to the public.

Mutual Benefits

Taller de Teatro benefits both the students who lead the workshops and the children who participate, Paniagua says. “This program creates meaningful opportunities for University students to engage directly with the community while developing professional skills.鈥�

The structure of the collaboration creates a dynamic environment where students and youngsters learn from one another, she says. 鈥淪everal of the student instructors are studying drama and they are facilitating workshops alongside students from the creative arts therapy graduate program. Other students are contributing through documentation, photography, video and communications skills. In this way, the program becomes a multidisciplinary learning experience where students apply their training in a real community setting.鈥�

For young actors and for theater students in particular, the chance to gain experience as instructors early in their careers can open important professional pathways, Paniagua says. 鈥淭hey are learning how to guide creative processes, work with children and adapt theater practices to educational and community contexts. Ultimately, the efforts of those involved are tremendous and they allow La Casita to offer high-quality theater programming to local youth.”

Kate Laissle, director of education at 性视界 Stage, says involving 性视界 students as teaching assistants for this program helps inspire and train the next generation of theater educators while providing programming that supports community connections.

‘For Everyone’

鈥淭he ability to partner with La Casita and build on our relationship and its well-established programming also helps show that theatre is for everyone,鈥� Laissle says. 鈥淲orking collaboratively between performance, design and storytelling, students get to experience the depth and breadth of theater. Using multiple capacities of theatrical art-making lets young people use their creativity in ways that serve them best. It is outstanding to see the growth of the students, both school- and college-aged, over the course of this program.鈥�

This year’s student participants, who lead acting workshops and provide media support and documentation, are: GB Bellamy 鈥�27 and Sofia Slaman 鈥�27, acting majors, Department of Drama, VPA; Nashaly Bonilla 鈥�28, major, Department of Drama, VPA; Catie Kobland 鈥�21, G鈥�26, fine arts graduate and master’s candidate in VPA; Iman Jamison G’26, master’s student in , School of Information Studies; Sara Oliveira 鈥�29, film and media arts major, Department of Film and Media Arts, VPA; and Sophia Domenicis 鈥�28, , Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Three Presenting Partners

The program is possible because of a collaboration among three university-connected organizations:

• La Casita Cultural Center is a program of 性视界 University established to advance an educational and cultural agenda of civic engagement through research, cultural heritage preservation, media and the arts, bridging the Hispanic communities of the University and Central New York.
• Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact, celebrating its 50th year, bridges cultures and disciplines through exhibitions, poetry and聽 a permanent art collection. Its El Punto Art Studio has served youth since 2008.
• 性视界 Stage, the city’s leading professional theater, contributes expertise through acting and playwriting workshops that strengthen University-community connections and support literacy development.

When Tyler Neary 鈥�27and Orion Goodman 鈥�27 scattered flyers across campus last spring advertising a new AI club, they saw a critical need: students needed to be included in conversations about a technology that would fundamentally reshape their futures.

“AI was at the point where it could help people in every single major, in every single profession, in every single job,鈥� says Neary, a civil engineering major who co-founded United AI with Goodman, a biomedical engineering major, both in the (ECS). 鈥淲e realized this was no longer just a computer science thing.”

What started as a room of 10 people has grown into , a recognized student organization (RSO) with more than 100 members representing every single school and college and most majors. Since its fall semester launch, the club鈥檚 focus has been democratizing AI literacy and ensuring students from all disciplines have a seat at the table as this technology transforms society.

The group will host a on Saturday, April 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D鈥橝niello Building, featuring industry speakers, demonstrations and faculty research showcases.

Why Students Need Leadership in AI Development

For Goodman, the urgency became clear watching rapid AI development. “When I’m going through college, watching AI capabilities escalate, it can be disempowering鈥攁nd I figured my peers may be feeling the same way,” he says. “It felt threatening because there’s a small group of people making decisions about how the technology is being used, and others feel like they’re being left behind.”

That sense of being sidelined drove the co-founders to create what Neary describes as an empowerment space. “Something that we say a lot in the club is: don’t get used by AI, use AI to your benefit,” he says. “We’re the ones who are going into the workforce leading the charge and determining how we will use this technology now and into the future.”

The message resonated. Within weeks of tabling at campus events, students from ECS, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Whitman School of Management and the College of Visual and Performing Arts were showing up to meetings, eager to understand how AI would affect their fields and futures.

Bringing Humanities and STEM Into Conversation

When Alex Kahn 鈥�27, a junior studying citizenship and civic engagement and political philosophy in the | , discovered United AI, he wasn鈥檛 looking for coding or technical skills, but was compelled by the policy implications of AI that were dominating news headlines. “AI was in every story, across every industry, and it felt like there was no escaping it and how it will affect you,” Kahn says.

As United AI’s recruitment director last fall, Kahn became instrumental in broadening the organization beyond its engineering roots. His approach focused on relevance rather than technical expertise. The interdisciplinary composition has transformed conversations within the club.

“Having people from different majors and disciplines means having that understanding that everyone’s mind works differently,” Kahn says. “The people who are writing code are not thinking the same way as the person majoring in fine arts, and having that creativity along with those technical skills, you’re able to build and think much differently.”

Goodman appreciates what non-engineering perspectives bring to the table. 鈥淎s conversations around AI progressed, I began asking, 鈥榃here are the artists? Where are the policymakers? Where are the humanities majors?鈥欌�� he says. “A lot of the population was not behind building this technology and still isn’t鈥攂ut how do we provide a space for them to learn and join the conversation?”

From Concept to Creation: Student Projects Take Shape

United AI goes beyond theoretical discussion to hands-on application. Through four-week project cycles, students receive funding, access to premium AI tools and mentorship to develop their ideas.

Paige Siciliano 鈥�29, a computer engineering major, led a second-place winning project during her first semester on campus. Her team’s AI-powered schedule builder, still under development, helps students manage their time by generating personalized daily plans based on individual learning styles, fixed commitments and flexible tasks.

For Siciliano and her teammates鈥擭eha Redda 鈥�29 and Ria Yagielski 鈥�29鈥攖he project provided more than AI experience. “It really helped us find a way into the community of 性视界, and it helped us feel like we belonged,” she says.

Building Community Around Shared Curiosity

Beyond projects and programs, United AI has cultivated what Kahn describes as “a school of thought on campus.” During a debate night last semester, members discussed everything from business applications to environmental impacts to personal usage philosophy, with some participants there simply to understand the technology rather than use it. “Being surrounded by club members and in this community of lifelong learners, we focus our educational efforts to not just learn the technical side, but also on practical application,” Kahn says.

Siciliano emphasizes the club’s welcoming atmosphere. 鈥淲e came in as first-semester freshmen, two weeks into school. It didn鈥檛 matter if we had no background knowledge in AI or all the knowledge in the world鈥攖hey create an atmosphere that makes you want to learn about it and continue to grow.”

To join United AI, . To learn more, follow the organization on or .

性视界 junior Flynn Ledoux 鈥�27, an illustration major in the 鈥� (VPA) School of Art, has been selected as the winner of a VPA student design competition to create the official 40th anniversary poster for the 2026 .

Ledoux, who also majors in environment, sustainability and policy in the , will see his design featured on official 2026 festival materials and will receive a $1,000 cash prize.

In operation since 1982, 性视界 Jazz Fest has become one of the Northeast鈥檚 premier free admission music festivals, drawing world-renowned artists and tens of thousands of fans each summer to Central New York. Jazz Fest 40 will take place July 9鈥�12, with hosted across campus and at Beak and Skiff Apple Hill Campus in LaFayette, New York.

The competition was created after Jazz Fest founder and 性视界 alumnus Frank Malfitano 鈥�72 reached out to VPA Dean about holding a student poster design contest in honor of the festival’s milestone anniversary. The college issued a call for entries and received submissions from students across its schools and departments. Representatives of Jazz Fest then reviewed the entries and voted on the winners.

In addition to Ledoux, three other VPA students were recognized by the festival:

• Katerina Anastasopoulos 鈥�26, a senior environmental and interior design major in the School of Design, received second place.
• Kelsey McMillin 鈥�28, a sophomore illustration major in the School of Art, and Hayden Celentano 鈥�26, a senior film major in the Department of Film and Media Arts, tied for third place.

鈥淛azz Fest has always been about bringing people together through great music, and this year we’re celebrating 40 years of doing just that,鈥� says Malfitano. 鈥淧artnering with VPA to put a student’s work at the center of this anniversary felt exactly right鈥攊t connects our festival’s future to the next generation of artists.鈥�

“The 40th anniversary of Jazz Fest is a milestone worth celebrating in a meaningful way,” says Tick. “Flynn’s design is a testament to the exceptional talent we have here at VPA, and we’re grateful to Frank for giving our students the chance to be part of this iconic community festival.”

Jazz Fest 40 is presented by 性视界 University with additional support from the New York State-Empire State Development Corporation in association with New York State Assemblyman Al Stripe, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and the Onondaga County Legislature, Visit 性视界, National Grid, Amazon, JMA Wireless, RAV Properties, CNY Family Care, Empower Federal Credit Union, CNY Arts Council, the Central New York Community Foundation and numerous additional community partners across Central New York.

Stephen Kuusisto, Urayo谩n Noel and OlaRose Ndubuisi鈥攖hree poets whose work embody resilience, identity and the radical possibilities of language鈥攚ill present their work at the annual poetry reading on

The event, produced by Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact, takes place at the , where the 鈥�鈥� spring exhibition, which recognizes artists who live with disabilities, is currently displayed.

“This unique setting provides 聽much excitement for our Cruel April series this year,” says , the University’s executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community and Point of Contact director. “Just as the exhibition’s artistic expressions expand on ideas of creativity shaped by body, mind, culture and history, the works of the three poets enter into a dialogue across cultures and disciplines. Both forums offer varied perspectives on how artists navigate the world on their own terms.”

The poetry program begins at 5:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Poet and essayist is a University Professor and director of the . Blind since birth, Kuusisto has built a celebrated body of work that redefines understandings of perception and beauty. His poetry collections, 鈥淥nly Bread, Only Light鈥� (2000) and 鈥淟etters to Borges鈥� (2013), along with memoirs including 鈥淧lanet of the Blind鈥� and 鈥淗ave Dog, Will Travel,鈥� have established him as one of the most compelling disability voices in American letters. His work has appeared in Harper’s, Poetry and The New York Times Magazine.

is an internationally recognized poet and scholar, an associate professor of English and Spanish at New York University and a defining voice in Latinx and Nuyorican literary traditions. He is the author of the landmark study 鈥淚n Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam鈥� (2014) and the poetry collections 鈥淏uzzing Hemisphere/Rumor Hemisf茅rico鈥� (2015) and 鈥淭ransversal鈥� (2021), which was a New York Public Library Book of the Year. He is also the winner of the LASA Latino Studies Book Award. His work explores neurodivergence, migration and the politics of language. Cruel April is presented in partnership with the , , , and the .

’29, the 2024鈥�25 New York State Youth Poet Laureate, is a 性视界 student pursuing dual majors in biology and journalism. She is also a Coronat Scholar and Ren茅e Crown honors student and is enrolled in SUNY Upstate Medical University鈥檚 B.S./M.D. program. Her poetry draws on her experience with scoliosis, her Nigerian heritage and her commitment to uplifting marginalized communities. A premature birth survivor, she is the founder of The Finding Scoliosis Kindly Project and a Prudential Emerging Visionaries award winner.

鈥� paintings line the walls of her studio in Anchorage, Alaska. From 鈥渋con portraits鈥� to landscapes, her artwork holds a palpable verve鈥攃arrying a panorama of stories, ideas and interpretations with them, often centered on Alutiiq culture and identity.

From April 6-17, Infante Lyons will bring her visual and academic storytelling to 性视界 University as the 2026 . Her two-week residency is organized around the theme of 鈥淰isions of Resilience: Sacred Art and Storied Landscapes.鈥� Humanities Center Director Vivian May says she is excited about the many different ways Infante Lyons will engage the community through dialogues, lectures and seminars focused on her art, Indigenous cultural resilience, approaches to environmentalism and environmental activism, storytelling and more. Infante Lyons鈥� work, says May, “immerses us in a sense of place and asks us to build relationships across boundaries. Infante Lyons visualizes the sacred, imagines the environment and builds stories in ways that invite us to come together and imagine a more just future for all.鈥�

All are welcome to meet Infante Lyons and experience her work in person at an at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in Eggers Hall and at other .

Infante Lyons, a painter and multimedia artist whose work engages themes of Indigenous sovereignty, cultural resilience and environmental sustainability, was raised in Anchorage. After earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree from Whitman College, she studied at the Vi帽a del Mar Escuela de Bellas Artes and spent 18 years in Chile. Her maternal family is from Kodiak Island鈥攁 large island in the Gulf of Alaska and the ancestral homeland of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people鈥攚here her grandparents were commercial salmon fishers. She is a registered Alutiiq Alaska Native and has tribal affiliation with the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq corporation, Koniag.

鈥淚’m looking forward to conversations about learning from different cultures: the importance of a diverse mindset, the richness of looking at Indigenous cultures, how they see the world,鈥� says Infante Lyons. Turning to the future, she asks: 鈥淎nd then, how can you apply that to a conversation [about] where we go forward? It could be applied to sustainability, or how we get along as human beings, or how we get along with the rest of the world.鈥�

Notably, two new paintings by Infante Lyons will find a permanent home in the 性视界 University Art Museum. Melissa Yuen, curator at the museum, says Infante Lyons鈥� potrtaits “invite interdisciplinary conversation, highlighting humanity鈥檚 relationship with the environment, disrupting Eurocentric worldviews and celebrating the role women play in Alutiiq culture as connectors with the world.鈥�

These as-yet unnamed pieces, to be unveiled on April 7, each depict Alaskan Native women dressed in kuspuks. The works incorporate traditional and contemporary Indigenous designs, and each woman cradles an animal central to Alutiiq culture: a seal pup in one painting, an otter in the other. The compositions echo a 鈥淢adonna and Child鈥� style painting, complete with halos and other visual symbols of reverence.

In portraying animals in the style of sacred Orthodox paintings and iconography, Infante Lyons emphasizes an intimate relationship between humans and the natural world鈥攐ne that opposes Western models of extraction and domination. Relatedly, some of her upcoming events on campus will highlight how Indigenous mindsets forge new pathways for understanding and caring for the environment.

Chie Sakakibara, associate professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies and geography and the environment, says when she came across one of Infante Lyons鈥� icon portraits, 鈥溾�� she was speechless.

鈥淚 was immediately struck by the work鈥檚 powerful expressivity, as Linda brings together multiple elements鈥攁ncestral presences and sacred, spiritual words鈥攊nto the present, rather than relegating them to a past that no longer exists,鈥� says Sakakibara.

Sakakibara invites the campus and broader 性视界 community into a shared encounter with Infante Lyons鈥� artistic wisdom, and hopes the residency will spark some of the same kinds of connections she cultivates with students around traditional and land-based knowledge, cultural resilience, multi-species relations and the continuity of Indigenous storytelling.

For co-host Timur Hammond, associate professor of geography and the environment, Infante Lyons鈥� residency opens up new points of academic connection, particularly for his Spring 2026 course, ‘Geography of Memory,’ and for strengthening his ongoing collaborations with the (EHN). One of EHN鈥檚 projects includes an , developed with Infante Lyons, to help spark discussion and activity in the classroom and community.

While Infante Lyons鈥� work carries many layers of meaning, her creative process begins without a preconceived agenda. Referencing 性视界 creative writing professor and author George Saunders, Infante Lyons subscribes to the idea that 鈥渢he muse finds you.鈥� A blank canvas is an invitation for her to explore meaning, and to see her life experiences naturally flow out onto the canvas.

鈥淵ou come to the studio, you start something, and you may try to have a concept or an idea or a composition, but that will change,” she says. In being open to spontaneous inspiration during this creative process, 鈥測ou end up with a better piece of artwork,鈥� says Infante Lyons.

She hopes to inspire the same approach in those who come across her art. Her paintings鈥攁nd the conversations that arise around them鈥攏eed not uphold a rigid, absolute message. Rather, her work invites an opportunity for thought, exploration and emotion.

Story by Colette Goldstein G’25

From social media to television, popular culture is saturated with images of the rich and famous. But long before TV and the internet, portraiture elevated certain individuals while erasing others, promoting hierarchies of wealth, privilege and power. Exemplifying this historic trend in European art is a portrait titled “Tuccia, the Vestal Virgin” (1786) in the collections of the .

Recently cleaned and restored, the painting was made by聽 (1723-92), the first president of the 聽in London and the leading British portrait painter of his time. On view at the museum for the first time in five decades, as part of the exhibition “Human/Environment: 4,000 Years of Art” (through Spring 2029), the painting inspired this year’s聽聽on the politics of portraiture.

Depicting Rebecca Lyne (Mrs. Seaforth) as Tuccia, a Vestal Virgin, the image represents Reynolds鈥檚 reliance on Classical and Renaissance art to animate many of his portraits鈥攁n approach to portrait-painting that he advocated in his highly influential book “.”

Drawing upon the Vestal Virgins or priestesses of ancient Rome, Tuccia鈥檚 story highlights the virtue of chastity. However, Lyne was known to be the mistress of Richard Barwell, a powerful and wealthy East India Company merchant and administrator whose portrait Reynolds had also painted鈥攎aking the decision to present her as a symbol of chastity an intriguing choice, notes , associate professor of art history in the College of Arts and Sciences. Clothed in Bengal muslin鈥攁n Indian luxury鈥攈er face blushing with powdered rouge and her hair curled into ringlets, Lyne embodied the ideal of 18th-century British beauty.

鈥淗er portrait was displayed for six consecutive exhibitions at Thomas Macklin’s Poet’s Gallery in London, talked about in the newspapers, then circulated widely as an engraving鈥攆unctioning much like a viral image would today,鈥� says Melissa Yuen, curator at the Art Museum.

Nine 聽graduate students have been selected to receive 聽the Graduate Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Work at a ceremony hosted by the Graduate School on .

The event takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. in 312 Lyman Hall and will include presentations by the recipients. The campus community is invited to attend; .

This year鈥檚 competition drew applicants from programs and departments across the University. Winners were chosen by a panel of faculty members who serve on the . Honorees receive a certificate of recognition and a $500 award.

The 2026 Graduate Dean鈥檚 Award winners are:

• Yanbei Chen (instructional design, development and evaluation, School of Education), 鈥淧reparing Future Teachers for Responsible AI Use: AI-Related Teaching Anxiety, Protective Resources and Implications for Teacher Education鈥�
• Jessica Hogbin (history, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), 鈥淚nnumerable Melancholies: Medicine, Mental Health and Human Nature in Renaissance Italy, 1450-1650鈥�
• Dian Ling (multimedia, photography and design, Newhouse School of Public Communications), 鈥淒ocumentary Film, 鈥楾he Cycle Breaker鈥欌��
• David Ojomakpene Moses (chemical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science [ECS]), 鈥淒esigning 鈥楽mart鈥� Catalysts for Cleaner and More Efficient Chemical Manufacturing鈥�
• Christine Eunseol Park (public relations, Newhouse School), 鈥淣arrative Structure and Explanatory Link Strength in Low-Fit Corporate Social Advocacy: An Experimental Study of Perceived Authenticity鈥�
• Michael Seitz (bioengineering, ECS), 鈥淓ngineering Poly(ethylene) Glycol Hydrogels as Synthetic ECM鈥�
• Aditya Srinivasa (social science, Maxwell School), 鈥淚magining Infrastructure: The Rise and Fall of Interstate 81鈥�
• Elina Ruiqi Su (social psychology, College of Arts and Sciences [A&S]), 鈥淧erceiving to Provide: How Partner Attachment Perceptions Inform Buffering Behaviors鈥�
• Jiayue Yu (art photography, College of Visual and Performing Arts [VPA] ), 鈥淎fter the Photograph鈥�

In addition, five students received honorable mention:

• Kaia Kirk (political science, Maxwell School),聽 鈥淭he Black Cabinet: The Role of Movement-State Actors in Institutional Development and Policy Change鈥�
• Katie Mulligan (illustration, VPA), “Tales of Rattlesnake Gulch: An Illustrated History of Cicero Swamp鈥�
• Bixuan Ren (mass communications, Newhouse School), 鈥淲ho Deserves to Belong? The Influence of Partisan News and Anti-Immigrant Misinformation on Immigrant Deservingness and Policy Preferences鈥�
• Aliza M. Willsey (mechanical and aerospace engineering, ECS), 鈥淒evelopment of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Emission Control Technology for Combustion Systems鈥�
• Wusirige (human development and family science, A&S), 鈥淔amily Processes and Children鈥檚 Development across Social and Cultural Contexts鈥�

鈥淭he Graduate School is pleased to recognize these students as among the many talented scholars who are contributing to our community every day,鈥� says Peter Vanable, Graduate School dean. 鈥淲e applaud their ongoing progress in research projects and creative initiatives and enjoy the opportunity to showcase their work to the University.鈥�

On a February morning, members of the University community sat down at their keyboards with a shared purpose: to pull the voices of history out of the archive and into the digital age鈥攐ne keystroke at a time.

Gathering at the on Feb. 13 to mark Douglass Day 2026鈥攖he annual national celebration honoring abolitionist Frederick Douglass鈥攆aculty, staff and students spent the afternoon transcribing collected documents from the Colored Conventions, a Black political movement that spanned seven decades in the 1800s.

The large-scale nationwide transcription effort is a way to broaden digital access to historical documents for all who are interested鈥攃ommunity members, educators and scholars.

鈥淭he Humanities Center is proud to participate in this shared project each year,鈥� says , professor of women鈥檚 and gender studies in the and director of the 性视界 University Humanities Center. 鈥淚n just a few short hours, we can all pitch in to make a rich trove of knowledge in Black historical materials widely available via digitization, rather than stored in hard-to-access archives or separated across the nation in different libraries.鈥�

Illuminating How Social Change Unfolded

The documents included meeting minutes, proceedings, newspaper articles, speeches, letters, transcripts and images, drawn from both before and after the American Civil War.

鈥淭his nationwide, and now international, collective effort really makes a difference,鈥� May says. 鈥淔or instance, thanks to previous Douglass Day 鈥榯ranscribe-a-thons,鈥� today, we can easily access the 性视界, New York, 1864 Colored Convention program, 鈥�.鈥� Reading the speeches and engaging with this program helps us understand how this movement for social change unfolded across the nation but also right here, in .鈥�

Some students who participated were surprised to learn how many Black newspapers there were in the mid-1800s, and they could see the role of print journalism in getting people together to organize and advocate for civil rights, May says.

For example, with morning and evening editions of Black papers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it became obvious in transcribing different stories and announcements that newspapers were key to political organizing and functioned more like an Instagram post does today鈥攇etting the word out and bringing people together around a cause.

The University began partnering with Douglass Day and hosting an event to coincide with the national effort in 2020.

鈥淲e look forward to keeping up the annual tradition in honor of Frederick Douglass and Black History Month,鈥� says Diane Drake, assistant director of the Humanities Center.

According to the , the political gatherings offered opportunities for free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans鈥攂oth men and women鈥攖o organize and strategize for racial justice. The first Colored Convention was held in 1830 in response to Ohio鈥檚 1829 exclusionary laws and a wave of anti-Black mob violence that had forced 2,000 Black residents to flee the state.

That first meeting brought Black leaders together to contest widespread discrimination against Black communities, and a movement was born. More than 600 Colored Conventions were held at the national and state levels from 1830 to the 1900s.

Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland as a young man and became a national leader in the abolitionist movement, renowned for his oratory skills, in Massachusetts and New York, and for his newspaper in Rochester, New York, The North Star, which was an important tool in abolishing slavery and advocating for women鈥檚 rights and civil rights. The paper鈥檚 motto summarizes Douglass鈥� inclusive approach to human rights nicely: 鈥淩ight is of no Sex鈥擳ruth is of no Color鈥擥od is the Father of us all, and all we are Brethren.鈥�

Common lore is that Douglass did not know the exact date he was born in 1818, so in emancipation he chose to celebrate his birth on Valentine鈥檚 Day, Feb. 14. The Annual Douglass Day event is planned each year at that time.

for individuals to assist with the transcription from home.