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ARHU Year in Review 2023-24

"Now more than ever, the world needs the arts and humanities for their role in helping us to recognize our interdependence,  act with empathy and  create a more just  and joyful world."

Message From The Dean

As I enter my third year as dean of this wonderful college, I am reflecting on the many accomplishments by our faculty, staff and students that remind us why the academy is critical to our society. I am so proud to lead this community of inspired art makers and thoughtful world changers. During a year that tested our resilience and resolve, faculty, students and staff in the college led groundbreaking research, innovative teaching and community engagement activities. They explored the complexities of these times through literature, history, philosophy, languages, the arts and more, providing critical insights and fostering dialogue and understanding. They showed how our disciplines can help us make sense of our experiences, nurture empathy and inspire hope. 

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Click through to view the Year In Review on Issuu, or scroll down to view the digital version.

Boren Scholarship Winners

Boren Award recipients

Six undergraduate ARHU students received Boren scholarships to study abroad during the 2024–25 academic year in world regions critical to U.S. interests. The scholarships are part of the Department of Defense's National Security Education Program and provide for up to $25,000 for two semesters of critical language study. In exchange for funding, Boren Award recipients agree to work in the federal government for a period of at least one year.  

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Student Excellence

Last year, 21 ARHU students won national scholarships and awards, and 280 ARHU students studied abroad in 30 different countries. Our graduates excel in a range of careers and pursue graduate education, and our alumni are making waves as artists, entrepreneurs, diplomats, archivists, journalists, entertainers, scholars, educators, lawyers, doctors and more.

Scroll down for more stories of student and alumni excellence.

The M at UMD.

Undergraduate Highlights

Lylah Messinger ’25

Art history major Lylah Messinger ’25 managed and conducted a project supervised by the Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture to conserve and restore an ancient Etrurian hydria, a rare type of water jar used in burials in Italy. Held in the collection of UMD’s Department of Art History and Archaeology, it’s one of only around 40 such vases in the world.  

Shyanne Sellers ’25 & Jessica Stevens ’24

Shyanne Sellers ’25, communication, was ranked a Top 25 player in women’s college basketball. Trampoline gymnast Jessica Stevens ’24, a Russian studies minor, competed in the Olympics in Paris, France. 

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Jenna Dietrich ’24

Jenna Dietrich ’24, clarinet and music education, spoke on Capitol Hill about the diversification of music education, the use of technology in educational settings and the state of teaching post-pandemic.

Roshawnna Brinkley ’25

History major Roshawnna Brinkley ’25 participated in a 10-week internship program through the U.S. Law and Race Initiative at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, funded by the National Science Foundation. She conducted research on African American studies, gender and race in early American law.

Graduate Highlights

Devon Betts

Devon Betts, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of American Studies, was awarded the first annual Bonnie Thornton Dill Dean’s Graduate Research Award to support his research on how “paranoia influences Black Americans’ health decisions.”

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Dylan Lewis

English doctoral candidate Dylan Lewis was named to the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, a prestigious community of scholars housed at the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.

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Sathvik Nair

Ph.D. student in Linguistics Sathvik Nair was awarded three years of financial support through the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. 

Juliet Huang and Zoe Copeman

Art history Ph.D. students Juliet Huang and Zoe Copeman won highly prized History of Art Institutional Fellowships from the Kress Foundation, two-year, $60,000 fellowships attached to six centers  in the United Kingdom and Europe for the advanced study of European art history.

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More Stories of Student and Alumni Excellence

Undergraduate

Graduate

Alumni

Alumni Spotlight

Kia Corthron ’84

Kia Corthron ’84, who studied radio, television and film, was the playwright behind “Tempestuous Elements,” which premiered in February at Arena Stage and tells the story of Anna Julia Cooper, an advocate for Black education whose story has largely been forgotten by history. 

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Kristina London ’19

Kristina London ’19, communication, landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 music list for her role as founder of Amplify Her Voice, an L.A.based nonprofit that connects women with record company internships and mentors in  the music industry.

Temim Fruchter ’02

Part folk tale, part queer romance and part Jewish family saga, Temim Fruchter’s ’02, English, MFA ’19 widely lauded debut novel, “City of Laughter,” tells the story of a grieving daughter who dives into her family’s tangled past to find peace  in her own life.

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Emily Guskin ’06 & Arelis R. Hernández ’09

Two ARHU alums were on the team at The Washington Post that won a Pulitzer Prize for its series on the AR-15: Emily Guskin ’06, government and politics and communication, and Arelis R. Hernández ’09, journalism with a minor in Latino/a studies.

World-Class Faculty

Our world-class faculty are breaking boundaries in research, teaching and mentorship,  and addressing issues around race, equity and social justice. They are dedicated leaders who excel in their fields of expertise and beyond. Find a sampling of achievements from our faculty from the 2023–24 academic year on the next few pages.

Faculty Achievements, Books and Podcasts

ARHU’s “Harmony of Interdisciplinarity” Fellowship Program

Harmony Fellows

ARHU’s “Harmony of Interdisciplinarity” fellowship program was launched by Dean Stephanie Shonekan in Fall 2023 to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum, research and programming. In total, seven pairs of fellows from across campus were awarded in the program’s inaugural year to work on projects including a plan for more public art on campus; an exhibition that visually represents engineering research at UMD; a digital humanities project to map Maryland’s ethnic culinary histories; and more. 

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Public Humanities And Partnerships

Persian Flagship

The Persian Flagship Program, offered through the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures since 2008, was renewed for another four-year grant cycle following a national open competition for the grant. The federally-funded program provides students with the opportunity to obtain a professional level of Persian language skills by the time they graduate, as well as a deep understanding of the life and cultures of the Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The University of Maryland hosts the only Persian Flagship program in the United States.

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The Arts

DRSK_Sculpture Unveiling_PhotosbyDylanSingleton-DriskellCenterStatueUnveiling_04042024_DS_5116

"David's Dream" Sculpture

“David’s Dream,” a sculpture composition by contemporary artist Melvin Edwards funded by a $790,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was dedicated in front of the David C. Driskell Center. Standing over 20 feet tall, it commemorates the late Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, groundbreaking artist and center namesake, and his mission to highlight the rich legacy of African American artists. 

Read the full story in Terp Magazine
arts for all community mural

Community Mural

Following her successful exhibition “Chromatic Dialogue” at the UMD Art Gallery in the spring, award-winning visual artist and LGBTQ activist Lisa Marie Thalhammer led attendees of Maryland Day in the creation of a community mural at the Arts for All tent on McKeldin Mall. The vibrant “Love for All” mural was painted by hundreds of participants on a series of panels.

 

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More arts stories

Arts for All Advisory Council

ARHU launched the Arts for All Advisory Council, a group of influential, dedicated UMD donors and alumni that will assist  and advise the dean and Arts for All  director by building partnerships and leveraging the University of Maryland’s position as an arts leader. Council  members include: 


Dave Baggett ’92  
Nancy Clarvit ’78  
Ashley Manning Foxworth ’06  
Carol Goldberg ’62  
Leslie Hardware, M.D.    
Randall “Randy” Lord ’77  
Catherine “Kip” Young ’89

Giving

The Tretters

Alumni Carl and Beryl Tretter committed to enhancing the endowment for the Tretter Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship in Violin, creating a new professorship in the School of Music. Professor Irina Muresanu, an acclaimed concert violinist, currently holds the position. 

The Prom

Trustee Randy Lord ’77 and his husband Steve Fessler launched a generous multiyear fund to support large scale theatrical productions in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. In September 2023, the school produced “The Prom,” an award-winning musical by Matthew Sklar. The production won three Broadway World Regional awards, including the award for Best Musical in the Washington, D.C., region.  

Support for the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies

Since 2015, businessman Farshid Assemi has supported the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies. His initial gift empowered the institute to hire distinguished faculty member Navid Bazargan, who continues to teach at UMD as an assistant clinical professor. A new gift will enable Bazargan to start a multilingual literary journal in Persian and English housed in the Roshan Institute. Fatemeh Keshavarz, chair and director of the Roshan Institute, said she is “deeply grateful to Farshid for his continued support.” She added that the new journal will encourage “collaboration between scholars of different training and background.”

Faculty-Supported Funds 

Associate Professor Emerita Mary Corbin Sies established the Sies Endowed Student Support Fund in American Studies, which will support incoming graduate students in the Department of American Studies.

Professor Emerita Lillian Doherty established the Doherty Pedagogy Endowed Program Support Fund in Classics to provide programmatic support for pedagogical initiatives related to the study of Latin and Greek language and culture within the Department  of Classics.

 “Year in Review” is published by the Office of Marketing  and Communications in the College of Arts and Humanities.  To receive additional copies of this publication, please contact the Dean’s Office at 301.405.2090.

Learn more about college leadership and academic programs.

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