Faculty in the (VPA) and the (A&S) have received (NEA) grants to support their community-engaged creative arts programs.

The awards—$20,000 for a collaborative filmmaking production program aimed at Syracuse City youth and $18,200 for two years of artist residencies at a campus-affiliated cultural center—reflect the University’s commitment to connecting academic and creative work with the Central New York community.

Teens With a Movie Camera

Now in its third year, “” brings about a dozen local high school students to campus each summer for a three-week media arts production collaboration. Working with film faculty and University students, teens ages 13 to 18 make original short films using smartphones and everyday objects and then present them publicly.

Their work has been shown at the and at . It has also been screened in national and international film festivals, including the Thomas Edison Film festival, where “” won an honorable mention; and in the New Year/New Work Film Festival at The Film-Makers’ Cooperative��in NYC.

The program is co-led by , associate professor in VPA’s Department of Film and Media Arts; VPA film program alumnus G’23 and , a Guggenheim fellow and adjunct professor of photography at Onondaga Community College.

The trio is assisted by undergraduate and graduate film and media arts students. The program aims to empower teens by voicing their ideas through images and public presentation, according to Mišo Suchý. He says production relies heavily on improvisation “because it is undertaken as a zero-budget creative production based on the ethos of the tradition of independent cinema and low-budget experimental filmmaking.”

This summer’s program will explore themes of “defying gravity” and “overcoming the impossible.” Interested teens can apply on the program’s .

Community Folk Art Center

A second NEA grant of $18,200 will support “Rooted & Rising,” an artist residency program at the (CFAC), a University-affiliated cultural hub dedicated to promoting artists of the African Diaspora.

The residency is directed by , executive director of CFAC and assistant professor of African American studies in A&S. The grant will allow a program beginning in summer 2026 continuing through the end of 2027 that will support four artists over the two-year period. In addition to interacting with students in A&S programs, the artists will develop workshops, exhibitions, talks and free public events.

Jackson says the residencies will create meaningful opportunities for Syracuse University students to engage directly with working artists while also expanding access to arts programming for the Central New York community. They also offer the artists “the time, space and institutional support to develop new work grounded in public engagement and cultural dialogue,” Jackson says.

The project reflects CFAC’s mission to bridge scholarship, creative expression and community wellness through support of multidisciplinary artists.

More information about NEA grants and their impact on communities is available on the .

, 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.

“I’m 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,” Workman says. The group has gained momentum “because higher education recognizes the value of this support nationwide as integral to the national research landscape and vital to an individual institution’s research ecosystem,” she says.

Workman came to Syracuse 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’s 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse University Humanities Center and the Central New York Humanities Corridor, says Workman’s Corridor support has deepened scholarly community across the region and has had significant impact on Syracuse 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. “Many of these awards have been substantial enough to transform individual career trajectories and drive transformational work at the University and in�� 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 Syracuse 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,” Peñate says.

, associate professor in women’s 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����(EHN) Community Showcase offered a powerful reminder of what’s 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 Syracuse 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.

“This is an annual event where we showcase all of the projects, courses and community engagement happening all across the city and region,” says Mary-Jo Robinson, program manager for the EHN. “The hope is to demonstrate the incredible work that’s being done, broaden exposure to these projects and help strengthen connections between partners.”

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’s����and�� initiatives, the new��, sustained long-term partnerships and��.

The showcase underscored the continued growth of EHN since its founding in 2020 by��, Dean’s 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 Syracuse like the Northside Learning Center to the nation’s preeminent cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“The EHN approaches the humanities not as a bounded academic domain, but as a set of practices that span disciplines and permeate everyday life—across ages, institutions, cultures and communities,” says Nordquist. “The 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.”

Robinson emphasized that the event is as much about relationship-building as it is about visibility. “EHN exists to support this work and to help make connections,” she says. “When 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’s mission.”

Free and open to the public, the Community Showcase welcomed attendees of all ages and backgrounds, reinforcing EHN’s 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’s Artisan Pathways, Black Women’s Art Ecosystems, Black/Arab Relationalities Initiative (BARI), CODE∧SHIFT, 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 Syracuse 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’17 came to Syracuse, she was an emerging artist with a restless curiosity and a camera. That was in the early 1980s, when —the internationally recognized artist residency program on the Syracuse University campus—invited 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.

“Carrie Mae Weems’ work has long challenged the world to see with greater honesty and imagination, and she brought that same spirit to Syracuse University. Her presence here has strengthened our academic community in meaningful ways,” says Candace Campbell Jackson, senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud. “We 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.”

A Legendary Career

Over four decades, Weems has built a practice that spans photography, text, audio, video, installation and performance. Her series “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried” repurposed 36 appropriated images from the 19th and 20th centuries to interrogate the relationship between African American subjects and photographic history. Her “Kitchen Table Series” 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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—”Resistance as an Act of Love”—to 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

“Through her residency, Carrie Mae Weems has created opportunities for Syracuse University to engage deeply with some of the most pressing cultural conversations of our time,” says Miranda Traudt, the University’s assistant��provost for strategic initiatives and director of arts. “By bringing together artists, scholars and communities, she has helped make this campus a hub for dialogue that shapes contemporary art and culture.”

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, ��(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 Syracuse 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 ’28, discovering philosophy was anything but immediate. “In high school it felt abstract, inaccessible and frustratingly stuffy,” she recalls. It wasn’t until college that philosophy began to feel meaningful, and that transformation shaped her vision for Aurantium. “Philosophy doesn’t have to be confined to dense texts or exclusive academic spaces,” she says. “It can—and should—invite curiosity and conversation.”

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 “shared, challenged and reimagined,” 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, ��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 “low-pressure and supportive,” an ideal introduction to publishing. Equally important, Selthun was drawn to the publication’s commitment to public humanities. “The public-facing nature of the blog allows graduate students to apply what we learn beyond academia,” 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’s role in demystifying the publishing process. “There is a strong incentive to publish while in graduate school, but that can be daunting,” 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’s .

Reflecting on their involvement, editors Jules Vinarub and Kairo Rushing wrote in the introduction to the 2026 issue, “This publication relies on the willingness of Syracuse University students to be vulnerable enough to let their truth be on display—sharing themselves with you, allowing you to hear and see their stories.”

Throughout the year, students met with publishing professionals and authors like Rand Timmerman, member of the at Syracuse 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

��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 ’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.

“Their stories represented a powerful intersection of my two majors, writing and rhetoric and psychology,” 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.

“The 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,” 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 “untouchables.”

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 “Dalit,” meaning “broken” or “oppressed,” 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’s 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 Syracuse 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,” says Vivian May, professor of women’s 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,” she says. “It is our honor to highlight such a rich array of volumes (and diverse range of scholars).”

“The scholarship on display in Books in the Humanities reflects A&S’ commitment to bringing humanistic insight to the questions that matter most,” says A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi. “These 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:

• “Black Women’s Art Ecosystems: Sites of Wellness and Self-Care” (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.
• “Food Justice Rhetorics and Literacies” (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.�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��
• “The Gathering Table” (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.
• “Mothering in the Time of Coronavirus” (University of Massachusetts Press) by Amy Lutz, professor of sociology in the, Sujung Lee G’19, G’24 and Baurzhan Bokayev G’22, G’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.
• “Hungry Ghost” (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.