Faculty Awards and Notable Accomplishments

Mason Faculty and Staff Awards

Emily Green, Associate Professor, Music (pictured)

Presented with the Teacher of Distinction Award from George Mason University

Amanda Kraus, Film and Video Studies

Recognized for her 15 years of service at George Mason University

Notable Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Samirah Alkassim, Film and Video Studies

Participated in the “Globally Connected Dissidence of the 60s and 70s” panel, presenting the work of Jordanian filmmaker Khadijeh Habashneh, for the online Global Women’s Film Heritage Networking Symposium that was organized by the Centre for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies (CCCMS) at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, held from January 10–14, 2022

Participated in the 2022 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference Roundtable, “Publishing on and Around the Middle East - Contemporary Directions and Challenges”

Sara Barger, Film and Video Studies

Hosted the DC Student Film Fest (sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and Women in Film & Video D.C.) at The Wharf on Friday, September 17, 2021, which screened 16 short films by student filmmakers in Washington, D.C.

Lisa Billingham, Music

Accompanied her student Bryan Stenson, DMA candidate in choral conducting, to present during poster sessions at the American Choral Directors Association, Southern Region conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

GLEN McCARTHY, MUSIC KJ Mohr, Professor, Film and Video Studies

Presented with the Adjunct Faculty Service Award from George Mason University

Samantha Sinagra, Academic and Program Manager, Film and Video Studies

Presented with the Exceptional Support Award from George Mason University

Robert Yi, Assistant Director, Art (pictured)

Named one of the top 10 academic advisors at George Mason University for the 2021–22 academic year

Tommy Britt, Film and Video Studies

Had a reading of his script Ashlee Knows presented by the Cindependent Film Festival

Hans Charles, Film and Video Studies

Worked as cinematographer for Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, a documentary of legendary funk artist Rick James, directed by Sacha Jenkins; the film screened at Tribeca Film Festival

Served as the Director of Photography on W. Kamau Bell’s new docuseries, We Need to Talk About Cosby, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022, and is now available on Showtime

Worked as the cinematographer for CW’s new series All American: Homecoming

G. Chesler, Film and Video Studies

Selected as an advisor in the inaugural ITVS Humanities Documentary Development Fellowship, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support independent documentary filmmakers and advisors working in the humanities

Rick Davis, Dean

Wrote the libretto for "Stations of Mychal," a song cycle for tenor, viola, and piano with music by Kevin Salfen, featuring former faculty, tenor Rick Novak. The cycle was performed at the late Fr. Mychal Judge’s home church in New York City as part of the 20th anniversary commemorations of 9/11 and has since had multiple performances

NIKYATU JUSU, FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES

MAY SANTIAGO, FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES

Niyati Dhokai, Veterans and the Arts Initiative

Named one of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education 2022 Emerging Scholars

Shared her presentation on “Expressive Coping Techniques” at the 2022 Virginia Women Veterans Summit

Emily Green, Music

Named a Mason Fenwick Fellow; The Fenwick Fellowship is awarded annually to a Mason faculty member to pursue a research project that uses and enhances the University Libraries’ resources while advancing knowledge in his or her field. Dr. Green’s research project is titled “Musical Practices of Early Black Virginians”

June Huang, Music

Shared a presentation on teaching communication skills through chamber music at the American String Teachers Association Conference, held from March 16-19, 2022, accompanied by nine Mason students: Joanna Zakzewski, Annette Lee, Jaclyn Kitcoff, Crystal Williams, Eddie Adams, Paige Sharkey, Brian Bera, Alex Keitt-Saenz, and Robert Katz

Juana Medina, Art

Published the children’s book I Will!: A Book of Promises, which was featured in the Washington Post as one of the best children’s books of 2021

Sang Nam, Game Design

Accepted into the Fulbright Specialist Program to work in Tunisia with colleagues in Le Centre International Tunis pour I’Economie Culturelle Numerique, which is the institution in charge of heritage (sites, monuments, museums, collections, cultural properties) to build capacity in game designing and virtual reality for their teams

Sang Nam and Eric Piccione, Game Design James Casey, Virginia Serious Game Institute

Presented at the 2021 5th UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC) in Mason Korea

Nikyatu Jusu, Film and Video Studies

Named one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch for 2022 Presented a talk on “How Game Communities Will Help Shape Education” earlier this year at Dublin Learning City, an international UNESCO conference

Darden Purcell, Music

Presented “Shaping the Sound: Attaining Authenticity in Your Jazz and Pop Vocal Ensemble” with the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Region conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

Premiered her feature film Nanny in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and received the Grand Jury Prize

Received the first ever Motion Picture Association Creator Award for Nanny; the film was screened at the New Directors New Films 2022 event presented by Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art

Ed Knoeckel, Music

Composed a score for the film Selahy, which was recently selected to be screened at the Bentonville Film Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas

Glen McCarthy, Music

Led a clinic for music educators in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the organization Teaching Guitar Workshops!; also serves as Executive Director of this organization, which helps school music educators start or enhance classroom guitar programs and deliver more music making opportunities to children

Kevin McDonald, Music

Presented his research “Hearing the American Civil Rights Movement in the Music of Max Roach” at the annual Jazz Education Network conference in Dallas, Texas

May Santiago, Film and Video Studies

Presented her paper “Queer Authorship, Spectatorship, Gaze, and Sensibility in Horror” at the Final Girls Film Festival in Berlin, Germany

Russell Santos, Film and Video Studies

Served as the editor for Jon Batiste’s music video Freedom, which won Best Music Video at the 64th GRAMMY Awards

Paul Zdepski, Art

Completed a solo exhibition covering the last 24 years of his work at the Shenandoah Museum of Contemporary Art