INNOVATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

INNOVATION IN THE ARTS & HUMANITIES

Associate Professor of Music Irina Muresanu developed a virtual reality experience in collaboration with Amitabh Varshney, professor and dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, that allows audiences to experience performances from her “Four Strings Around the World Project” in places tied to their history.

“BookLab” (below) is a new makerspace in the English department that challenges students to experiment with the potential of books—and make their own—by providing access to tabletop letterpresses, a metal type collection, a 3D printer and an extensive collection of innovative books for inspiration.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & SERVICE TO THE STATE

The School of Music’s residency program at the Collington Continuing Care Retirement Community in Bowie, Maryland, where two graduate students live in the community in exchange for organizing musical programming for residents, attracted national attention when the 2018-19 students were featured on NBC’s Today Show twice (right).

With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Associate Professor of American studies Mary Corbin Sies is collaborating with residents to document the history of Lakeland, an African American neighborhood in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The communication department is partnering with the Maryland Education Commission to produce public relations campaigns to promote the Maryland State Financial Aid Application to students who are undocumented and students with DACA status.

Students and staff from the National Orchestral Institute, a month-long training program at The Clarice for highly talented young musicians, traveled to Honolulu to teach and mentor high school students in Hawaii as part of the Pacific Music Institute.