FACULTY EXCELLENCE

Our world-class faculty are breaking boundaries in research, teaching, mentorship and addressing issues around race, equity and social justice. They are dedicated leaders who excel in their fields of expertise and beyond. In 2023, nine of the 15 projects funded through UMD’s Independent Scholarship, Research and Creativity Awards were from ARHU faculty. Find a sampling of achievements from our faculty from the 2022–23 academic year on the next few pages. A more comprehensive view can be found at go.umd.edu/arhu-faculty-achievements.

Christopher Bonner an associate professor of history, and Robert Levine, a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of English, contributed interviews to the PBS documentary “Becoming Frederick Douglass.”

Caroline Eades, professor of cinema and media studies and French in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, was awarded a Residency Fellowship at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France Eades is working on a project that examines the contributions of Habib Benglia, the first actor of African origin in French cinema.

Ruth Enid Zambrana, a Distinguished University Professor in The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine Her scholarship has transformed our understanding of how social determinants of health influence outcomes for minority women and population health.

Philip Resnik, professor of linguistics, was named an MPower Professor by the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. He receives $150,000, allocated over three years, towards his research.

Antoine Borrut, associate professor of history, was awarded a 2023 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to finish his book about the role of astrological histories in early Islam.

Jared Mezzocchi, an associate professor in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, won an Obie Award and Helen Hayes Award

Professor of History

Richard Bell was the recipient of UMD’s Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize, recognizing a faculty member for a highly significant work of scholarship completed in the last three years. The award recognized his book, “Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home.”

Sayan Bhattacharya, an assistant professor in The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, received the Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies by the Center for LGBTQ Studies.

Professor of English and Digital Studies

Matthew Kirschenbaum was named a 2023 Distinguished University Professor, the highest appointment bestowed to tenured faculty by the university.

Assistant Professor of Arabic Anny Gaul received a National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipend grant to support her upcoming book “Nile Nightshade” about the rise and role of the tomato in modern Egypt.

Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies Shay Hazkani was awarded a 2023-24 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Scholars Conducting FieldBased Humanities Research in Palestine.

Associate Professor of Dance Performance and Scholarship

Crystal U. Davis received the National Dance Education Organization’s 2023 award for Outstanding Leadership in Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Peter Carruthers won a National Science Foundation Scholars’ Award, covering the 22–23 academic year, to write a book about affect and motivation.

Professor of History

Julie Greene, Professor of Theatre Performance

Scot Reese and Professor of French and Francophone Literatures Valerie Orlando were named 2023 Distinguished Scholar-Teachers

Notable Faculty Books And Podcasts

Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History

Jeffrey Herf’s book “Israel’s Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945-1949” won the Bernard Lewis Prize, awarded annually by the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa.

Neel Ahuja, a professor in The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Department of American Studies, received an honorable mention in the Association for Asian American Studies 2023 Book Awards for “Planetary Specters: Race, Migration and Climate Change in the Twenty-First Century.”

Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Siv B. Lie’s “Django Generations: Hearing Ethnorace, Citizenship, and Jazz Manouche in France” was awarded the 2022 William A. Douglass Prize in Europeanist Anthropology from the Society for the Anthropology of Europe. agijjfilfljlfknvk n,v kjfakbvhaillafklvaflkavnlaknklanalkaanlf

Associate Professor of Communication Catherine Knight Steele’s “Digital Black Feminism” received the 2022 Nancy Baym Book Award from the Association of Internet Researchers, the 2022 Diamond Anniversary Book Award from the National Communication Association and an honorable mention for the Rhetoric Society of America Book Award.

ARHU Dean and Professor of Ethnomusicology Stephanie Shonekan’s podcast “Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” won a first place award from the Public Media Journalists Association.

Professor Emerita of Classics Judith Hallett and her co-editors received the 2023 Bolchazy Pedagogy Award for their book “Ancient Women Writers of Greece and Rome.”

Grand Challenges

A multi-institution project based at UMD is focused on understanding and responding to inequities in oral health by reaching patients at public libraries. The two-year Narratives and Medical Education project, led by Michelle V. Moncrieffe, a lecturer in the English department, is placing predoctoral dental students and dental hygiene students at six libraries in California, Indiana, Iowa and Maryland to provide screenings and education along with students in English and professional writing who are using their skills to highlight the experiences of marginalized communities and seek to inform the public around issues of health access and disparities.

A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation is supporting efforts by UMD researchers to develop sophisticated predictive models and best communication practices needed to combat future pandemics. The team, which includes Xiaoli Nan, a professor of communication, is crunching voluminous data from the current pandemic to build a seamless, end-toend network that considers complex and interdependent biological, environmental and human factors.

UMD faculty and students are teaching writing skills to those incarcerated by Washington, D.C.’s Department of Corrections helping them share their stories and preparing them for higher education and job opportunities in the future. The work, led by Associate Professor of English Peter Mallios and Ph.D. candidate in English Elizabeth Catchmark, is part of a college bridge program developed and operated by the nonprofit Petey Greene Program.

In support of programs, initiatives and projects designed to impact enduring and emerging societal issues, the University of Maryland’s Grand Challenges Grants Program awarded $30 million in funding to 50 projects and 185 faculty members across every school and college on campus. Among them, ARHU faculty were the recipients of one Institutional Grant, three Impact Awards, four Team Project Grants and one Individual Project Grant.

ARHU faculty are partnering with colleagues across campus to focus on groundbreaking and impactful research on topics including racial and social justice, education, pandemic preparedness and ethical technologies. Their work will shape the future of our community, state, nation and world.

The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies celebrated its third annual commemoration of Harriet Tubman Day on March 10, 2023. The event, “Wanted: Harriet Tubman,” examined art, politics and identity and featured speakers including Ernestine “Tina” Wyatt ’95, Tubman’s greatgreat-great-grandniece, pictured third from left. Pictured above (left to right): Neda Atanasoski, Chair of The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Stephanie Shonekan, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities; Tina Wyatt; Adrienne L. Childs, Adjunct Curator, The Phillips Collection (moderator); Nina Cooke John, founding principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design (speaker); and Mike Alewitz, labor activist and muralist (speaker).

The Center for Literary and Comparative Studies (CLCS) in the Department of English launched the CLCS Awards in the Public Humanities—$2,500 each to six projects led by graduate students and professional track faculty in the department that seek to connect research and teaching to current problems and captivate audiences beyond the university. Projects in the inaugural cohort ranged from workshops for teens to a podcast and were all in support of the principles and practices of CAARES, the department’s Committee for Antiracism, Accessibility, Respect, Equity, and Social Justice.

The inaugural Maryland Humanities Summer Institute, an initiative of the new Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities enrolled 20 middle and high school teachers from the region for seminars led by ARHU faculty members. Organized by Associate Dean for Academic Affairs GerShun Avilez, topics included how to handle cheating and academic misconduct, teaching about hip-hop culture and Frederick Douglass’ legacy.

The Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies presented “Il Cinema Ritrovato ON TOUR,” a festival of restored films in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna film archive. They also partnered with the National Gallery of Art for two special programs, including a Buster Keaton Celebration. During this celebration, School of Music musicians performed an original composition by Donald Sosin to accompany three silent films.

Cy Keener assistant professor of art, collaborated on an exhibition at the National Academy of Sciences which documented Arctic ice that is disappearing due to climate change. It was the result of almost four years of trips to the Arctic in which Keener and his collaborators placed trackers onto the ice to collect data with the hopes of making that information tangible and visceral.