Voices Spring 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND FINE ARTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

RAZAN HADIDI AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

SPRING 2021

PRESIDENT M. David Rudd EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS Tammy Hedges DEAN Dr. Anne Hogan EXECUTIVE EDITOR Casey Hilder PHOTOGRAPHY Jamie Harmon Brooke Simpson ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN University of Memphis Division for External Relations PUBLISHED BY University of Memphis College of Communication and Fine Arts 232 CFA Building Memphis, TN 38152 901.678.2350 memphis.edu/ccfa To submit story ideas, alumni updates or other CCFA-related inquiries, please contact Casey Hilder at CCFA@memphis.edu.

The University of Memphis does not discriminate against students, employees or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, status as a protected veteran, genetic information or any other legally protected class with respect to all employment, programs and activities sponsored by the University of Memphis.

For inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, please contact the Director for Institutional Equity, kpndrsn1@memphis. edu, 156 Administration Building, 901.678.2713. The University of Memphis policy on nondiscrimination can be found at policies.memphis.edu/UM1381.htm.

UOM502-FY1920/1M

contents CCFA | SPRING 2021

2

p9

Dean’s Message

4 Remembering Rudi & Honey Scheidt 8

Innovation Takes No Breaks

12 Student Profile: Razan Hadidi

p4 16 The Sound of Progress 20 Creative Collaborations 24 Faculty Profile: Sachiko Terui

p12

26 Faculty Profile: Michael Schmidt 28 Faculty Profile: Jay Gilmore 32 A New Way to Learn 34 Chair Spotlight: Jacob Allen 36 Director Spotlight: Kevin Sanders 38 News & Notes 44 Thank You Donors

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D E A N ’ S M E S SAG E

I

T IS MY GREAT PLEASURE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE 2021 ISSUE OF VOICES. I hope you will enjoy reading about the exciting projects that the College of Communications and Fine Arts (CCFA) community is engaged in, and about the achievements of our talented students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners and friends.

Every academic discipline within CCFA and, indeed, our collective sociocultural habitat, have been profoundly transfigured by both the ravages of the Coronavirus pandemic and a national reckoning with racial and other inequities. Looking back to the beginning of our spring 2020 semester, surely no one could have fully envisioned the scale of the public health, economic and civic disruptions that were about to transpire. The challenges posed by the turbulence of the times are acute, and my heart goes out to CCFA colleagues and students, and to their family and friends, who have suffered loss and hardship.

Yet in the midst of much uncertainty, our CCFA community has demonstrated an extraordinary level of creativity, resilience and commitment to ensuring an inclusive and inspiring learning environment for our students. I am deeply impressed by the compassion and support that CCFA’s faculty and staff have offered to our students and to each other,

2 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

and by the college's determination to innovate and thrive amid a global pandemic (see page 8).

This issue of Voices highlights some, but hardly all, of CCFA’s recent endeavors. It also showcases the college’s indefatigably creative spirit and empathetic ethos. The impactful outputs of that creative spirit serve not only as examples of best practice in higher education, but also as conduits of hope and inspiration for the local and broader creative and cultural sectors.

I am thrilled that CCFA has implemented a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee comprised of faculty, staff, students, part-time instructors and community partners.

This committee aims, as its mission statement reads, “to cultivate and support diversity, equity and inclusion through creative expression and communication.” CCFA is united in affirming the urgency of our civic responsibility as educators, scholars and practitioners to accelerate our efforts to foster an inclusive and collaborative academic culture. This new committee will inform and support other evolving high priority strategies designed to expedite our efforts to promote a more equitable society.

The recent progress taking place on the construction of the new Scheidt Family Music Center is quite an amazing sight for anyone passing

down Central Avenue. It was an honor for me to know Rudi and Honey Scheidt, and we have all been deeply saddened by their passing. CCFA colleagues and friends will never forget their passion for the arts and their dedication to our students (see page 4). I am most sincerely grateful to the Scheidt family and to so many others who have generously enabled the vision of a state-of-the art music center to become a reality. The Scheidt Family Music Center will bestow upon the Rudi E. Scheidt School a stunning educational environment and venue for music of many genres. This beautiful music center will also serve to enhance the renown of every CCFA department by facilitating greater visibility and access to the emerging Central Avenue Arts Corridor; and to CCFA performances, concerts, exhibitions, events and public lectures.

The University of Memphis is excited to announce the establishment of the Institute for Arts & Health. This new Institute has evolved from crossinstitutional efforts initiated by CCFA colleagues over two years ago to bring together scholars and community partners from multiple disciplines broadly interested in the arts and health. The founding aspiration was to share expertise, discover synergies, and to incubate and secure funding for transdisciplinary research and community engagement. Attaining Institute status will augment the reach and impact of this important work, which is one of many unique facets of CCFA’s thriving and collaborative research culture (see page 20).

It was likewise exciting to see the launch of WYXR, Memphis’s "next wave of radio" (see page 18). A nonprofit venture between the UofM, Crosstown Concourse, and The Daily Memphian; the new station has already made 91.7 FM a favorite spot on the radio dial.

A key aim for this new venture is to expand curricular and non-curricular

student engagement with the station — both at Crosstown and through a student-led campus-based internet broadcast. It has been wonderful to see the energy that our students are already bringing to the station, and we look forward to sharing with CCFA and all UofM students more ways in which they can be a part of WYXR. The high caliber of our college's programs and creative activities would not be possible were it not for the productivity of the outstanding people who comprise it. This spring’s issue offers ample evidence of the strength of our community by spotlighting students such as Razan Hadidi (page 12); our newest chairs, Jacob Allen and Kevin Sanders; and faculty members Sachiko Terui, Michael Schmidt and Jay Gilmore.

The News and Notes section offers a broader snapshot of the breadth and quality of the people who make up our diverse and forward-thinking college.

I firmly believe that fine arts and communication disciplines will play a leading role in guiding our local and broader community to astutely navigate our increasingly interconnected world, and that CCFA is achieving ever greater renown for the excellence of its programs and student support, and for the cutting-edge quality of its research and creative activity.

I hope this issue of Voices helps keep you apprised of CCFA’s values and aspirations, and I welcome you to subscribe, if you have not already, to the online Voices blog (blogs.memphis.edu/ccfa).

On behalf of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, I thank you for your interest in, and support of, our college. I wish you and your loved ones health, peace and happiness for 2021 and beyond.

Kindest regards, Dr. Anne F. Hogan, Dean

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REMEMBERING RUDI & HONEY SCHEIDT

E L E VAT I N G

the Arts

CELEBRATING THE STORIED LIVES AND UNYIELDING SUPPORT OF ONE OF MEMPHIS’ MOST PROMINENT PHILANTHROPIC COUPLES 4 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

T

HE 152 DAYS THAT PASSED BETWEEN THE DEATH OF RUDI SCHEIDT ON APRIL 12 AND HONEY SCHEIDT on Sept. 11 of last year was likely the longest stretch of time the couple had been apart in more than 60 years of marriage. The Scheidts are remembered by many as possibly the greatest givers in University of Memphis history with a prevailing appreciation for arts and culture on a grand scale.

“It was such an honor to meet both Rudi and Honey the very moment I came onboard at the University of Memphis in spring of 2017,” said Dr. Anne Hogan, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “I have

been so deeply impressed by their indefatigable support of the arts here at the University of Memphis and in the community at large.”

Rudi Egon Scheidt was born in 1925 and immigrated to San Francisco from Frankfurt, Germany, at the age of 11, fleeing the rising tides of fascism and anti-Semitism in pre-WWII Central Europe. He met his wife, Helen “Honey” Hohenberg, in New York City while working for Shell Oil Company.

The pair married in 1954 and moved to Memphis soon after, which led to Rudi taking a job with Honey’s family’s Hohenberg Bros. Cotton Company, where he would eventually work his way to the position of CEO and chairman.

Since then, Rudi and Honey Scheidt have donated millions of dollars to various causes and become well-known advocates of all things artistic through a strong presence on the board of directors for organizations like Opera Memphis and the Memphis Music Commission. At the University of Memphis, few have made an impact on the quality of artistic education quite like Rudi Scheidt, who elevated the music program in a tremendous way by providing financial resuscitation for the opera program and transforming the thenDepartment of Music into the eponymous Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music with a $3 million gift bestowed in 2000.

“The School of Music could not have asked for better friends than Rudi and Honey Scheidt,” said its director, Dr. Kevin Sanders. “Their unbounded enthusiasm for the mission of the School and their support of our programs over the years empowered students to pursue their dreams. Their legacy will continue to live on."

For students, faculty and staff of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, the impact the Scheidt family has made over the years is immeasurable.

“Every student who passes through our program is affected by the tremendous generosity of the Scheidt family,” said Dr. Randal Rushing, professor of voice and former director of the School of Music.

THE SCHOOL OF

”

MUSIC COULD NOT

HAVE ASKED FOR BETTER FRIENDS THAN RUDI AND HONEY SCHEIDT.”

– DR. KEVIN SANDERS

Rushing has been with UofM since 1990 and credits the contributions of the Scheidt family for helping the School of Music minimize job loss and direct impact during the 2008 financial crisis.

“As faculty member, associate director and director of the School of Music, I had the opportunity to see just how much Rudi and his family have given over the years and what an impact that’s made,” he said.

In addition, Rushing acknowledged that financial gifts from the Scheidt family attracted higherquality undergraduate and graduate students to the opera program, allowing for an expanded breadth of repertoire, as well as helping facilitate things like extra scholarships and funding for instruments, student travel to auditions and countless young artist programs, which in turn greatly enhanced the reputation of the school.

“There are experiences and things that our students have participated in that simply would not have been possible without the help of the Scheidt family,” Rushing said. “Their contributions have affected hundreds and hundreds of lives, both directly and indirectly.”

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One such life is that of former student Marcus King (MA ‘20). King entered the UofM as a solo classical music major and met Rudi Scheidt a few years into the program at a Metropolitan Opera National Council audition held on campus.

“He would attend those competition shows often and that’s when he first heard me sing,” King said. “He was very impressed and very supportive. So much so that he would personally offer scholarship money for me to study abroad in 2008, which really changed my life.”

The newly-discovered baritone performer would soon find himself on a monthlong trip to Italy, which was his first of many trips outside the United States as a professional opera singer.

“I had never been out of the country at that point in my life,” King said. “Today, I’ve spent plenty of time out of the country, mostly as a performer. But it all started with that first trip.”

King has since made a career of traveling, returning to Italy to sing, spending a summer performing in Austria, participating in two operas in the UK, touring Japan for a month and even appearing at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall as a soloist. He now works as an adjunct professor of voice at Rhodes College.

“I’m very fortunate that the people at the University of Memphis, and the Scheidts in particular, saw that potential in me and allowed me to pursue my passion in a way I never thought possible,” he said. “Even after graduation he was very supportive, and I loved seeing [Honey and him] around town at various operas and donor events. He was an advocate for me, and I will be forever grateful for that.”

Ben Smith, opera stage director with the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, recalls that his conversations with Rudi would always circle back to his consistent belief that the school of music had enormous talent in its halls.

“I came to the University of Memphis in 2015 knowing that opera was a big part of the mission here at the School of Music, and that Rudi’s support was a big component of that,” he said. “He truly believed in the quality of our students and faculty. One

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”

IF I CAN REACH HIS AGE AND LOOK BACK ON LIFE AND BE ABLE TO SAY I’VE DONE 10% AS MUCH FOR THE CITY I

LIVED IN AS RUDI AND HONEY SCHEIDT, I WOULD CALL THAT A LIFE WELL LIVED.” – NED CANTY

of his biggest personal missions was just getting the word out about our topnotch performances and repertoire.”

The Scheidts worked to achieve this by attending every UofM concert they possibly could.

“Not only were they financial supporters, but they really showed up for everything from opening night of opera season to lunchtime jazz concerts on a Wednesday afternoon,” Smith said.

The couple could be found at most shows sitting about a third of the way back from the stage on the right side.

“That was always Rudi and Honey’s landing place in Harris Hall,” Rushing said. “It’s a great place to sit. If you’re watching a concert pianist, you can see the piano player’s fingers working the keyboard.”

The Scheidts’ beloved opera performances, which have since become a hallmark of the UofM’s music program, are poised to become greater than ever before with the construction of the Scheidt Family Music Center, a brand-new, state-of-the-art performance hall under construction on the north end of campus. The building is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

“For the first time ever, we’ll be moving into a proper theater with the appropriate fly systems for changes of scenery,” Smith said. “This will be a theater with purposeful design that allows for a real-life opera feel.

It’s a total game changer that will allow us to produce shows and explore new repertoires at a greater level than we have previously.”

Ned Canty, general director of Opera Memphis, remembers Rudi and Honey for their jovial, upbeat personalities, emblematic of what he sees as “two people who lived life right.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met two people who love singers and singing quite as much as the two of them,” he said. “There was just this warmth and support for the art that has always been inspiring to me.

If I can reach his age and look back on life and be able to say I’ve done 10% as much for the city I lived in as Rudi and Honey Scheidt, I would call that a life well lived.”

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INNOVATION TAKES NO BREAKS College of Communication and Fine Arts finds unique ways to carry on amid a global pandemic

I

N AN ERA OF FACE MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING, NOTHING ON THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS CAMPUS SAID “SIGN OF THE TIMES” QUITE LIKE THE STATE OF THE CENTRAL TO THE ARTS HUB for most of 2020. While last year’s issue of Voices touted the dome-shaped building at the corner of Central Avenue and Patterson Street as a gateway to the UofM art scene that would soon provide student artists and musicians an opportunity to display and sell their work in a pop-up gallery format, the Central to the Arts Hub was transformed into the Health Center Hub. This walk-up COVID-19 testing center was established in spring 2020 under the guidance of Dr. Jane Clement and Campus Health Services.

But despite the air of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic; students, faculty and staff banded together to maintain some form of normalcy. The following stories showcase just a few of the many ways that members of the College of Communication and Fine Arts deftly adapted to the global crisis in an effort to bring the best possible education to students.

ART EDUCATION COMES HOME

Department of Art provides materials to crafty students in quarantine The University of Memphis Department of Art Education helped students stay creative at home with a new “Art Education From a Box” program.

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“I wanted to make sure that all of my students had an opportunity to participate in hands-on art education projects in addition to the written work they were doing,” said Dr. Bryna Bobick, associate professor of Art Education.

Toward the end of March 2020, Bobick raided her closet to fill an array of shipping boxes with strips of felt, paints, different kinds of paper and vintage National Geographic magazines. To get these boxes in the hands of students, Bobick sought permission and assistance from Richard Lou, professor and chair of the Department of Art. Students would submit their work weekly to be posted to the UofM Art Education Instagram.

“We had more than 50 students submit their mailing info on a volunteer basis,” she said. “It’s been a great way to stay in touch with our students and get the word out that they are still making art, even in spite of a pandemic. The reception and the support have been fantastic. The students have enjoyed it.”

In addition, the Department of Art’s annual Spring Graphic Design Show, a showcase of work from graduating UofM seniors, premiered entirely online for the first time.

UofM piano major Adrian Gascue performs at the fifth annual Memphis International Piano Festival & Competition Concert in front of virtual instructor Dr. Mario Ajero, Professor of Piano at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Work sample from Dr. Bryna Bobick's "Art Education From a Box" program.

“For many students, purchasing these instruments on their own absolutely wasn’t an option.”

PIANO POWERED PROGRESS

Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music keeps the tunes going The Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music garnered national attention early in the pandemic when it teamed up with Circle Music Center to bring pianos directly to the homes of more than a dozen homebound students.

“For many students, purchasing these instruments on their own absolutely wasn’t an option,” said Dr. Artina McCain, coordinator of piano studies.

“So I reached out to Circle Music Center to get an idea of their inventory, and then Dr. Jonathan Tsay and I began to work on dispersing them to our students. Circle Music jumped into action very fast. The idea came up one day and deliveries started the next.”

Students received the pianos on indefinite loan as part of a plan devised by McCain; Tsay, piano studies professor; and Dr. Kevin Sanders, director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.

Chuck Taylor, general manager with Circle Music Center in East Memphis, is credited with organizing the delivery efforts and expediting the loan process to get a variety of pianos to the homes

Lucas Scott Smith

of local students, a value worth tens of thousands of dollars.

“Artina McCain and Jonathan Tsay, under the new leadership of Kevin Sanders, approached us and asked if we could help out with students who might be quarantined or choosing to stay at home,” said Taylor. “So we got right into striking a deal that would allow them to keep up with their studies as they transition to online coursework.”

Lucas Scott Smith, undergraduate piano performance major, was among the first to receive a piano in the form of a Yamaha upright. Smith was among the participants in the fifth annual Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition Concert, which was

hosted online this fall for the first time and included all that piano enthusiasts have come to expect from the event, such as a virtual collegiate masterclass, awards ceremony and winners’ recital.

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CONFERENCING FROM THE COUCH

The Department of Journalism and Strategic Media hosts AEJMC Southeast Colloquium One of the earliest cancellations related to the COVID-19 pandemic was the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media’s 45th annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Southeast Colloquium, a three-day academic research conference that was to be held March 19-21 at the FedEx Institute of Technology. About a week before the conference, Dr. Matt Haught, conference director and assistant chair of the department, made the call to shift the entire program to an all-digital format.

“At that point, the plan to move things to Zoom were already in motion.”

Haught credited the department’s existing graduate studies program, which meets virtually using a real-time, asynchronous format, for serving as a model for the colloquium.

In addition to hosting one of the University’s first all-virtual conferences in the early days of the pandemic, students with the Department of

Journalism and Strategic Media launched a new podcast series titled “Life in Quarantine: Our Stories from the New Plague.” The podcast; which was developed under the guidance of Dr. Robby Byrd, assistant professor of Journalism and Strategic Media, as part of a course on innovative storytelling; examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local establishments through the lens of UofM students.

“This is not the letter you were supposed to read,” his program-opening letter to conference participants began.

Haught’s letter would then detail how the conference would continue and virtually accommodate the 140 attendees and 150 presentations on a range of media topics in six categories: electronic news, history, magazine media, newspaper and online news, law and policy, and visual communication.

“We started to see the dominos falling, and suddenly the whole University was shut down around spring break,” he said.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

The Department of Theatre & Dance’s Jubilee Year While many theatre groups across the country were shuttered, the University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance conceived its own fall 2020 Jubilee season comprised of a mix of virtual and outdoor performances created specifically for the age of the coronavirus. For the safety of the cast and crew, social distancing took place in staging and masks were worn throughout rehearsals, along with a myriad of other safety precautions.

The department hosted two filmed and streamed theater pieces and a Zoom-based comedy show, in addition to sitespecific performances inspired by Black Memphis history.

These performances kicked off with "Or", a play of sex, intrigue, danger and laughter directed by Moises Hinojos and livestreamed to viewers in early October, followed by Lest We Forget: Black Memphis History Through Dance/Theater, a journey through space and time that explored 120 years of Black Memphis history through a series of on-campus, outdoor performances in mid-October.

10 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

“When it came to discussing what could possibly work for our dance program, I immediately thought of being outside.”

“We basically had to redo our entire 2020-21 season over the summer,” said Jill Guyton Nee, director of dance and associate professor with the Department of Theatre & Dance. “When it came to discussing what could possibly work for our dance program, I immediately thought of being outside and the many site-specific dance works that have been held in the past. It’s something I’ve done as both a choreographer and a performer before, so I figured we should try to make a whole show of it.”

Further performances include “Zoom in on Comedy,” an all-female series of solo comedy segments with Zoombased sketches directed by Angela Schultz that took place in early November and “Trouble in Mind,” a smart satire directed by Jamie Warrow about one woman’s stand against the harmful stock stereotypes that diminish African Americans that streamed to viewers in mid-November.

The season wrapped up with “The Story and the Teller,” a Zoom performance directed by Holly L. Derr and written by native Memphian and current New Yorker Calley N. Anderson. This final performance of the season followed the resident acting company of a local Memphis theatre tasked with devising a play about the impact of the 1878 Yellow Fever epidemic on African Americans and immigrants.

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STUDENT PROFILE 12 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

RAZAN

Hadidi Rising third-year BFA Architecture and Interior Architecture student thinks outside the box with passionate, detail-oriented design

D

ESIGN IS DESIGN. THAT’S WHAT UofM STUDENT RAZAN HADIDI said is among the most important of the lessons she learned from her time in the Department of Architecture.

“What that basically means is that, as architects, the element of design has to be in everything we make,” said Hadidi.

“Whether it’s a tiny coffee mug or a huge mansion, it all starts with a design and a draft.”

This is the mentality that earned Hadidi recognition from the likes of the International Society of Furniture Designers, where her Tea Treasure Box design won the top award in the "Student - Occasional Storage" category in the Innovation + Design furnishings and lighting design competition sponsored by the ISFD.

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The box was originally designed for the 2020 AIAS Silent Auction at the AIA Memphis Gala and Celebration of Architecture, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I know there’s this notion that architects are stuck in a building and think about how they’re put together all day, but many of us thrive in other fields that people might not expect,” said Hadidi.

“But the field we’re in, in some ways, is all-encompassing. If you know the basic concepts and principles behind design, you can put together anything.”

In addition to her AIAS Gala win, Hadidi also took home a Student Award of Distinction from the American Society of Architectural Illustrators’ "Architecture in Perspective" competition later in 2020 thanks to the striking dimensional illustrations she created for the final project in her Computer Apps 1 course.

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The field we’re in, in some ways, is allencompassing.

If you know the basic concepts and principles behind design, you can put together anything.

“It is exciting to continue to see architecture students excel and be recognized in so many areas including art, design, architecture and more,” said Michael Hagge, chair of the Department of Architecture.

Born and raised in Damascus, Syria, Hadidi came to Memphis in 2016 with a goal of building a

career in architecture. Now in her third year of the program, she decided to pursue a career in architecture to take after her uncle, who she said shares her same mentality and passions.

“My uncle always wanted to do architecture when he was young, but he ended up going into pharmacy,” Hadidi said. “He always said if he

could do it over again, he would pick architecture.”

After earning her associate degree in interior design from Penn Foster College, Hadidi came to the University of Memphis to pursue the dual-major BFA in Architecture and Interior Architecture in a program she describes as tough, but rewarding.

“It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s a pretty small, close-knit family. Because of the studiostyle education they use, we all really get to know each other from day one. You get a lot in terms of course load, but also a lot of help from experts who are out there doing it for a job.”

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WYXR-FM

Sound of Progress The

Meet the faces behind WYXR-FM, the next wave of radio in Memphis 16 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

T

HE VERY FIRST THING LISTENERS HEARD WHEN WYXR-FM BURST ONTO THE AIRWAVES AT 5 P.M. ON OCT. 5 WAS THE UNMISTAKABLY GROOVY SOUND OF “SUZY” by legendary Stax recording artist Frederick Knight. For program manager Jared Boyd, the choice was emblematic of things to come for the rebranded radio station.

“We wanted to start off with a blast and make it feel fun by sharing some of our favorite records with the community,” said Boyd. “The kick-off was a fun, almost pirate-radio style introduction. We wanted it to feel fresh, new, underground, vibrant and, most of all, true to Memphis.”

Now several months following its debut, the collaborative nonprofit radio project between the University of Memphis, Crosstown Concourse and The Daily Memphian now known as WYXR has gained following locally and across the globe through online streaming.

Jared Boyd

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Terris "T.K." King

Boyd, a former news reporter and co-host of Beale Street Caravan, came onboard in May 2020 by way of The Daily Memphian. As program manager, his duties include finding programming and creating a program schedule representative of the ideals and mission of WYXR. “First and foremost, it’s all about figuring out what can be a great launching point for programming,” said Boyd.

His work includes finding dedicated volunteers who can add their unique voices to the experience of WYXR, whether they be musicians, DJs or even talk show-style hosts. Robby Grant, executive director of WYXR, credits the presence of a devoted team of volunteers for a strong launch.

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“We want our

students to

really have a sense of

ownership over the content they’re

producing.”

-Terris "T.K." King

“We can’t do it all, but we’ve been fortunate in the sense that we’ve already gotten so much help from the community, from helping to organize volunteers, handling technical and creative stuff, to archiving materials,” said Grant.

Despite taking to the airwaves less than a year ago, WYXR now boasts an array of guest artists and hosts that includes the likes of Daily Memphian columnist Chris Herrington, hip-hop/R&B performer Kameron Whalum, UofM sociology professor SunAh Marie Laybourn, local journalist David Waters and Andrew VanWyngarden, vocalist of the band MGMT. Among the station’s newest contributors is 24-year-old Kix Patterson, a graduate student with the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media. Patterson is the host of MEM Underground, a weekly program that profiles the best punk rock music in Memphis.

“I’ve done a bit of radio work in the past, productionwise,” said Patterson, who started his career in radio in the small town of Iuka, Miss., as a high school student. “Since then, I’ve always been looking for different ways to get my voice out there.”

In addition to MEM Underground, Patterson serves as the voice for many on-air advertisements and sweepers for WYXR. Patterson said he hopes to continue to work with the station as it expands to create exciting opportunities for students from various disciplines outside of the stereotypical radio personalities.

“Podcasting and audio storytelling is such a big trend right now,” he said. “And not only does it allow an opportunity for students to come together and learn the craft, but we’re also able to cross disciplines and talk about real subjects from different fields of expertise within the University such as politics and mental health.”

The call letters WYXR stand for “Your Crosstown Radio,” which serves as a nod to the station’s Crosstown Concourse home where the station produces and airs its daily broadcasts. The WYXR air room is located in the Central Atrium of Crosstown Concourse, where passersby can view inside the studio as shows are broadcast live.

“The space is awesome,” said Boyd. “We’re now answering phone calls, taking meetings in person, and really getting things going in the space.”

Terris "T.K." King, the newly appointed instructor/ coordinator of student radio with the Department of

Journalism and Strategic Media, was hired in fall 2020 to serve as an advocate for student involvement with the station by giving a voice to interested parties.

King's own career in radio spans more than 20 years across popular local stations like K97, 600 WRECAM and HOT 107.1, where she hosted “T.K. in the Midday.” In addition, King has worked the news desks at television stations ABC24 and UPN30, as well as taught broadcast journalism for Shelby County Schools.

“Radio has always been my first love,” said King. “And those of us who have been in radio for a while really have a responsibility to help that future generation of broadcasters. Let them push the buttons and get that real-world, firsthand experience.”

To help coordinate content-creation efforts between the UofM and WYXR, King formed a student radio advisory group comprised of nine students from different walks of life, including graduate and undergraduates from music, journalism and law programs. She eventually hopes to grow the group further through involvement with the Student Government Association.

“We want our students to really have a sense of ownership over the content they’re producing,” said King. “I see them getting excited about it, and that makes me excited.

They’re building things their own way and when they get together it all sounds like a big, busy project ready to pop off.”

In addition to WYXR, the station hopes to launch a campus stream broadcast on the internet that will be fully studentprogrammed. For more information on WYXR, visit wyxr.org or tune in to 97.1 FM. SPRING 2021 | VOICES

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A T IV CRE C R E AT VE

C O L L A B O R AT I O N S The Institute for Arts & Health currently supports a trio of subcommittees, each focused on different aspects of arts and health: Arts Initiatives for Health in the Community, chaired by Dr. Susan Elswick from the College of Health Sciences; Health, Wellbeing and the Built Environment, chaired

by Jenna Thompson of the Department of HE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS Architecture; and Health Initiatives for Artists, ANNOUNCED THE ESTABLISHMENT chaired by Dr. Miriam van Mersbergen from OF THE INSTITUTE FOR ARTS & the School of Communication Sciences HEALTH IN EARLY 2021, ushering and Disorders (CSD). Dr. Melissa Janoske in an exciting new effort to bridge the McLean, CCFA Dean’s Fellow for Research arts, humanities, social sciences, digital technologies and associate professor with the Department and STEM areas; with the aim of contributing to of Journalism and Strategic a more just and equitable society.

Media, will be working closely “I think the with the subcommittee chairs and “The roots of the institute stretch back to the with Hogan to advance ongoing beauty of spring of 2018,” said Dr. Anne Hogan, dean and upcoming research initiatives. of the College of Communication and Fine the CCFA is Arts (CCFA) and acting director of the new “I think the beauty of the CCFA is that that there are institute, “when informal meetings were held there are opportunities like this to in various campus venues in which faculty, work with just about anybody across opportunities staff, graduate students, health and well-being the University,” said Janoske McLean. like this to work “Everybody needs something we have to practitioners and educational partners shared best practices for research and outreach with just about offer, so it’s all a matter of finding those broadly related to the arts and health. connections that already exist and helping

The UofM's newly established Institute for Arts & Health leads the charge of an array of interdisciplinary research collaborations

anybody across people see just how much art, music, theatre, The institute’s mission is to bring together an the University.” architecture, communication and strategic media inclusive coalition of faculty, staff, graduate all can help other projects move forward and students, artists and community partners even bring about some awesome projects of their own.” seeking to identify, incubate and seek funding for interdisciplinary research and community engagement Curricular developments from the Institute for Arts & related to the arts and health. It welcomes expressions Health include the CCFA and CSD creation of a Vocology of interest from all UofM colleagues and members of Graduate Certificate focusing on vocal health, as well as the wider community as it strives to broaden the reach an undergraduate concentration in Dance Science housed of its projects, affiliations and leadership team. within the Department of Theatre & Dance that was recently “I am thrilled that the efforts of UofM colleagues and community partners to drive innovation in this important area of research can further evolve under the auspices of the Institute for Arts & Health," said Hogan. "And I am inspired by the work that has been done to date. Achieving Institute status is so important for us to continue our mission to increase the impact and visibility of arts and health-related initiatives.”

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developed by CCFA and the College of Health Sciences. Further projects include a study of physical therapy for orchestral musicians to meet their unique needs as performers.

Immediate goals for the three committees behind the Institute for Arts & Health include developing a database that gathers all information on projects throughout the University and community partners that promote the arts and health to enhance

SCIENCE DANCE The undergraduate concentration in Dance Science was recently developed by CCFA and the College of Health Sciences

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MUSIC

visibility, increasing involvement and further information about the disseminating information into the institute and opportunities to community. This will be achieved participate, contact Mallory with the development of a webpage Gary (mngary@memphis.edu). that will serve as a repository for all Representatives from the College information related to the Institute of Communication and Fine Arts for Arts & Health, including how were recently involved in a cross interested community partners can departmental collaborative effort led get connected, scholarly articles,

by Dr. Esra Ozdenerol, professor of ongoing projects, current grants and Geographic Information Systems in other specific interests. Moreover, the the Department of Earth team behind the Institute Sciences, which received “I think a lot for Arts & Health hopes a $1 million National to assemble a series of of faculty Science Foundation digital showcases for ADVANCE Adaptation want their spring 2021, as well as grant to fund the reschedule the inaugural work to make "ASPIRED: Adaptations Arts and Health for Sustainable a difference in Symposium for fall 2021.

Policies and Increased the world, and Recruitment Excellence “I think a lot of faculty want their work to a lot of the time in Diversity" initiative. make a difference in “In the past 10 years, that means the world, and a lot of NSF has created an the time that means working with ADVANCE program working with people that designed to foster people that we might not expect,” gender equity through said Janoske McLean. we might not the identification This newly established and elimination of expect.”

Institute for Arts & organizational barriers Health is among a growing number that impede the full participation of collaborative efforts that cross the and advancement of diverse faculty line between various departments as at a given institution,” Ozdenerol the College of Communication and said. “These barriers can exist in the Fine Arts continues to forge ahead form of policy, processes, practices with research initiatives benefitting and organizational culture.” the entire UofM landscape. For

Further projects include a study of physical therapy for orchestral musicians to meet their unique needs as performers.

Ozdenerol served as principal investigator, and co-principal investigators were CCFA mainstays Dr. Craig Stewart, associate professor with the Department of Communication and Film; and Jacob Allen, chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance.

“This is an adaptation grant, so we’re looking to adapt programs that were proven effective at other college campuses," said Allen. “One of the programs that Ozdenerol looked at adapting was a theatre-based program from the University of Michigan.

That’s where I came from before I took a job at the University of Memphis, so that affiliation proved that I would be a good addition to that project. I also think that she recognized that the power of theatre for social change can be a great and effective tool.”

The initial plan was to create a theatre troupe comprised of UofM students to devise a set of theatrical performances to reflect the experiences of female STEM faculty in higher education.

“CCFA is really proud of Jacob, Craig and the team they worked with on this grant,” said Janoske McLean.

“We’re also excited because it provides a great example for CCFA faculty hoping to do similar things.”

Stewart also served as co-PI in a separate NSF grant project, the Urban STEM Collaboratory, alongside Dr. Stephanie Ivey, associate dean for Research with the Herff College of Engineering. This grant involves a tri-institution collaboration with the University of Memphis, University of Colorado Denver and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis devoted to studying the recruiting and training of undergraduate student populations in STEM. Further interdisciplinary research efforts were achieved by Janoske McLean, who secured a Community of Research Grant to bring a grantsmanship and community engagement workshop to campus in spring 2021.

“We have hired a consultant to do a four-workshop series on strengthening relationships with community arts organizations and actually meeting with those organizations to try and develop projects that are mutually beneficial, as well as seek external funding,” she said. In addition, four CCFA faculty members earned grants from the 2021 Communities of Research Scholars (CoRS) program. These faculty members are Dr. Ryan Fisher with music, Janoske McLean with journalism and strategic media, and a joint grant involving Kate Roberts with art and Teri Del Rosso of journalism and strategic media.

CCFA and the CSD developed a Vocology Graduate Certificate focusing on vocal health.

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EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Highlighting the impact of outstanding faculty members of the College of Communication and Fine Arts

SACHIKO TERUI

W

hen Dr. Sachiko Terui first began her job as assistant professor with the Department of Communication and Film, she noticed a stark contrast between UofM students and others she has taught over the years.

“At places I had previously taught, I didn’t find a large number of students showing or expressing dire health needs until I met students at the University of Memphis,” she said. “Of course, there is a distinct possibility that the student population here is not necessarily sicker, but they are more willing to share their issues and concerns than the ones at universities where I previously worked.

That made me feel like the health problems here are at the front of many people’s lives.”

As a health communication expert, Terui meets with people facing various health challenges to understand the nature of their problems, which in turn helps to inform care providers with ways to make a meaningful impact on their patients' lives. For Terui, the people

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she formerly had to seek out and ask to share their stories were now sitting right in front of her, offering candid conversations about significant health issues in the region.

“Although the students at the University of Memphis want to focus on their studies, sometimes these problems don’t allow them to do so,” she said.

“That kind of inequity is unique and has bothered me for quite some time. I care about their right to learn, even if their living conditions don’t exactly allow them to do so.”

The unique range of health issues and disparities facing people in the Mid-South provided an opportunity to make a meaningful impact and practice what Terui does best as a health communicator.

“That early realization gave me the motivation to stay here at the University of Memphis, so I applied to the tenuretrack position,” she said.

Terui initially came to the United States after earning a bachelor’s degree from Aichi Prefectural University in Japan, which led to her joining a program to

teach Japanese at the University of Louisiana and a subsequent fulltime position at the University of Minnesota.

Shortly after, Terui headed to the University of Oklahoma to study health communication in depth and earn her PhD before committing to a visiting assistant professor position at the University of Memphis.

“I started my career with a focus on interpersonal communication and intercultural communication,” she said. “At the time I started studying those areas, I was driven by my own interests.

But after I encountered health problems and saw people suffer, I found that there was a way to make more of a direct impact in people’s lives.”

Terui said her choice to focus on health communication studies helped her to better understand the importance of working through various intercultural boundaries or barriers and realize that, oftentimes, the best treatment for one patient is not necessarily best for another.

Assistant Professor, Department of Communication

Terui’s work in intercultural communication in patientprovider interactions speaks to various inequities in health care, with an emphasis on culture and language differences that may appear to be very subtly in our everyday lives, but can greatly impact the care we receive as patients.

“Culture is an interesting and complex concept,” she said. “It’s easy to think in clear lines such as American culture and Japanese culture, but there are instances where multiple cultures can coexist in a single geographic area. For example, in Memphis we have Southern culture, African American culture and more at play. That all reflects different ways that people internalize their values, ideas and practices.”

In addition to patient care and cross-cultural communication, Terui’s recent projects center on interdisciplinary collaborations, including communities and health care organizations. In 2020, she received the College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean's Outstanding Research Award for her work in health communication studies.

“I STARTED MY CAREER WITH A FOCUS ON INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION."

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“EVERYTHING I CAN SAY THAT I’VE ACHIEVED FROM 2004 ONWARD HAS BEEN THE PRODUCT OF COLLABORATION.”

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EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Highlighting the impact of outstanding faculty members of the College of Communication and Fine Arts

MICHAEL SCHMIDT

O

VER THE PAST 15 YEARS, DR. MICHAEL SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ART, has made an unlikely home for himself at the crossroads between graphic design and public health.

“A pivotal moment in my career came around 2004 when former dean Dr. Richard Ranta asked if I would direct the UofM's Center for Multimedia Arts, a new center in the FedEx Institute of Technology,” Schmidt said. “It sounded like quite an opportunity, so of course I declined at first.”

Schmidt would soon reconsider and take Ranta up on his offer, heading up the center's externally-funded print, exhibit, interactive and video projects to promote child, family and community health needs.

Schmidt’s role with the Center for Multimedia Arts gave him an opportunity to work with people from a wide variety of disciplines, as well as significant community stakeholders in the Mid-South. That led to interactions and ongoing projects with organizations like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Urban Child Institute and more.

“Eventually, through dealing with those associated topics, I found myself becoming more curious about issues related to health and well-being, which led to me going to night school for a PhD in public health,” he said “It’s something I’d become increasingly interested in.”

After eight years of night school, Schmidt earned a PhD in social and behavioral sciences, and with it came a greater understanding of public health issues, as well as where that world intersects with that of art and design.

"As you get closer, you see commonalities and realize that, like most things in life, you go where you’re needed,” he said. “In public health, disparities in the community guide you to where your team will place those limited resources.

Likewise, in graphic design, if there’s no need driving your

Associate Professor, Department of Art

particular problem, it’s very hard to come to a satisfying solution. At the end of the day, both disciplines are interested in positive societal change and they both focus on trying to take current circumstances and improve them.”

A longtime advocate of cross-departmental collaboration, Schmidt soon found himself working on projects where no art professor had previously tread, producing several notable studies alongside Dr. Satish Kedia, professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences with the School of Public Health.

“We’ve got a few different projects going on with funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy on an opioid-related project for people who are seeking services and dealing with opioid use disorders,” Schmidt said. “It’s all done to facilitate recovery and looks at issues related to access and retention. That work, in turn, will help inform the design of communication materials and determine what media to use, what messages to state, and how to disseminate those messages.”

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Schmidt came to the University of Memphis more than 25 years ago after being impressed by the breadth of the curriculum within the Department of Art. The practice of engaged scholarship, or the combination of academic knowledge and communitybased knowledge, has become the core of Schmidt’s work at the UofM. In spring 2020, he received the College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean's Engaged Scholarship Award.

“Everything I can say that I’ve achieved from 2004 onward has been the product of collaboration,” he said. “The University of Memphis, and CCFA in particular, have done a fantastic job fostering this sort of work since the engaged scholarship model emerged on campus. It’s great to see a reflection of CCFA in that model since it made space for someone like me. For that, I have to give credit to Dr. Ranta, Richard Lou and Dean Anne Hogan.”

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EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Highlighting the impact of outstanding faculty members of the College of Communication and Fine Arts

JAY GILMORE

J

AY GILMORE’S CAREER IN SPORTS BROADCASTING started with a bang in Laredo, Texas, where one of his early assignments found him in the champagne-soaked floor of the San Antonio Spurs’ locker room following their 2002 NBA Championship win. Despite standing 6-foot-5 himself, Gilmore remembers being dwarfed by the team’s 7-foot giants David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

“When I started gravitating toward journalism as a career, I knew I wasn’t interested in talking politics or crime,” he said. “I wanted to be around and talk about something that gave people joy. So when I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in December and found myself reporting from an NBA locker room in June, I was really living the dream.”

Following a broadcast career that also saw him spend time in Huntsville, Ala., covering college football before heading to West Palm Beach, Fla., for a four-year deal as sports director for the E.W. Scripps Company's WPTV, Gilmore left the world of television for academia in 2012 when his wife landed a job in Tennessee.

“Teaching allowed me some freedom and flexibility to still work in broadcasting on a part-time basis,” he said.

Gilmore came to the UofM by way of West Virginia University, where he served as a visiting assistant professor and taught Sports and Adventure Media courses in the Reed College of Media.

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In addition, Gilmore has also anchored, reported and produced for the New York Times, Sinclair Broadcast Group, American Sports Network and Outdoor Channel. Now the newest assistant professor of broadcast journalism with the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media, Gilmore has high hopes for expanding student coverage of UofM sports.

“The plan would be to work with our athletics communication department so when you see broadcasts on ESPN3 from a Memphis Tigers volleyball game, you see Memphis student journalists both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes,” said Gilmore.

Gilmore, who was hired by the UofM in August 2019, teaches a pair of classes centered on news broadcast journalism in addition to a course focused on sports broadcasting.

While Gilmore’s course material runs the journalistic gamut, the bulk of it focuses on the work done in front of the camera while touching on many different aspects of broadcast news.

“I’m working to build a sports broadcasting program here, but news reporting has been the core of what we do here for a long time,” he said. “And as a sports anchor and reporter, you can’t help but get used to being around news and news reporters all day.”

Gilmore recalls his favorite time in the industry as working in the sports paradise of Florida covering the likes of Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and numerous NFL and NBA players.

“That was amazing because a lot of the athletes we watch on television

Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Strategic Media

have homes in South Florida,” he said.

“Every single sport you could think of was right there in my backyard.”

Since arriving in the sport-loving city of Memphis, Gilmore said he sees a region perfectly suited to his vision for broadcast sports instruction at the UofM. He currently teaches courses in two lab classrooms and the TV studio in the CCFA building, where he helps students craft independently produced shows like Tiger News alongside Dr. Joe Hayden, professor in the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media.

“But beyond our work in the classroom, my goal and vision is to always have my students out there in the community,” he said. “And Memphis is such a great sports city. In an ordinary year, they’ll be out working from campus, from FedExForum or the Liberty Bowl.”

Beyond working in front of the camera, Gilmore encourages his students to be well-rounded by learning the basics of other broadcast roles such as digital content producer, news manager, writer, photographer and editor.

“A lot of hiring managers in our field are looking for candidates who are flexible and adaptable,” he said. “A single event requires a person versed in several different platforms to cover.

It’s not all television. Can you create web content? Can you host a podcast?

That’s where the world of broadcast is heading, and it requires versatility.”

Gilmore is also a member of the Tiger Sports Properties broadcast talent team and host of Jay's World, a podcast that can be downloaded on iTunes and Spotify.

“BUT BEYOND OUR WORK IN THE CLASSROOM, MY GOAL AND VISION IS TO ALWAYS HAVE MY STUDENTS OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY.”

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A NEW WAY TO

LEARN

Graduate Certificate

THE PLETHORA OF NEW AND EVOLVING GRADUATE CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND FINE ARTS OFFERS FRESH WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO GET STARTED ON CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

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A

NEW EMPHASIS ON A VARIETY OF GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND FINE ARTS means that prospective students are able to get a jump start on their chosen career path and advantage over the competition with just a few concentrated courses.

“There are a number of different ways that grad certificates can prove beneficial,” said Brian Sweeney, career specialist with the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “They can strengthen or develop skills and expertise in a field that someone might have minimal exposure to without committing to what may be an expensive and lengthy graduate program.”

CCFA currently offers a variety of graduate certificates, including Arts Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, Vocology, Social Media Analysis and Strategies, Multimedia Storytelling, Entrepreneurial Journalism and an Artist Diploma in Music.

“I think in particular, earning a graduate certificate can be a game changer if you’re someone who is looking to move your career in a certain direction and position yourself to be successful,” said Sweeney.

The newest among CCFA graduate certificate offerings is the Arts Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate, a program geared toward creatives who wish to launch their own business related to the arts. The program focuses on helping artistically minded individuals who already have a core idea for a potential business build and develop their plans in a meaningful way.

“This is a brand-new initiative that’s sponsored by the CCFA,” said Dr. Ryan Fisher, associate dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts.

“We coordinated the planning and development from people within various CCFA departments and community arts leaders and entrepreneurs to form the core curriculum.”

Todd Richardson, president of Crosstown Redevelopment Cooperative and former associate professor of art history at the University of Memphis, served as one of several members of the development committee behind the Arts Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate alongside Fisher and Dean Anne Hogan.

“The core of creating art is creating something new, something that doesn’t exist yet,” said Richardson. “So when you do that — just like when starting a new small business — there needs to be some kind of training on how to go about vetting those new things, how to build a base, and how to really sell what you’re creating all while getting critical feedback along the way. This certification goes past the ordinary creative training in terms of helping students understand that what they’re doing after college will be far beyond just making something, although that remains the most important step.”

In addition to the new and developing Arts Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate, CCFA’s Museum Studies Graduate Certificate recently shifted to a fullyonline delivery through UofM Global.

There are a number of

The fully-online graduate certificate, which consists of 12 credit hours spread across four seven-week courses, aims to support the development and articulation of arts startups, incubators and other forms of entrepreneurship in order to build a creative community.

“The idea behind it is that we bring in individuals who already have some type of idea that they’re looking to get off the ground,” said Fisher. “We walk them through the full development of an idea — from the business model to the action plan, product development — and also work to build a sense of community by linking mentors with the cohort of students.”

different ways that grad CERTIFICATES

A Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies prepares students who are currently enrolled in or hold advanced degrees to enter museum professions.

The program is administered jointly by the College of Communication and Fine Arts and the College of Arts & Sciences. The course of study is tailored to each student’s career objectives in consultation with the program coordinator, Dr. Leslie Luebbers, director of the Art Museum at the University of Memphis (AMUM).

can prove

“As of late, museums have increasingly used their assets — collections, knowledge, skills and spaces — to promote positive community changes,” said Luebbers. “AMUM, for example, has collaborated with groups devoted to social justice, youth leadership, disability services, climate activism, immigrant services and neighborhood development.”

BENEFICIAL

The course format behind the certificate allows room for guest presenters from a lengthy list of successful local arts entrepreneurs, which will hopefully lead to greater opportunities for participants.

“Our hope is that this course will culminate in a formal pitch for someone to invest in a student’s business,” said Fisher.

“The idea is that this will eventually lead to a yearly arts entrepreneurship conference where we’ll see these individuals present their ideas in front of the general public as well.”

The interdisciplinary program welcomes individuals from all fields, including art, anthropology, archaeology, art history, biology, design, history, business, education, geology, graphic design, media studies, communication and public administration. The program prepares students for museum administration, education, collection management, registration, curation and public program development. In addition, students become acquainted with best practices and ethics as defined by national and international museum associations and learn about the changing role of the museum in the cultural landscape.

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CHAIR SPOTLIGHT

JACOB ALLEN

The innovator behind the UofM’s award-winning music theatre program brings his unique skill set to the position of department chair WITH A TENURE THAT STARTED IN FALL 2020, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE CHAIR JACOB ALLEN was tasked with guiding his department through what may have been its most tumultuous year to date.

the University of Memphis' highest honor for excellence in the classroom.

In addition, he is a former CCFA Dean’s Fellow for Research.

Allen joined the UofM in 2010 as assistant professor and head of music theatre in 2010. When he first arrived in Memphis, there was no BFA music theatre program in Tennessee or any state touching it.

“It’s a challenging and yet very gratifying time to step into this position, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Allen. “I’ve learned quickly that it’s necessary to be flexible, “I’ve been given and our students and faculty feel the same way. the opportunity I’m very proud of the to become planning and the work that our department has chair and done to ensure that we utilize my skills are still able to provide for the entire an effective, safe and fulfilling education department and to our students, even sort of look at throughout the crisis.”

“When that initial job description came across my desk 10 years ago, it was like it was written just for me,” he said. “The opportunity to found, build and grow a new music theatre program within a very established existing department was just too good to miss.”

Now in its ninth year, the musical theatre ways to nurture concentration spearheaded As a director and and develop all

by Allen has grown, performer, Allen has reaching an enrollment of worked extensively of the programs 48 students in the program throughout the Midwest offered by the since it officially launched and New England in a in 2011 with a production Department range of productions of Phantom of the Opera that includes My Fair of Theatre & that sold out in mere hours.

Lady, Guys and Dolls, Dance.”

More recently, music theatre The King and I, Fiddler achievements include the on the Roof, Little Shop 2019 production of Be of Horrors and Anything Goes.

More Chill, a show that opened before “I have been involved in musical the Broadway production and had to theatre from a young age,” he said. be created with special permission “I started taking piano lessons at from its original producers. age 5. My mother was a classically For Allen, the new concentration trained soprano, while my father proved to be a great success and had a background in choral a hopeful sign of things to come directing. Together, they founded for the department at large. a community National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company.”

“It’s been a great joy to see that Allen’s academic accolades include the 2014 Thomas W. Briggs Foundation Award for excellence in teaching,

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challenge fulfilled,” he said. “But now, I’ve been given the opportunity to become chair and utilize my skills for

the entire department and sort of look at ways to nurture and develop all of the programs offered by the Department of Theatre & Dance.”

As incoming chair, one of Allen’s key objectives is to change significant parts of the existing course load to reflect where the industry is headed.

“In terms of the curriculum, we started by thinking about what skills the artists really need,” he said. “While there is a lot that remains the same in terms of the artistic training, so much is changing in terms of the use of technology and media in theatre. We’ve always been responsive to that, but that change is happening more rapidly than ever.”

When it comes to what makes a brilliant student in a department that thrives on curiosity and art for art’s sake, Allen said the difference maker often expresses itself behind the scenes.

“Anyone who comes to the Department of Theatre & Dance as a performer or in a technical role loves putting on shows,” he said. “But a lot of the work of developing those productions happens not on stage, but in the rehearsal process and in the classroom. The students that find joy in that process equal to the joy that they find when giving a bow after a successful performance are far and away the ones that get the most out of their educational experience.”

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DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT

KEVIN SANDERS

The new director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music brings a fresh vision to one of the College of Communication and Fine Arts’ most prominent establishments WHEN DR. KEVIN SANDERS TOOK UP HIS NEW ROLE WITH THE RUDI E. SCHEIDT SCHOOL OF MUSIC in mid-2020, he traded in his many previous titles with the school for just one: director.

at once,” said Sanders. “We are growing and enhancing our unique community partnerships, we are in the process of creating a five-year vision for the School to ensure our faculty and students thrive in this decade, and, of course, we are looking forward to the completion of the new Scheidt Family Music Center.”

Sanders, who has been with the University of Memphis since 2008, started as tuba euphonium professor and eventually saw his musical Community partners of the School faculty work shift from of Music include the likes performance-related of Shelby County Schools, “We are at a matters to include more Memphis Symphony administrative functions Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra, unique point such as overseeing the Memphis Music Initiative, in the journey school’s undergraduate Opera Memphis and more. scholarships and of the Rudi “These kinds of relationships graduate assistantships.

E. Scheidt are the tide that lifts all Despite the new singular boats,” said Sanders, “and School of Music title, his job remains I think all parties involved as varied as ever. where there are aware of that. We look is a palpable “One of the things I’ve forward to working with come to love about the all of these organizations momentum position of director again in the near future.” of initiatives is the opportunity to And in a city like Memphis, interact with all of the converging finding local talent to work school’s stakeholders,” at once.” with is rarely an issue. said Sanders. “One week will see me talking to “That’s one of the things people about the new music center or that makes us so special,” said meeting with faculty, another week may Sanders. “We’ve got this incredibly be spent visiting with our supporters large and comprehensive music or talking about ways we can better program right inside of a city that’s impact the Memphis community.” anything but a college town. That’s Among Sanders’ chief goals as director are to provide a world-class curriculum deeply instilled in performance, teaching, research, arts advocacy and entrepreneurship, all while encouraging community engagement through strategic partnerships.

“We are at a unique point in the journey of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music where there is a palpable momentum of initiatives converging

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become one of the School of Music’s greatest resources in the form of these community partnerships.”

Sanders said he also hopes to continue to grow and evolve as a School of Music by introducing new academic programs, as well as examine the curriculum to address the changing landscape students will face after graduation.

“In many ways, there are less defined positions you might see in a symphony

orchestra or performance job and much more in the way of entrepreneurism,” he said. “It’s up to us to craft a curriculum and student experience that is unique to us, and to do it in a way that can’t be replicated by any of our other peers in the region.”

A native of Bryant, Ark., Sanders is the son of a choral conductor and a church pianist.

As a musician, he has performed on five continents with some of the world's finest orchestras, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Macau Orchestra in China and the Melbourne Symphony in Australia.

Sanders holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy, Indiana University, the Juilliard School and Michigan State University. He is an Adams Brass Instruments Performing Artist. In addition, he has served as the former director of Graduate Studies with the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, as well as a Dean’s Fellow for Research with the College of Communication and Fine Arts.

“In the role of Dean’s Fellow for Research, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and facilitate relationships and conversations,” said Sanders. “I learned a tremendous amount and got a much better picture of just how music and the arts can contribute to our Carnegie Research 1 Initiative.”

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VOICES

NEWS & NOTES

• Architecture students in Design Studio 5 taught by PAM HURLEY and KATE HAYWOOD and students in a course taught by Frank Saitta in the UofM Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality & Resort Management collaborated in the spring semester. In addition to sharing information, students toured the Arrive Memphis hotel downtown.

ART •R EBECCA HOWARD , visiting assistant professor of Art History, has an article titled "Interactive commemoration in the Sacro Bosco" published in the journal Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes. In addition, Howard contributed two essays to the site Smarthistory, a resource used by art history teachers around the world.

•D R. MICHAEL SCHMIDT , associate professor of graphic design, was selected to receive the 2020 College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean’s Engaged Scholarship Award.

Design Studio 5 spring semester collaboration.

A RC H IT E CT U R E •A fter 36+ years teaching architecture at the UofM, professor SHERRY BRYAN celebrated her first day of retirement by renewing her commitment to architectural education as professor emeritus. This is the first emeritus position approved in the Department of Architecture.

•M emphis-based architects Matt Seltzer (archimania) and Tim Michael (designshop) and Knoxville-based architects Brandon Pace (Sanders Pace Architecture) and Michael Davis (Sanders Pace Architecture) participated in the final reviews for the Design Studio 2 taught by professors ANDREW PARKS (archimania) and MICHAEL HAGGE . The students completed designs for a residential infill project for developer Laurynas Petrauskas (Petrauskas Capital) and architect Jason Jackson (brg3s).

•D R. MARIKA SNIDER ’s documentary film Urbanizing the Suburbs: From Defunct Strip Mall to Walkable Urban Neighborhood was 38 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

screened at the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit in October.

• Adjunct professor Jimmie Tucker (Self+Tucker Architects) and professors Sherry Bryan and Michael Hagge selected space in the historic Universal Life Building for a lecture and exhibition by Pascale Sablan. The building, designed by the renowned architectural firm McKissack & McKissack in 1949, serves as home to STA. While there, Bryan and Hagge had the pleasure of talking with some alums of the UofM M.Arch program MARIO WALKER (MFA ’12), CAMERON MCLEMORE (MFA ’18), ANDREA JIMENEZ (MFA ’19), VICTOR M. ROBINSON JR. (MFA ’14), ANTONIO TIRADO (MFA '18) and COLBY C MITCHELL (MFA ’13).

• The Department of Architecture welcomed SONIA RAHEEL as adjunct professor. Raheel is a UofM alum, earning the Master of Architecture degree and the BFA in both Architecture and Interior Design. She teaches ARCH 3213 Survey of Interiors + Furniture.

• Professor FRED ALBERTSON retired in May 2020, completing 32 years with the University.

• Throughout the fall 2020 semester, art education students developed hands-on virtual lessons that were posted on the Dixon’s website.

• UofM Art History alum JODY STOKES-CASEY published her article titled “Art/Race/Violence: A Collaborative Response” in the journal Visual Arts Research.

• UofM Art History professors DR. LUCIENNE AUZ and DR. REBECCA HOWARD presented their latest research at the Southeastern College Art Conference. Auz’s paper “Empowerment through Body Mapping” was part of the panel “Art as Catharsis: Combating Trauma through Creativity,” and Howard’s paper “Lake Como to the Dialogo: Paolo Giovio’s Public Portrait Collections” was part of the panel “Portraits of Power: Legitimacy, Symbolism and Ideology in the Public Portrait Gallery.”

• Art History professor DR. EARNESTINE JENKINS was featured in art consultant Alaina Simone’s list of “Top Five Black Women to Know In The Art World,” an article written by Brienne Walsh published on Forbes.com.

• Two UofM interns, NEECOLE GREGORY and JOLYNNE MINNICK , completed two new exhibitions at the Delta Heritage Center museum. Their supervisor was Adriana Dunn, curator of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, who was hired in May 2020, while she was still completing her degrees and was serving as AMUM’s GA. She will receive her MA and certificate in Museum Studies in December.

• L AHENRYA BOYD (BFA ’07), KELLY HOOKS (BFA ’04) and ZOE VU (BFA ’15) each earned their Master of Professional Studies with a concentration in Strategic Leadership from the University of Memphis. Hooks graduated this past spring, while Boyd and Vu graduated this past fall.

•B RANDON BELL , assistant professor for Graphic Design, appeared as a featured speaker at the American Advertising Federation District 7’s 2020 Leadership Conference. In addition, Bell completed

several new set screen design projects for ABC News, and Graphic Design Senior Briana Jensen is currently assisting with other set designs for 20/20 and Good Morning America.

C O MMUNI CAT I O N & FI LM •D R. CRAIG STEWART and DR. AMANDA YOUNG 's manuscript "'Something with a Frightening Reputation': 60 Minutes’ Accommodation of HIV in Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease" was accepted for publication in the journal Rhetoric of Health & Medicine.

•D R. JOY GOLDSMITH released the book Caring for the Family Caregiver, which examines the high cost and poorly addressed exigencies of the family caregiver in chronic illness, including health literacy, palliative care and health outcomes through the prism of communication.

In addition, Goldsmith and her development team were awarded a $57,000 grant from the Archstone Foundation for the mobile health iOS app “Developing and Integrating COVID-19 Pandemic Content for the Health Communication App.”

•D R. AMANDA YOUNG , LYDIA GETTINGS (MA student) and their colleagues had an article published in the September issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine titled “Let Their Voices Be Seen: Using Photovoice to Understand the Experiences of Sickle Cell Patients in the Emergency Department.”

In addition, Young is serving on a working group at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that has received funding for a two-year project that will develop educational materials to support informed consent in gene therapy for sickle cell patients.

•D R. WENDY ATKINS-SAYRE , professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Film, recently published her co-edited volume with Ashli Quesinberry Stokes of University of North CarolinaCharlotte. The volume, titled “City Places, Country Spaces: Rhetorical Explorations of the Urban/Rural Divide,” is part of the Frontiers in Political Communication series at Peter Lang Publishing, edited by Mitchell McKinney and Mary Stuckey.

Set design by Brandon Bell.

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•D R. KATHERINE HENDRIX 's article "There are No Awards for Surviving Racism, Sexism, and Ageism in the Academy" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. In addition, Hendrix's paper "When teaching fails due to third-party Interference: a blackgirl Warrior's story," was accepted for publication in Communication Education.

•D R. MARINA LEVINA ’s article “The Labor of Consent: Affect, Agency, and Whiteness in the Age of #metoo,” which was co-authored with Dr. Rachel Dubrofsky, was published in Critical Studies in Media Communication.

•D R. CRAIG STEWART served as co-PI on a recently awarded $1 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE Adaptation grant, "ASPIRED: Adaptations for Sustainable Policies and Increased Recruitment Excellence in Diversity" (Dr. Esra Ozdenerol, Department of Earth Sciences, PI). In addition, Stewart's article "Populist Linguistic Tone in Recent U.S. Presidential Campaign Discourse: A DICTION Analysis" was published in Communication Research Reports.

the 2020 College of Communication and Fine Arts Graduate Student Outstanding Research Award – PhD. •C .L. DANGERFIELD , PhD student with the Department of Communication and Film, has been elected to the Rhetoric Society of America's Board of Directors, specifically filling the graduate student/early career seat for communication studies.

She will become a member of the board on July 1 and will serve in this capacity until June 2024.

•K IERSTEN BROCKMAN , PhD student with the Department of Communication and Film, was selected as the recipient of the 2020-21 Osborn Fellowship Award — awarded by the Graduate Committee — due to her dedication to the Department of Communication and Film.

• T YLER JAMES PILKINTON received the CCFA Dean's Student Outstanding Achievement Award.

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J O URNALISM & ST RAT EG IC MEDIA • Assistant professor DR. RUOXU WANG 's paper "Catch them all: Exploring the psychological impact of playing Pokemon GO," was accepted for publication in the Journal of Communication Technology. In addition, further research from Wang, “Exploring the Effects of Compliance/ Non-Compliance Message Framing, Desirability of End States, and Brand Zealotry on Consumers’ Responses to Wearables Advertising,” was published in the Journal of Promotion Management alongside co-authors Dr. Yan Huang from the University of Houston and Dr. George Anghelcev from Northwestern University in Qatar.

• Public Relations professor KIM MARKS MALONE was selected for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows.

She is one of 15 this year, and 350 total chosen for this honor.

•D R. TONY DE VELASCO was selected as the 14th Benjamin Rawlins Professor under the recommendation of Dr. Anne Hogan, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, as well as the Benjamin W. Rawlins Jr./Union Planters Professorship Committee.

•D R. SACHIKO TERUI was selected to receive the 2020 College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean's Outstanding Research Award.

•N OOR GHAZAL ASWAD , doctoral student with the Department of Communication and Film, was recognized for top student paper and top overall paper in the Rhetorical and Communication Theory Division of the National Communication Association. In addition, Ghazal Aswad was selected as the winner of Representatives from the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media attend the Tennessee Press Association winter convention.

Second row: Otis Sanford, Noah Baker, Dr. Tom Hrach First row: Tatjana Petrikina, Peyton Thornburg, Dr. David Arant 40 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

•D R. MATTHEW HAUGHT , assistant chair and associate professor with the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media, won the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s third annual Visual Communication Teaching Award.

Haught also was elected head of the Newspaper and Online News Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

He will serve in the role for a year.

• Advertising professor JOEL NICHOLS was named to the BBB’s National Advertising Review Board, which works to resolve appeals from decisions of the National Advertising Division and plays an important role in the advertising industry’s self-regulatory program designed to ensure the truthfulness and accuracy of advertising. Nichols also was named to the AAF’s National Education Executive Committee, which is responsible for developing meaningful education programs for students pursuing academic studies in advertising and promotes close ties between faculty, students and advertising professionals.

•D R. MELISSA JANOSKE MCLEAN was named CCFA Dean’s Research Fellow in May 2020.

• Professor OTIS SANFORD , Hardin Chair of Excellence, published the book In A Colorful Place with Daily Memphian colleague Dan Conaway.

The Department of Theatre & Dance presents Inherit the Wind.

•D R. RUOXU WANG and SANFORD were named the winners of the 2020 D. Mike Pennington Award for Outstanding Mentorship.

• Creative Mass Media and Advertising double-major CORINNE BALDWIN graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA, one of 16 this class University-wide.

• Graduate assistant RACHEL STARK was a first-place and second-place winner in the liberal and fine arts category in the UofM’s 32nd annual research forum.

• Representatives from the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media appeared at the 2020 Tennessee Press Association winter convention in Nashville on Feb. 13. Faculty members

were DAVID ARANT , TOM HRACH and OTIS SANFORD . Students were TATJANA PETRIKINA , PEYTON THORNBURG and NOAH BAKER . Students took home 10 awards in the Tennessee AP Journalism Competition, including one Best of Show in Online Journalism.

• Undergraduate student CALEB SUGGS placed tenth in the 2019-20 Hearst Television Features Competition.

• Journalism major LIAUDWIN SEABERRY won the 2020 Phil Cannon Memorial Scholarship, which included an internship at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

•K ALYN WILLIAMS , 2020 advertising graduate, was named to the American Ad Federation's list of Most Promising Multicultural Students.

T HE AT RE & DANCE •M ICHAEL MEDCALF , assistant professor of dance, has been selected as a member of the board of directors of Tennessee Association of Dance and will act as lead on the membership committee.

• J ORGE GUAMAN was selected for the Dean's Outstanding Achievement Award.

• J AMESON GRESENS was selected for the Dean’s Graduate Creative Achievement Award.

Dr. Ruoxu Wang

Otis Sanford

• Several students took home awards at the 37th Annual Ostrander Awards Collegiate Division for the UofM production of Inherit the Wind: BRIAN RUGGABER for Excellence in Set Design; JOHN PHILLIANS for Excellence in Sound Design; JAMESON GRESENS SPRING 2021 | VOICES

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NEWS & NOTES

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• The CCFA Research Council committee has approved and the dean has awarded a seed grant to DR. JOSEF HANSON to fund the Memphis Music Education Innovation Summit.

• Several representatives from the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music presented at this year’s NAfME (National Association for Music Education) conference. DR. RYAN FISHER presented “Factors that Influence edTPA Scores” at a poster session; DR. JOE HANSON presented a session on “Sources of Efficacy Beliefs Among Instrumental Students”; and DR. HEATHER KLOSSNER presented “Side by Side: A Partnership between Orff Schulwerk Music Teachers and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra” at a poster session. They were selected from 510 research proposals.

Jameson Gresens' award-winning lighting design.

for Excellence in Lighting Design; and TOBY DAVIS as Best Leading Actor.

•K EEGON SCHUETT (BFA ’13) directed the world premiere of his newly published play Goddess of Tears, featuring several UofM alums including ALICE RAINEY BERRY (BFA '94, MFA '12), JENNY ODLE MADDEN (BFA '92), DAVID COUTER (BFA '16), CHRISTINA HERNANDEZ (BFA '13), JANIE CRICK (BFA '13), RON GORDON (MFA '82) and GLORIA SWANSONG (BFA '12).

C ASSIE BECK

(BFA ’99) was featured in a new NBC show Connecting, now streaming on Hulu and Peacock.

•D ONNA KIMBALL (BFA ’85) provided a character voice in The Dark Crystal, which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

Kimball is also performing in Fraggle Rock: Rock On! produced by the Jim Henson Company and streaming on AppleTV. •K RISTINA HANFORD (BFA ’13) is the co-founder and COO of Virtual Babysitters Club 42 VOICES | UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

(virtualbabysitersclub.com) which employs out-of-work NYC actors/ dancers during the pandemic.

• T RAVIS BLACKWELL (BFA ’15) will be the guest artist speaker for the Tennessee Theatre Association (TTA) Annual Conference.

MUS I C •D R. JACK COOPER received the 2020 Dean’s Creative Achievement Award.

•D R. EMILY YOUNG FRIZZELL was appointed assistant professor in music education.

•D R. JONATHAN TSAY was appointed assistant professor in piano.

•D R. RYAN FISHER was elected president-elect of the Tennessee Music Education Association.

• In addition, Fisher's article “Research-to-Resource: A Choral Director’s Abridged Guide to the Male Voice Change,” has been published in Volume 38, Issue 2 of Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.

•D R. KENNETH KREITNER was the 2020 recipient of the Thomas Binkley Award for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a university or college early music ensemble. Kreitner is an active performer on early brass and woodwind instruments and directs the University’s Collegium Musicum.

• K YLE FERRILL debuted his new podcast The Balanced Singer, which applies concepts from yoga, meditation, Buddhism, habit formation and more to the vocal arts.

• The Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra named cellist ESTEFAN PEREZ , cello, recipient of the Rebecca Webb Wilson Fellowship. The second award went to violist Kathryn Brown.

•D R. KIMBERLY PATTERSON , cello, was awarded a $5,000 grant from the University of Memphis Division of Research and Innovation Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Pilot Program. The grant will go towards funding her upcoming album on PARMA Records with guitarist Patrick Sutton.

• Piano technician DANNY HONNOLD was the winner of the 2019-20 Staff Recognition Award.

more than 250 graduate students who teach courses at UofM. • MAKENNA AMUNDSON , BM in music education student, was the winner of the Presser Foundation Scholarship.

•A NGELICA RENDEK was selected to make a poster presentation at the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Chapters Piano Pedagogy Symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Rendek is the student president of the RESSOM MTNA Collegiate Chapter under advisor DR. KEVIN RICHMOND and a first year DMA student studying with DR. ARTINA MCCAIN .

Dr. Ryan Fisher

•D R. MICHELLE VIGNEAU , associate professor of oboe, received the School of Music's Faculty Teaching Award for 2020.

• The University of Memphis Chamber Choir joined three other choirs from Alabama, Georgia and Florida to rehearse Brahm’s “A German Requiem” under the direction of Dr. Eric Nelson in preparation for their performance at the 2020 ACDA Southern Division conference in Mobile, Ala.

•D R. JEFFREY MURDOCK (PhD ’15, Music Education) was elected president-elect of the Southwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. He is currently co-director of choral activities at the University of Arkansas. Murdock is also semi-finalist for the 2020-21 Grammy Educator of the Year award.

• K EVIN CARPENTER , a University of Memphis alumnus, launched the Memphis Area Virtual Youth Choir.

The MAVYC, which premiered with a rendition of Frank Ticheli's “Earth Song,” brought together students from different schools to perform all-digital concerts.

• Master’s student in saxophone ALEC BARTLETT won a position in the Rocky Mountain Repertoire Theater pit orchestra last summer in Grand Lake, Colo.

• J USTIN WEIS (Performance – Euphonium, 2020) was selected as a finalist for the Singapore Brass Festival and traveled there thanks to a grant from the University. He competed against a dozen other brass players from all over the world and placed second in this prestigious international music competition.

•N AIRAM SIMOES (BM ’12, trumpet) was appointed assistant professor of trumpet at Arkansas State University.

• T REVOR TODD , senior music education major, won the 2020 Hebert E. Rumble Outstanding Teacher Candidate Award. The UofM award is presented each year to the teacher candidate whose performance in residency is judged to be the most outstanding.

• First-year DMA student CONNOR LANE , flute, was one of three flutists in the finals of the national young artist competition sponsored by the Flute Society of Kentucky.

• Six students had the honor of being selected to the 2020 All-Collegiate Symphony Orchestra, sponsored every three years by the Tennessee Music Educators Association. These students are SAMUEL JOSE ORTIZ (English horn), HANNAH DICKERSON (bassoon), MITCHELL CLOUTIER (violin), NOEL RIAN MEDFORD (violin), CAROLINE VER MULM (cello) and LIAM O'DELL (double bass).

• J ONATHAN SCHALLERT was awarded the Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award for the academic year. He was selected from

Dr. Kimberly Patterson, cello, and guitarist Patrick Sutton.

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for your generous support and for helping make a difference in the lives of all our students, faculty and staff!

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