DEAN’S MESSAGE

Over the past year, the UofM has experienced a season of change. In April 2022, we welcomed our new president, Dr. Bill Hardgrave, and a new interim provost, Dr. Abby Parrill-Baker in July. Our dean of five incredible years, Dr. Anne Hogan, also announced that she would be transitioning to a new role at Ithaca College in New York to serve as the inaugural dean of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. During Dr. Hogan’s time as dean of the UofM CCFA, we saw tremendous enrollment growth, a record-setting number of graduates from our programs and the establishment of the UofM Institute for Arts and Health. I had the honor of serving alongside Dr. Hogan as associate dean of the CCFA, and it is a tremendous honor for me to serve the college now as the interim dean. I will forever be grateful for Dr. Hogan’s leadership, mentorship, and, most importantly, friendship. Though these transitions can be difficult; our faculty, staff and students are resilient and continue to do tremendous work in the local community and throughout the nation.

Since our last issue of Voices, the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center was completed. We marked the opening of this state-of-theart facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a huge gala on February 4. It featured our UofM Symphony Orchestra, University Singers, Pep Band, inspiring words by President Bill Hardgrave and the Scheidt family, and a memorable performance by the iconic and GRAMMYaward winning Dionne Warwick who was accompanied by our string players. The event was emceed by Memphis rapper Al Kapone and the evening was capped by a performance by the Bar-Kays. On February 5, the School of Music hosted the “Honey Music Festival,” which featured all of the diverse music ensembles our School offers in all areas of the new building. Tours were provided so community members could celebrate the significance of this new building to our University and the impact this new performance venue will have on the broader Memphis area.

On April 1, the CCFA hosted our first “Central to the Arts Festival,” which was the idea of our previous dean, Anne Hogan. This free, indoor and outdoor event featured dance, opera, commercial music, jazz and theatre performances. Our galleries and museum presented exciting new exhibits, our new fashion program highlighted new student designs through two fashion shows, and our film area hosted film screenings. The festival concluded with the CCFA Exposé, a concert in the new SPFAC Plough Performance Hall that featured student performances from theatre, dance, musical theatre and music with videos highlighting our students’ innovative visual art and design.

In this issue of Voices, we highlight some of the amazing projects our faculty and students have led. Our Department of Communication and Film is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the highly successful and impactful Ph.D. in Communication Studies degree program by hosting various events on campus and at communication conferences. We feature the significant work associate professor of theatre Sarah Brown has been doing in Hungary over the past two years as a two-time Fulbright Scholar recipient. With longtime department of art chair Richard Lou returning to full-time faculty status, we introduce you to the new chair, Lucas Charles, who has been pivotal in developing our highly ranked graphic design program prior to entering this new administrative role. Our spotlight on students introduces you to DMA in vocal performance student Shannon Jongema, who has gone from teacher to budding opera star. Our commitment to innovative research and community engagement is on full display in our article on the historic Orange Mound community brought back to life through a virtual reality project coordinated by Marika Snyder, assistant professor of architecture. Finally, we present the impact donors like Courtney Ellett, founder and owner of Obsidian PR firm, have on our academic programs with the opening of our new Obsidian Social Media Lab.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Voices and invite you to support our college through a generous gift or by attending some of our numerous special lectures, exhibits, performances and productions.