Erica Blust
Director of Communications and Media Relations
College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University
(315) 443-5891
Director of Communications and Media Relations
College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University
(315) 443-5891
The Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has announced its 2008-09 fellows. The fellows, who consist of faculty from across the University, will participate in the monthly seminar “New Relevance for Arts and Design Practices” throughout the academic year. The seminar is an interdisciplinary study of the dynamic possibilities in projecting new relevance for the arts, design and cultural practices in academic and educational research and public arts initiatives.
IRG fellows participate in meetings structured to offer meaningful interdisciplinary feedback on the fellows’ projects and develop a proposal for either a course or a research project. An initial project stipend of $1,000 is made available for each IRG fellow through support from the office of Dean Ann Clarke in VPA.
The 2008-09 fellows and their projects are:
- Dessa Bergen-Cico, assistant professor of health and wellness in the College of Human Ecology, for the Peace Project, which engages youth in the transformative nature of creative expression through photography, poetry, and two-dimensional art that conveys a solution-focused vision of personal and community peace
- Doug DuBois, associate professor of art photography in VPA, who will work with Daud Ahmed, program coordinator for the Syracuse City School District, to explore ways that photography and other media can be used to chart the demographic, cultural and political changes brought about by the growing immigrant community in the city of Syracuse and to develop new models for artists, academics and students to foster a dialogue between this population and the city at large
- Denise Heckman, associate professor of industrial and interaction design in VPA, for the Urban Video Project, a public arts initiative that brings art to the streets and buildings of the Connective Corridor
- Louise Wetherbee Phelps, professor of writing and rhetoric in the College of Arts & Sciences, who will explore themes of art and design in her life work on writing, rhetoric, writing instruction and administrative leadership for an autobiographical book project and share instructional practices in fields that teach expression and communication, emphasizing the merging of media and the common challenges of teaching creativity, intuition and judgment as well as formal knowledge
- James Haywood Rolling, Jr., associate professor of art education in VPA and teaching and leadership in the School of Education, who will explore criteria for excellence and the increased relevance of art-based research in education
- Scott Ruff, assistant professor of architecture in the School of Architecture, who will work to develop a series of public discussions focused on spatial design in the public sphere, with a particular emphasis on African American communities
- Minet Schindehutte, associate professor of entrepreneurship in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, who will develop specific modules of a cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship course that incorporates musical, visual, poetic, narrative and performative forms into class sessions and projects
- Emma Rodriguez Suarez, assistant professor of music education in VPA, who will pursue research to further the scholarship in action between SU music education students and Syracuse public school students
The IRG is a faculty-driven, cross-college incubator for development that spotlights a new theme each year and provides a catalyst and resources for developing creative research and/or teaching projects. The goal of the IRG is to establish a peer environment that fosters a longstanding, accumulative and noncompetitive social network.
VPA is the creative center of Syracuse University. The college is comprised of five areas: the School of Art and Design; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; the Department of Drama; the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; and the Department of Transmedia. Together, students, faculty and staff play a vital role in the academic and cultural life of the University and Syracuse communities.
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