Recent news from the College of Visual and Performing Arts faculty
Boryana Rossa, Department of Film and Media Arts
Boryana Rossa, professor of art video, was selected for the Fall 2024 TTTfellows: Art and Science Residency, receiving $5,000 in support of her work. Rossa worked with Heidi Hehnly-Chang, associate professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, on the project “Conception, Pregnancy and Care in Biotechnology and Mythology.” TTTfellows is organized by the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University, within the framework of Rewilding Cultures, a project co-financed by the European Union, and hosted in collaboration with the Corfu Central Public Historical Library – Corfu Tech Lab, the Corfu Aquarium and BiHELab.
Lyndsay Michalik Gratch, Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Lyndsay Michalik Gratch, associate professor and a 2024-25 Syracuse University Art Museum Faculty Fellow, curated the exhibition “Performance, Gesture and Reflection” as part of “Faculty Fellows Curate” at the museum. The exhibition mirrors her course CRS 314, which explores the social, cultural, and political dimensions of performance in various forms, including theater, dance, rituals, everyday life, and media.
Zeke Leonard, School of Design
Zeke Leonard, associate professor of environmental and interior design, was awarded a 2025-26 Faculty Fellows grant from Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). He has committed to a four-week summer residency in 2025 at SCRC that includes workshops and training sessions on handling special collections materials, teaching students how to research within and across collections, and designing hands-on, individualized, creative and critically-minded assignments with rare materials. He is his long-standing course Sustainable Furniture and Lighting (DES 561), a design and build studio in which students create both a lighting and seating object. Learn more about the grants.
Erin J. Rand, Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Erin J. Rand, associate professor in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, authored “Minor Troubles: Racial Figurations of Youth Sexuality and Childhood’s Queerness” (Ohio State University Press). The book investigates a series of controversies about youth sexuality and queerness from the early 21st century.
NYSCA Grant Winners
New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grants have been awarded to two faculty members in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and three arts organizations at Syracuse University. Faculty members Kathleen Wrinn, assistant professor of musical theater in the Department of Drama, and Soudabeh Moradian, assistant professor of film in the Department of Film and Media Arts, each won $10,000 NYSCA grants for their work. Learn more about their projects and the other winners.
SeWoong Kim, School of Design
SeWoong Kim, assistant professor of environmental and interior design, co-authored “Measuring the impact of the urban microclimate on housing price using the spatial hedonic pricing method: The case study of Mueller, Austin, TX” in ScienceDirect. This study examines the impact of outdoor thermal comfort levels on housing price variations within residential neighborhoods. It also evaluates the challenges and accuracy of assessing outdoor thermal comfort in these areas. By incorporating the outdoor thermal environment as a key factor, this research provides a fresh perspective on housing price analysis, moving beyond the traditional focus on physical attributes.
Soudabeh Moradian, Department of Film and Media Arts
Soudabeh Moradian, assistant professor of film, recently premiered “The Mermaid” a feature film that employed VPA students, alumni, and faculty across disciplines alongside professionals from the film industry. The film earned the ReFrame Stamp 2024, a mark of distinction to recognize standout gender-balanced films and TV projects by the Sundance Institute and Women in Film (WIF). Learn more about this project.
Charles E. Morris III, Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Charles E. Morris III received the inaugural New Horizons Award from the Public Address Division of the National Communication Association (NCA) at its annual conference in November. The award honors a clear and impressive record of scholarly research; the potential to contribute significantly to future directions of public address through scholarship, teaching and/or community-engaged work; and a record of challenging of disciplinary hegemonies and/or expansion of the domain of public address to include diverse, historically marginalized scholars and areas of scholarship that have historically fallen outside of rhetoric’s traditional scope.
Wendy K. Moy, Setnor School of Music
The Chorosynthesis Singers with Wendy K. Moy and Jeremiah Selvey, co-founders/co-artistic directors, has been selected as the winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance, 2024, in the professional division. The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. Moy is an assistant professor of music education in the Setnor School of Music and School of Education.
Rochele Royster, Department of Creative Arts Therapy
Rochele Royster, assistant professor of art therapy, initiated “This Woman’s Work,” a groundbreaking group exhibition and workshop series at Syracuse University’s Community Folk Art Center funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. The project celebrates the profound impact of Black women’s community care in Syracuse and Central New York.
Susannah Sayler, Department of Film and Media Arts
Susannah Sayler, assistant professor of art photography, is one of five artists to be recognized with a 2024 JGS Fellowship for Photography. The $8,000 unrestricted cash grant, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts, is open to New York State photography artists living and working anywhere in the following regions of New York State: Western New York, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Central New York, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital District, Hudson Valley and Long Island. The support for this funding is provided by Joy of Giving Something (JGS), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the photographic arts.
Jody Nyboer, School of Design
Jody Nyboer, associate professor of design studies, co-authored “‘Something Has Changed’–observations of contemporary studio learners and implications for pedagogy” in Arts and Humanities in Higher Education (Sage Publications). The study explores changes in student attitudes, expectations, and preparation in the post-pandemic studio classroom. Using survey data from 64 studio-based educators, the research highlights two key trends: a decline in student engagement and shifts in motivation. The findings suggest a need for educators to reconsider their pedagogical approaches to better meet the evolving needs of today’s learners in higher education.
Erica Murphy, Department of Drama
Erica Murphy, assistant professor of acting, co-authored two articles in the most recent edition of Theater, published on behalf of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale/Yale Repertory Theatre. In this edition, Murphy contributed to “Forum: Devised Futures,” referencing her article, “Tout Bouge: An Evolution of Lecoq’s Pedagogy,” and collaborated on the roundtable discussion “How Does It Live On?“
John Warren, Setnor School of Music
John Warren, professor of applied music and performance (conducting) and director of choral activities, will receive the Ovation Award from the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association, Inc., at its Music Matters event on Oct. 9 in Syracuse. The award honors Warren’s immense contributions to the Central New York musical community.
Seyeon Lee, School of Design
Seyeon Lee, associate professor of environmental and interior design, co-authored with Suyeon Lee “Rethinking food aid for immigrants and refugees: Insights from Syracuse” in Development Policy Review. Supported by the Lender Center for Social Justice for the research study “Access to Wellness for Women in Diverse Socioeconomic Communities,” conducted from January 2021 to June 2023, this study aimed to explore the alignment between the cultural dietary preferences of refugee and immigrant communities in Syracuse and the offerings of local food aid programs, specifically focusing on culturally appropriate fresh produce.
Mišo Suchý, Department of Film and Media Arts
Mišo Suchý, associate professor of film, along with Guggenheim Fellow, artist, and community college art media instructor Lida Suchý, and award-winning filmmaker, animator, editor, and sound composer Evan Bode G’23, were selected as one of the seven 2024-25 Engaged Humanities Networks (EHN) Cohorts. Their collaborative project, “Teens with a Movie Camera,” is a filmmaking initiative between City of Syracuse teens and local media artists. Supported by a $5,000 grant from the EHN and the Academic Affairs Office of Strategic Initiatives, the collaboration will focus on personal visual storytelling, culminating in the creation of original short films and their public presentation in the communities where they were made.
Wendy K. Moy, Setnor School of Music
Wendy K. Moy, assistant professor of music education, received the Paul and Veronica Abel Award for Choral Performance from Civic Morning Musicals in Syracuse. This annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to the art of choral performance for the community.
