Newsmakers | College of Liberal Arts

Highlighting the professional and academic accomplishments of College of Liberal Arts students, faculty, and staff.

Newsmakers are a quick and easy way to acknowledge the professional and academic accomplishments of RIT students, faculty, and staff, such as publishing an article in a scholarly journal, presenting research at a conference, serving on a panel discussion, earning a scholarship, or winning an award. Newsmakers appear in News and Events as well as the "In the News" section on faculty/staff directory profile pages.

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August 2024

August 19, 2024

Katrina Overby, assistant professor in the School of Communication, has joined the editorial board for Gatherings, an interdisciplinary, intersectional feminist journal housed by St. John Fisher University. Overby’s article, "The Familiar Feels Like Family: A Black Feminists’ Approach to Placemaking and Gathering for Black Women in the Academy," is featured in the journal’s first volume, titled “Exploring Feminist Placemaking.”
August 19, 2024

Six staff members of RIT’s Reporter magazine attended the Associated Collegiate Press College Media Mega Workshop, July 18-20 in Minneapolis. They earned second place in the People’s Choice Best in Show Award for their 2023-2024 winter publication and placed eighth in the newspaper/news magazine category. During the workshop, the students enhanced their collegiate media skills, guided by their adviser Tom Dooley, a lecturer in the School of Communication.
August 19, 2024

Rebecca Scales, associate professor in the Department of History, published the article "Inventing Polio Care at the Colonie de Saint-Fargeau: Disability, Rehabilitation, and the Welfare State in Interwar France" in the latest issue of The Journal of Social History. The article explores the history of the first residential polio care facility in France, founded by polio survivor Ellen Poidatz.
August 13, 2024

Jonathan Schroeder, the William A. Kern Professor of Communications, was interviewed for an article titled “The Daily Heller: Long-Playing Instructionals and the American Dreams” in Print magazine on July 31. The article explores the cultural impact of midcentury instructional records, a subject Schroeder recently addressed in his book, Designed for Success: Better Living and Self-Improvement with Midcentury Instructional Records.
August 13, 2024

Jessica Hardin, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, co-authored the article “Ethnographic methods: Training norms and practices and the future of American anthropology” in American Anthropologist. The article offers suggestions for addressing historical inequalities in the field and ensuring that students receive the training necessary for today’s work environment. Hardin was also the lead author of a short piece in Practicing Anthropology focused on preparing medical anthropologists for careers in applied social science.
August 8, 2024

Anthony Jimenez, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and two co-authors published their book The Third Net: The Hidden System of Migrant Health Care. The book explores implications of inequalities in the healthcare system while also shining a spotlight on the dedicated, resourceful, and often unnoticed and unconventional providers whose work fills a critical gap.
August 8, 2024

Jonathan Schroeder, the William A. Kern Professor of Communications, was interviewed on Kansas public radio’s “The Retro Cocktail Hour” about his recent book, Designed for Success: Better Living and Self-Improvement with Midcentury Instructional Records.

July 2024

July 29, 2024

Bruce A. Austin, professor in the School of Communication, published an article on the Alexis Jean Fournier exhibition in East Aurora, N.Y., on July 26 in Antiques and the Arts Weekly.
July 17, 2024

Juilee Decker, professor of history and museum studies program director, and Hinda Mandell, professor in the School of Communication, co-curated an exhibit, Co-Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism, on view through Sept. 2 at the National Women’s Hall of Fame and Museum in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The curatorial team also included Tamar Carroll, department chair of history, and Samaya Nasr, lecturer, Department of History. The installation was supported by RIT colleagues, including Liz Call and Landyn Hatch from RIT Archives, Marnie Soom from RIT Press, and museum studies students Lucia Bazdresch, Claire Gallucci, Renee Guerin, and Bella Herendeen, and alumni Scott Nost ’22 and Jan Adil ’22.
July 8, 2024

Ben Willmott, director of operations and administration for the School of Performing Arts, presented "Developing a Performing Arts Ecosystem at a STEM-based Institution" during the Arts Administrators in Higher Education annual meeting on June 10 in Boston. He also presented "Upholding a Commitment to Service Excellence through the Development of a Performing Arts Ecosystem" at the Association for Service Excellence in Higher Education annual conference on June 26 in Winter Park, Fla. Willmott's talks focused on RIT's continued development of the Performing Arts Scholarship program, the opening of the Student Hall for Exploration and Development, and the school's efforts to integrate arts and STEM at the curricular and extracurricular levels.