Alumni in the News

Shaun Lane (B.F.A., Visual Art Studies, 2014) was featured by the National Art Education Association/Professional Learning Through Research Committee in their webinar, Equitable Access: Removing Barriers to Learning in Digital Spaces. 

Mary Paynter (B.A., Art History, 2007) launched the site ILostMyGig.com in the wake of SXSW's cancellation due to the pandemic. The site is a peer to peer mutual aid space that documented the individual losses of gig workers, creatives, freelancers, and contractors from Austin dependent on SXSW for income. The site was profiled and I was featured in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and CNN, among others and has provided $750M in funds. Photo by Ben Sklar

Megan Rabuse (B.A., Theatre & Dance, 2019) stars in new online production titled Human Resources: The Musical. The work is an internet-based livestream through Zoom and YouTube. Photo courtesy of Human Resources: The Musical

Clare Croft (Ph.D., Theatre, 2010) has been awarded the 2020 Oscar G. Brockett Book Prize for excellence in dance research from the Dance Studies Association, the leading organization in dance studies research. Croft’s work, “Queer Dance: Meanings and Makings,” was commended by the award committee for its boldness in demonstrating and embodying the generative potential of coalitional and collaborative Dance Studies work on queer dance.

Julie Bistolfo (M.M., Music and Human Learning/Music Education, 2017) launched a business for live online baby and toddler music. She has been a credentialed teacher for over 10 years and is using her skills in a new way to create a community during a time of disconnect.

Jocelyn Chambers (B.M., Composition, 2017) composed the music for Mama Gloria, a documentary directed by Luchina Fisher. The film premiered on Oct. 14 in partnership with the Chicago International Film Festival. Chambers also spoke on a panel run by the Association of Music Producers focusing on "African American Composers in Advertisement Music."

Carlos Rosales (B.F.A., Studio Art, 2017) was named an artist in residence for 2020-2021 at the Abrons Arts Center in New York City.

Barbara Zabel (M.A., Art, 1971) continues to teach courses at museums in Connecticut, despite retiring 10 years ago. She also curates exhibitions, most recently "Art of the Anthropocene" at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum and the exhibition "Fire and Ice," co-curated with artist Timothy McDowell for the Art Department at Connecticut College. 

Michael Benson (D.M.A., Piano, 2008, M.M., Piano, 1995) began his tenth year serving as an Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Malone University in Canton, Ohio and his sixth year serving as chair for the Department of Music. Benson continues to serve as the Ohio Music Teachers Association's state chair for the Buckeye Auditions and was recently elected to serve on the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE) Board of Directors.

Miguel Aragon (M.F.A., Studio Art, 2012) has been awarded the 2020 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in the category of Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts by The New York Foundation for the Arts. In addition, Aragon has also been named a New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Fellow. Photo by Xavier Minguella