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College of Arts and Humanities

11/27/13

by Porter Olsen, MITH

Out of the blue, an archivist gets a call from the husband of a famous scientist who has recently passed away. He wants to donate materials to the archives that can help people to understand and learn about her research. The archivist visits their home and is handed a cardboard box. Inside are not sheets of paper but a stack of floppy disks, CDs, Zip disks and a hard drive. What’s the archivist to do?

Researchers at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, and the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are investigating methods and developing tools for these sorts of situations.

A new white paper titled, “From Bitstreams to Heritage: Putting Digital Forensics into Practice in Collecting Institutions” examines the application of digital forensics methods to materials in collecting institutions – particularly libraries, archives and museums. It is a product of the BitCurator project and is written by Drs. Christopher A. Lee, Frances Carroll McColl Term Professor and research associate, Kam Woods of SILS;Matthew Kirschenbaum, associate director of MITH; and SILS doctoral student Alexandra Chassanoff.

To read more, please click here.

12/1/13

by James Chute, The San Diego Union-Tribune

We’re always moving. But most of the time, we’re not even aware of it.

On a recent Saturday in the Old Globe Theatre’s rehearsal hall in Balboa Park, dancer Karen Bradley asked a group of innovators to pay special attention.

She took them through a series of exercises, from being still and feeling the subtle movement in their bodies, to using overt movements to express an idea.

“The point I was trying to make is that movement — when we behave — it’s actually data; it’s information for us,” said Bradley, director of graduate studies at the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies and one of the faculty members for Balboa Park’s Art of Science Learning project.

“When we move creatively, we generate choices, which perhaps we wouldn’t think of in our (brain’s) frontal lobe right away, but stuff bubbles up from the back as we notice what we’re doing.”

So what does this have to do with addressing a significant, real-life challenge, which is the goal of this group created by the Art of Science Learning?

“If you are trying to solve a problem, and you want to see many different possible outcomes, sometimes moving it offers you an array of possibilities,” Bradley said. “Some of them are silly, and goofy, and you go, ‘OK, that’s not working.’ And some of them are like, ‘Wow, I wouldn’t have thought of that otherwise.’ ”

The San Diego Incubator for Innovation — where the arts are integrated with science, technology, engineering and math (also known as STEM) — is now in session.

To read more, please click here.

11/27/13

by Virginia Terhune, The Gazette

Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian, 73, will soon be flying in from Paris to attend an artist’s reception in his honor on Wednesday at the University of Maryland, College Park.

In 2000, Gao was the first Chinese-born writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for his plays, poetry, short stories and novels. But Gao is also globally known as an artist and avant-garde filmmaker. His brush-and-ink paintings and films are on display at The Art Gallery in UMD’s Art-Sociology Building through Dec. 20.

The exhibit of 27 paintings and three films, called “The Inner Landscape: The Paintings and Films of Gao Xingjian” is curated by Jason C. Kuo, a professor in the Department of Art History.

“There’s a lot of interest in his work around the world because he’s multi-faceted,” said Kuo. “He writes novels, short stories, essay and art theory.”

Gao and Kuo will give an informal talk and host a Q&A during the Wednesday reception. On hand will be translators fluent in Chinese and French who will interpret for Gao, who does not speak English.

On the afternoon of Dec. 5, Gao and Kuo will attend a stage reading and discussion of Gao’s plays at the Cafritz Foundation Theatre at the Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts on campus. The readings will be performed in English by students in the Globalization and Theatre class.

To read more, please click here.

11/22/13

by Alana Carchedi, UMD Right Now

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In the spirit of National Entrepreneurs' Day and Global Entrepreneurship Week, the University of Maryland is celebrating its great successes in innovation and entrepreneurship over the past year.

From incredible student feats and fearless competitors, to game-changing technology advancements and a unique set of collaborative partnerships, UMD has a lot to boast about its ongoing list of accomplishments in innovation and entrepreneurship.

"University of Maryland President Wallace Loh has elevated innovation and entrepreneurship to the highest levels campus-wide," says Dean Chang, UMD's associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship. "What better way to acknowledge Global Entrepreneurship Week and National Entrepreneurs' Day than to recap some of UMD's finest student, faculty, and institutional highlights in innovation and entrepreneurship from this past year."

Here is a sampling of what the university has accomplished in innovation and entrepreneurship in only one year:

  • UMD doctoral student Shweta Gaonkar was one of 15 exceptional students from across the countryhonored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Emerging Scholars Program for her significant contributions to research in entrepreneurship.
  • The Gamera human-powered helicopter team, comprised of students from the A. James Clark School of Engineering, officially had its Aug. 28, 2012 flight certified as a world record of 65.1 seconds by The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), also known as The World Air Sports Federation.
  • Valerie Sherry, a UMD Master of Architecture candidate, was one of only 21 students from universities nationwide, and the first-ever UMD student, to be honored with the University Innovation Fellowship by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter).
  • UMD was recognized as the top public school in the U.S. and ranked second overall for tech entrepreneurship, according to the newly released 2013 StartEngine College Index, as reported in the Silicon Valley publication PandoDaily. The Princeton Review ranked UMD No. 15 for its undergraduate entrepreneurship program and No. 16 for its graduate entrepreneurship program, up eight spots from the 2013 rankings.
  • A group of UMD students won the inaugural U.S. Major League Hacking (MLH) Championship, beating out Rutgers, long-time hackathon heavyweights MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Michigan and Stanford, and more than 100 other schools.
  • UMD launched the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a signature initiative to infuse the university with a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across all colleges and curriculum.
  • The UMD-led DC Innovation Corps (I-Corps), a National Science Foundation-backed program aimed at translating the region's vibrant research community into successful startups and licensed technologies,kicked off its first two regional cohorts of teams of inventors and entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C., and at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md.
  • UMD's College of Arts and Humanities announced an agreement with former Ravens cornerback and NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth '04, and his wife, Ashley Manning Foxworth, to launch Foxworth Creative Enterprise Grants. Their gift of $150,000 will fund a three-year pilot program intended to encourage the inclusion of the arts and humanities in developing solutions to some of society's most pressing issues.
  • UMD alum and Under Armour founder Kevin Plank worked with the Robert H. Smith School of Business and Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to make the annual Cupid's Cup a national competition.

To view a full list of UMD's accomplishments in innovation and entrepreneurship over the past year from the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, MTECH, the Center for Social Value Creation, the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, and other campus partners, click here. To learn more about innovation at the University of Maryland, visit www.innovation.umd.edu.

11/20/13

by Brett Zongker, Daily Journal

WASHINGTON — An arts management training program at the Kennedy Center that's funded by one of the center's largest donations will move to the University of Maryland next year, along with the center's outgoing chief executive, the two institutions announced Wednesday.

Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser tells The Associated Press he plans to join the university as a professor and will leave the arts center four months earlier than his contract was set to end. Kaiser will lead the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at Maryland's flagship university in College Park, and he hopes to launch a master's degree program in arts management.

Kaiser had planned to step down as Kennedy Center president at the end of 2014 and remain at the center to lead the arts management program through 2017.

"It became clear to us ... that we really wanted to grow this institute faster," Kaiser said. "There were certain resources we would need — for example the access to the kinds of faculty you would have at a university."

To read more, please click here.

11/19/13

by Shannon Gallagher, The Diamondback

John Lithgow’s experiences range from acting in the popular Showtime drama Dexter and voicing Shrek’s Lord Farquaad, to writing children’s books and winning a Tony for his performance on Broadway.

Last night, Lithgow, introduced by arts and humanities college Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill as a “master of storytelling,” spoke about his time in the entertainment world to an audience of students, faculty and staff at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center as part of the Arts & Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series.

Growing up, Lithgow said, he served as his younger sister’s “go-to babysitter and her chief source of entertainment,” a role that instilled the power of entertainment in him very early.

“Just like children, adults want to be transported, to be taken on a voyage of exploration far beyond the boundaries of the world they know,” he said. “They are hungry for the heart-swelling suspension of disbelief that comes so easily to children.”

An actor of remarkable versatility, Lithgow has since taken on a wide range of roles in comedy, tragedy and horror — both on the stage and in films — in works including NBC sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun, Broadway musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and 1984 movie Footloose.

To read more, please click here
 
 

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN:

Dear Colleagues:
With great excitement we share with you that by September of 2014, the DeVos Institute of Arts Management will relocate to the University of Maryland, College Park, joining the College of Arts and Humanities’ robust portfolio. The institute will continue its work in collaboration with the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, one of the nation's leading arts incubators. Joining the ranks of renowned arts partners the School of Music; School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies; the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library; and the Visiting Artist Program, the institute will continue to provide training to arts administrators and arts management consultation to cultural organizations, governments, and foundations nationally and internationally. There has been considerable interest in the college to  develop programs in arts management, and by adding the expertise of this new partner, we are even better positioned to shape the future of the arts worldwide. Through training, mentoring and scholarship of arts students, leaders and entrepreneurs we will be at the forefront of arts education. Over the next several months we will be discussing the details of this relationship with DeVos as well as with faculty and staff in the center and the college.  Please stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, you can learn more about our new partner by visiting the DeVos Institute of Arts Management online: http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/artsmanagement/.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Thornton Dill, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities

Martin Wollesen, Executive Director, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –The DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, a premier organization for training and supporting arts leadership, is moving to the University of Maryland. Michael M. Kaiser, a foremost expert in arts management, together with the current director Brett Egan, will lead the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland when the change becomes effective September 1, 2014.

Founded by Kaiser in 2001 after he became president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the DeVos Institute trains, supports and empowers arts managers and their boards. It has advised thousands of individuals, organizations, governments and foundations throughout the United States and in over 70 countries on six continents.

"Michael Kaiser and the DeVos Institute are the international gold standard in arts management education and consulting. To have them on our campus is an extraordinary boost to excellence and innovation in the arts at the University of Maryland," says its president Wallace Loh.

The DeVos Institute's offices, staff, and leadership team will relocate from the Kennedy Center to the university campus. At UMD, the institute will continue its important role in the arts community while working with the university on strategic initiatives in the arts.

"The Kennedy Center has been a remarkable home to the DeVos Institute and has allowed Brett Egan and me to build a sizeable education and consulting practice," says Kaiser. "I thank David Rubenstein and the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center for their unwavering support and Wallace Loh for his gracious invitation to join the University of Maryland. I look forward to increasing the institute's scope and record of service in our new home."

The DeVos Institute offers a variety of programs that provide practical training at all stages of professional development in the field, including fundraising, artistic planning, strategic planning and board development. Signature offerings include fellowships designed to prepare mid-career arts managers for executive positions and a robust board training program.

"We are very fortunate that one of the world's most well-known and well-respected arts administrators is bringing his 30 years of arts management experience and the DeVos Institute to the University of Maryland," says Mary Ann Rankin, UMD's senior vice president and provost.  "This is an extraordinary opportunity to expand arts programming and management training and to raise the profile of the arts at the University of Maryland to the highest levels."

Kaiser's extensive global leadership experience in arts management includes serving successfully as chief executive of the Royal Opera House in London, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater before taking his position at the Kennedy Center. Besides founding and leading the institute, Kaiser played a key role in expanding its educational and artistic programming and oversaw major renovations to the Kennedy Center.

"Michael established the arts management training program when he arrived at the Kennedy Center in 2001 and he has nurtured it into a world-class institute," says Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. "We wish Michael the greatest of success as he guides his life's work to its full potential at the University of Maryland where the institute can benefit from the resources of a major educational institution. We look forward to future collaborations between the institute and the Center."

"Training and preparing arts managers to effectively lead artists and arts organizations is a powerful way to leverage creative talents for the benefit and enjoyment of all of us," state Betsy and Dick DeVos. "We're glad the institute's mission will continue to thrive at the University of Maryland as Michael and Brett guide the DeVos Institute to become the world's leading institution devoted to training arts managers."

Additional information about the DeVos Institute is available at www.DeVosInstitute.org.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, two Pulitzer Prize winners, 49 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.7 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion dollar fundraising campaign.

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"Arial","sans-serif"">For Immediate Release, November 19, 2013

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A crowd of over 600 people filled the Dekelboum Concert Hall last night to hear actor and children’s author John Lithgow, who appeared as part of the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities Worldwise Arts & Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series.

Known to millions as everything from a “Dirty Rotten Scoundrel” to a visiting alien, Lithgow charmed the audience with his erudite humor and his wisdom, drawing on his distinguished stage and screen career as well as his longtime commitment to American education.

In a conversation with Sheri Parks, UMD associate professor of American studies and former NPR host, Lithgow entertained the audience with a lighthearted and spirited defense of the arts and humanities.

“The humanities and arts are an indispensable part of a child’s education and development,” said Lithgow. “In an era where STEM subjects and test prep dominate the educational diet, it is essential students be provided their minimum daily allowance of this key source of nourishment and enrichment.”

Lithgow, the author of numerous children’s books, is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. As such, he encouraged the audience to join him in “seconding the motion” whenever the value of the arts and humanities is discussed.

The reason he said is “simple and inarguable: a society, or a nation, or a world that embraces the arts and humanities is a much better one.”

The commission’s report, “The Heart of the Matter,” released in June, has since sparked conversations across the country about the myriad reasons the humanities are vital to the future of our nation. Lithgow’s appearance at UMD added even more voices to the discussion.

Another component of the Dean's Lecture Series involves speakers interacting with students and faculty in smaller settings. Earlier in the day, Lithgow conducted a master class with UMD theatre students—a unique opportunity for them to learn from an Emmy and Tony Award winner.

“It was huge to have a seasoned professional come in and say they are doing the same work as you,” said Shane O’Loughlin, senior theatre major in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. “As artists we’re always creating, questioning and doubting if our work is right or good enough.”

Photos courtesy of John Consoli.
Class is in session with John Lithgow and students from UMD’s Theatre 425: The Actor’s Process II.

 About the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities

The College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland is home to over 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, 14 academic departments, five independent research centers, and over 322 tenured and tenure-track faculty. The arts and humanities at the university cover the cultures of the world, past and present, in all their rich variety. Through teaching and research that investigates human experience, thought, expression and creativity, the college aims to educate global citizens who assess received opinion, make independent judgments, and value the transforming power of the imagination. The college is leading the way in interdisciplinary approaches to the arts and humanities by developing emerging fields like digital humanities, and offering area study programs that draw on multiple fields to open exciting, multifaceted views of such regions of the world as Latin America, the Middle East and East Asia. 

Dekelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Monday, November 18, 2013 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

The talk will explore the necessity and importance of the arts and humanities in today's society.

by Monette A. Bailey, Terp Magazine

If you don’t think the liberal arts involve hands-on work in the real world, think again. A new fund in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) is encouraging innovative classes that will tackle problems like poverty, racism and gender equality.

A $150,000 gift from NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth ’04 and wife Ashley (Manning) ’06, provides seed money for faculty to plan the courses in which students design community outreach programs.

The Foxworth Creative Enterprise Initiative will complement existing efforts to apply arts and humanities skills—reading, writing, critical thinking and communication along with deep knowledge of culture, language and history—to real challenges. Among them are projects helping recent immigrants find their voice through poetry or using ancient Greek literature about war to help veterans discuss and make sense of their experience.

 A committee is reviewing ideas for courses; three will be introduced in Spring 2014.

“The root of many social problems is faulty thinking. The arts and humanities teach you to think both critically and empathetically,” says Michelle Rowley, associate professor of women’s studies and the project’s point person.

As an American studies major, Domonique took a social activism course that stimulated his interest in nonprofit work. After a stellar career on the Terps football team, he played cornerback for the Broncos, Falcons and Ravens, and retired with an injury in 2011. This fall he’s attending Harvard Business School.

Ashley, an English major who later graduated from Harvard Law School, also values a grassroots approach. Their initiative stemmed from conversations the couple had with ARHU Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill on how to nurture students to be more civically engaged citizens.

“We hope that students are going to be interested in helping others long after they leave school,” says Ashley.

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