Research Highlights August 2026 | Florida Atlantic, Boca Raton

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I am pleased to share this month’s research newsletter, which highlights the breadth and impact of scholarship across the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. This issue celebrates notable achievements, including two faculty members who have received Fulbright Scholarships and new partnership with TAI Excuela Universitaria de Artes in Madrid. Together, these accomplishments reflect our shared commitment to innovation, excellence, and meaningful impact in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

With best regards,

Michael J. Horswell, Ph.D.

Dean, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Two Faculty Members Receive Fulbrights

Stacie Rossow, Department of Music, and Nick Underwood, Department of History, are among the six faculty members at FAU who have received prestigious Fulbright awards for the 2026-27 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. MORE

FAU Partners with TAI Escuela Universitaria de Artes in Madrid

Florida Atlantic University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TAI Escuela Universitaria de Artes in Madrid, Spain, to create a framework for future academic and artistic collaboration between the two institutions. MORE



Gutterman Center Honors Educators

The Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE) at Florida Atlantic University has announced the recipients of the 2026 Gutterman Family Outstanding Holocaust Educator Awards. MORE

CREATE Program Helps Students Explore the Arts

The Cultivating Resilient and Experienced Artists Through Training and Education (CREATE) program had its inaugural program this summer. The program provides high school students with a unique opportunity to develop their skills, gain professional experience, and prepare for the next stage of their careers as artists. MORE

Barbara Ganson Presents Aerospace History

Barbara Ganson (Department of History) curated two exhibits at the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum in Middle River, Maryland that will open in September. “American Women with Wings at Home and Abroad” examines the role that American women played in the aerospace industry since the early twentieth century from their first solo flight in a dirigible in Paris in 1903 to flying military aircraft in England and the U.S. during World War II, and most recently in combat in the Middle East. “Glenn L. Martin: The Man Who Made Wings” tells the story of aircraft manufacturing in America through the experiences of this pioneer aviator, manufacturer, and inventor. 

Awards | Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Katharine Napora (Department of Anthropology) and her team were recently awarded a WLW-ECOS Interdisciplinary Research Award ($80,000) for their project "Historical Ecological and Economic Influence of American Maritime Industries: Chesapeake Bay Pilot Study." FAU colleagues on the project are: Colin Polsky (Geosciences); Sudhagar Nagarajan (Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering); Debarshi Datta (Nursing); Tricia Meredith, Lauren Simonitis, and Jamie Thompson (FAU Lab Schools Research Program; College of Education); and, Sara Ayers-Rigsby (FPAN, Anthropology).

Three films by Joey Bargsten (School of Communication and Multimedia Studies) recently received awards at festivals in Germany and Japan:

• "Loomerz™" was awarded both Best Experimental Film and Best Composer at the Munich Short Film Awards (May)
  
• "Liminal Music for a Backrooms Experience" was recognized as Semi-Finalist in the Best Experimental Film category at the Tokyo ShortFest film festival (July), and
  
• meme "REZEREX™" won the award for Best Soundtrack on a Feature Film at the Kyoto Independent Film Festival (April).

Gretchen Suárez-Peña (Department of Theatre and Dance) was selected as one of 18 Fellows for the Candela Fourth Annual Playwrights Summer Fellowship in New York City. The initiative is dedicated to expanding access to theatre education for playwrights, librettists, musical theatre writers and choreopoets of Latin American and Caribbean heritage.

Sharon Hart (Department of Visual Arts and Art History) was featured in "Lenscratch," a fine arts and photography publication. FAU's MFA Photography program was included as part of its national MFA Review series.

Ali Farazmand (School of Public Administration) received the Editorial Contribution Award 2026 from the Springer Nature’s Publishing Corporation. Springer publishes more than 800 academic/scientific refereed journals.



Books | Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Andrew Furman’s (Department of English) latest novel "The World That We Are" just took the bronze prize for the Foreword INDIE Award in the Literary Fiction Category. MORE

Patti Kollander (Department of History) is the editor of the newly published "The US Presidency and American Jewry from FDR to Trump." The book, which is part of FAU's Larkin Symposium on the American Presidency, is the first book to explore how American presidents have responded to and shaped issues central to Jewish Americans across 80 MORE



Looking Ahead | Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Holiday Spectacular Featuring Katharine McPhee and Tony DeSare

Tickets and Information at fauevents.com | 561-297-6124

Research Podcast | Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

The “In Conversation” Podcast series features FAU Faculty discussing research and creative activity that spans the arts, humanities, and social sciences. EXPLORE MORE