The City College of New York

DIVISION OF

HUMANITIES

AND ARTS

17 December 2025 | Renata Kobetts Miller, Dean

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Friends,

Students who study Humanities and Arts at City College do amazing things, both while enrolled in our programs and after graduation. In this issue of the newsletter, as in others, we detail the work of students, alumni, faculty, and staff across a wide array of endeavors. We present their accomplishments without explicitly making the point that they are causally linked: Humanities and Arts students learn from a remarkable cadre of faculty and staff who enable students to engage first-hand in research, creativity, and professional opportunities. As a result, our students graduate ready to distinguish themselves in their chosen career paths and to make meaningful contributions to our world. There’s an important cycle here, as well. Alumni come back to share their successes and contribute to our students’ educations.

Our new Humanities Internships program has been connecting classroom preparation to career possibilities in particularly exciting ways. I hope you enjoy viewing the six-and-a-half-minute video, included in this issue, which provides a glimpse into one student’s experience.

If you’re moved by this video or by any of the myriad ways that Humanities and Arts are an important source of light in the world, and if you're in a position to support our work, I hope you’ll consider including us in your year-end giving. Please see the link at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you are currently wrapping up the semester: congratulations and best wishes as we put Fall 2025 in the books!

Happy holidays and all the best in 2026.

Sincerely,

Renata Kobetts Miller

Dean

Division of Humanities & Arts

Introducing the Humanities Internships Program for the Division of Humanities & Arts at The City College of New York!

Video about the CCNY Humanities Internships Program

This initiative, made possible through a Mellon Foundation grant, helps prepare and place undergraduate students holding majors within the Division into internship placements at museums, nonprofits, and the public sector. The program aims to make internship participation more widely available for humanities majors, thereby increasing awareness of the career pathways that humanities opens for students. In this video, we hear about one student’s successful internship placement at the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Queens.

More information

Tevin McKenzie

Jared Hoffman

CCNY Harlem View students win College Media Association Pinnacle Awards

The City College of New York senior Tevin McKenzie and alumnus Jared Hoffman, MFA ’25, Documentary Film, are winners of the College Media Association's 2025 Pinnacle Awards. Competing nationally in the large colleges division, McKenzie, an Advertising/Public Relations major and Journalism minor, received first place in the feature story category for his piece on the noisiest neighborhood in New York City. Hoffman received second place in the podcast category for his exploration of the origins of a controversial AI-assisted video sparked by President Trump's February remarks about redeveloping Gaza under U.S. control.

Summer Research at Stanford Q&A Series: Meet CCNY Senior Igor Prohorko

Our series highlighting students who spent eight weeks at Stanford University through the Stanford/CCNY Summer Research Program in the Humanities concludes with our final installment. Each summer, this program pairs up to five H&A students with Stanford faculty mentors, offers a weekly seminar on research and graduate pathways, and provides space and support for students to pursue a focused scholarly project.

In this closing feature, we spotlight Igor Prohorko, a senior whose research at Stanford explored the rapidly evolving world of large language models and artificial intelligence: specifically, how humans perceive AI, why we trust it, and what happens when we begin to personify it. Drawing on ancient philosophy, cognitive psychology, and even science fiction, Igor investigated the subtle ways AI systems take on “proto-personality” traits that lead users to treat them as authoritative beings.

Read on for Igor’s full Q&A, ranging from biking up hills in Palo Alto to rethinking his graduate school plans, and how the program helped him find a deeper sense of community and direction.

Continue reading Igor's Q&A

Stanford/CCNY Summer Research Program in the Humanities

Student News

Interested in a paid internship?

Alumni News

Maud Acheampong | MFA Studio Art '25

We are delighted to announce that Maud Acheampong, a standout voice in our MFA Studio Art program, has been selected for Cultured Magazine’s prestigious 2025 Young Artists List.

Acheampong reflects on this recognition as a milestone that once felt out of reach, proof that the work they began in the quiet corners of their childhood bedroom has grown into something seen and celebrated. They credit the mentors, friends, and community members who recognized their talent early on, sharing that they “wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the steadfast support of the people who called me an artist before I thought I had the right to be one.”

Dan Pugach | Jazz '11

Photo: City University of New York

Grammy Award-Winning Drummer & Composer Dan Pugach was awarded The City University of New York's 2025 50 Under 50 alumni awards, celebrating a class of distinguished graduates who have made headway in their respective fields over the past year. This prestigious recognition highlights the diverse talents and achievements of CUNY’s vibrant and expansive community.

Troy Blackwell Jr. | Ad/PR '17

Photo: City University of New York

Alum Troy Blackwell was awarded The City University of New York's 2025 50 Under 50 alumni awards, celebrating a class of distinguished graduates who have made headway in their respective fields over the past year. This prestigious recognition highlights the diverse talents and achievements of CUNY’s vibrant and expansive community.

Faculty News

John Blanton | History

We’re delighted to announce that Dr. John Blanton’s debut book, The Household War: Property, Personhood, and the Domestication of Anglo-American Slavery, 1547–1729, was published by University of Pennsylvania Press.

Drawing on his expertise in the origins and development of slavery in colonial Virginia and Massachusetts, Dr. Blanton offers a groundbreaking examination of how systems of property and personhood shaped the foundations of American slavery.

Early praise calls the book “a monumental achievement,” with historian Christopher Cameron (UNC Charlotte) noting its impressive range—from the rise of English capitalism to the long arc toward slavery’s abolition. He predicts it will become required reading in graduate and undergraduate seminars on early American historiography, slavery, and American capitalism.