Research Highlights |June 2026, FAU BOCA RATON | | |
Message from the Dean
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. From AI and the humanities to public engagement and creative work, our faculty and students continue to excel on local, national, and international stages.
This issue celebrates notable achievements, including national recognition for our Diplomacy Program, a record showing at a leading international conference, ongoing archaeological discoveries in our region, and continued rankings success for Public Administration. Our faculty are also shaping important conversations—from AI and ethics to media and community engagement—while earning prestigious awards and publishing influential research.
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
| | |
Diplomacy Program Places Second at Model UN in New York City
Florida Atlantic University’s Leon Charney Diplomacy Program received the Distinguished Delegation Award at the recent National Model United Nations in New York City. This is the second highest award out of 235 schools that participated. The University also won multiple individual awards for academic excellence. MORE
| | |
Anthropology Students Uncovering New Science About Florida’s History
Led by Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Palm Beach County Archaeologist Chris Davenport, FAU Anthropology students are finding artifacts older than the pyramids in Egypt in Palm Beach County’s Loxahatchee Slough. MORE
| | |
Science Fiction and Fantasy Program Stands Out at International Conference
A record-breaking 19 Florida Atlantic University students, along with six faculty and staff members, presented their research at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), one of the top scholarly conferences for the study of science fiction and fantasy. MORE
| |
|
U.S. News & World Report Again Recognizes School of Public Administration
The Public Affairs Program in the School of Public Administration ranks #80 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Each year, U.S. News ranks professional school programs in public affairs, public health, library and information studies, business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing. The data comes from statistical surveys of more than 2,125 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals.
| | |
Susan Schneider on NPR’s All Things Considered
Susan Schneider, Ph.D., the William F. Dietrich Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Director of Florida Atlantic’s Center for the Future of AI, Mind and Society, was recently interviewed for a story on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” The story was about published research on AI-informed robots. Schneider discussed the broader questions this research raises about consciousness, agency, and artificial intelligence. MORE
| |
Holocaust Reflections Contest Winners Honored
Florida Atlantic University recently honored high school and middle school recipients of the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection Contest Awards. The contest, which was sponsored by the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Museum of South Florida, invited these students to create original works responding to the prompt: “Clearly express what you learned about yourself and modern society through the survivor’s story.” The contest was featured on Channel 25’s “On the Record,” which can be seen HERE
| | |
Andy Furman Wins Stetson Kennedy Book Award
Andrew Furman, Ph.D., Department of English, recently won the Stetson Kennedy Book Award for his book “Of Slash Pines and Manatees: A Highly Selective Field Guide to My Suburban Wilderness.” The award is from the Florida Historical Society.
| | |
Barclay Barrios, Ph.D., and Wendy Hinshaw, Ph.D. – Department of English
The AI Turn, Special Issue of Pedagogy, vol 26, no. 2, 2026. The article examines how generative AI is reshaping English studies and composition pedagogy, not as a passing technological trend but as a paradigm shift that challenges core concepts such as authorship, originality, ethics, and literacy. Bringing together classroom-based research and reflective pedagogical essays, this special issue foregrounds humanistic values—process, reflection, equity, and ethical judgment—while charting critical, creative, and deliberately varied responses to AI in writing instruction. Collectively, the essays demonstrate how educators are engaging AI thoughtfully without surrendering disciplinary commitments or pedagogical purpose.
| |
Meredith Ellis, Ph.D. – Department of Anthropology
“On Making Descendant Communities: Three Case Studies From Historical Bioarchaeology” “American Journal of Biological Anthropology” 190, no. 1: e70255. This co-authored article discusses work with descendant communities in bioarchaeology, including Ellis’s work with the 1928 Hurricane Victims 1 and 2, Belle Glade, and the community of care, The Storm of ’28 Memorial Park Coalition Inc. This article brings this and two other cases into conversation with recent guidelines from institutions and organizations around ethics and engagement with descendant groups.
| |
Kevin Wagner, Ph.D. – Department of Political Science
Digital vs. State Media in Cuba: Counterflows and Support for normalizing U.S. Relations, “Frontiers in Political Science,” 06 May 2026. This co-authored study examines how digital vs. state-controlled media consumption shapes support for normalizing U.S. - Cuban relations in Cuba during the 2014 to 2016 thaw period. The findings show how competing media flows operate in an authoritarian context, where governments counter dissent not only through censorship but also through counter-narrative strategies.
| | |
Festival Rep -- Little Women / The Hollow / Swing Era Jazz Band
Festival Rep presents summer theatre and concerts with the musical "Little Women," Agatha Christie's "The Hollow," and Swing Era Big Band Concerts. Tickets and information at fauevents.com
| | The “In Conversation” Podcast series features FAU Faculty discussing research and creative activity that spans the arts, humanities, and social sciences. EXPLORE MORE |
| | | |
