2026 Spring Semester Newsletter
News and Inspiration from the College of Liberal Arts -
2026 Spring Semester Newsletter
A Message from the Dean
As spring approaches, we will have an opportunity to celebrate the success of our college: Imagine RIT exhibits, the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Awards, the Kearse Writing Awards, and the hooding and graduation ceremonies.
Rebecca DeRoo Named William A. Kern Professor in Communication
The joy of discovery and the exchange of ideas has propelled Professor Rebecca J. DeRoo forward through her 22 years of teaching. After 11 years of sharing engaging research and discussions with students and faculty at RIT, DeRoo was named as the next William A. Kern Professor in Communications.
Dynamic Interdisciplinary Programs Open Doors
COLA’s Humanities, Computing, and Design (HCD) bachelor’s degree is among the “new economy majors” that helped earn RIT a spot on Forbes’ newly released 15 Top Colleges For Launching Your Career list. A distinctly RIT interdisciplinary program, it combines the study of new media design, web and mobile development, database management, and computing with a range of liberal arts fields like communication, culture, history, journalism, literature, and the arts. The result is an adaptable, flexible, high-demand skill set that helps students like Jacob Brodeur land co-ops and grads launch dynamic careers.
Read about Jacob's dream co-op with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority >
Save the Date: Spring Semester Traditions You Won't Want to Miss
Of all the seasons of a typical university year, spring is perhaps the busiest. Undergraduate capstones are polished up and prepared for presentation. Award and honors ceremonies recognize outstanding scholars. Conferences and symposiums bring people together to discuss the important issues of our day. Music, dance, and theatre performances inspire, and milestones—from having successfully survived your first year of college to being ready to cross the stage on commencement day—are met.
It’s a time that celebrates big ideas, community, and hope, and you won’t want to miss a moment of it this year. Bookmark the RIT events calendar and make time on your calendar to engage and participate. Here is just a sampling of what’s in store:
- February 28: Political Science Undergraduate Conference
- March 27: Symposium on Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Technologies
- April 17: Climate Havens Symposium: Humanistic Perspectives on Resilience, Migration, and Resources
- April 17-19: Pure Imagination: The Magical Candy Shoppe a vibrant fusion of dance, music, American Sign Language (ASL), and multimedia.
- April 25: Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival
- April 29: COLA Undergraduate Capstone Conference
- May 7-9, 2026: Commencement 2026
An inside look
Hello, friend.
Get to know the people who keep the College of Liberal Arts moving forward in these regularly updated profiles.
Nominate a faculty or staff member for a future profile spotlight
Meet Florence Ayemhoba, Global Scholar
A fourth-year Psychology major with an immersion in criminal justice
- Shameless brag: I have friends that are doctors, nurses, engineers, computer analysts, designers, photographers and the whole lot! Super proud to know smart and talented people!
- Three foods I can’t live without: Jollof rice, plantains, and roasted yams with grilled fish and sauce (I’m really Nigerian.)
- A goal or dream I am working towards: I have a very important goal I’m working on. It’s a blog called “Diary of an African child”.
- Advice for younger me: No matter how scared you are, speak, get angry, it’s okay to be angry, don’t doubt your hurt or pain, your feelings are your feelings and they’re valid!
- On my perfect day off, I’m most likely to be found: eating or sleeping or rewatching Korean drama or anime
Newsmakers
February 18, 2026
Kelley Holley, assistant professor of performing arts, published the chapter "Delectable Viewing: Baking, Spectatorship, and Digital Theatre" in the newly published book Performing the Edible: Sustenance, Sensation, and Sustainability. The chapter examines how alternative types of audience engagement serve as a response to digital performance, and how these practices establish a sense of shared theatrical space.
February 11, 2026
Rebecca Scales, professor in the Department of History, published the chapter "La politique familiale de la Colonie de Saint-Fargeau, 1919-1939," which explores the history of France's first dedicated polio rehabilitation facility in the new book Histoires des handicaps à travers les siècles: Identifications, trajectoires, institutions et sociabilités.
February 11, 2026
A new book co-authored by Evan Selinger, professor in the Department of Philosophy, and Albert Fox Cahn, founder in residence of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, has already received accolades since being published by Cambridge University Press on Feb. 5. Move Slow and Upgrade: The Power of Incremental Innovation discusses the risks of the pervasive “move fast and break things” ideology of disruptive innovation, while urging readers to lean into upgrades that offer a more sustainable, realistic approach to technological progress. New Scientist praised it as one of the best new popular science books published this month
February 6, 2026
Hinda Mandell, professor in the College of Liberal Arts, has published the anthology Global Craftivism since the Pussyhats: Handcraft Responses to Violence, War, Illness and Isolation with Bloomsbury.
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See the full list of Newsmakers here
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