Newsmakers | College of Liberal Arts

Highlighting the professional and academic accomplishments of College of Liberal Arts students, faculty, and staff.

Newsmakers are a quick and easy way to acknowledge the professional and academic accomplishments of RIT students, faculty, and staff, such as publishing an article in a scholarly journal, presenting research at a conference, serving on a panel discussion, earning a scholarship, or winning an award. Newsmakers appear in News and Events as well as the "In the News" section on faculty/staff directory profile pages.

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January 2025

January 20, 2025

Rebecca DeRoo, professor in the School of Communication, presented Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnes Varda during the Little Theatre's 95th anniversary celebration.
January 10, 2025

Katrina Overby, assistant professor in the School of Communication, appeared in Black in America, a film by Our Voices Project that won an award at the 2024 Voices Rising Film Festival. The documentary was shown at The Little Theatre as part of the One Take Doc Series in December. Overby also discussed the film on the Representation in Cinema podcast, produced by Our Voices Project.
January 10, 2025

LeeAnne Valentine, adjunct faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, authored an article titled “Representation Matters for BIPOC in Mental Health,” in the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association’s newsletter, ADARA Update. The article emphasizes the importance of culturally similar therapists and psychologists in supporting the mental health wellness of BIPOC individuals.

December 2024

December 18, 2024

Kaitlin Stack Whitney, assistant professor in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, published a poem titled "Winter" in Consilience, a peer-reviewed journal exploring the intersection of science and art. Her piece was selected as an editor's pick for the issue.
December 11, 2024

Evelyn Brister, professor in the Department of Philosophy, published “Advanced Cryopreservation as an Emergent and Convergent Technological Platform” in Technology in Society. Co-authored with specialists in ethics, law, and engineering, the paper explores the ethical and governance issues surrounding advanced cryopreservation technologies.
December 2, 2024

Nickesia Gordon, associate professor in the School of Communication, received the 2024 Dr. Molefi K. Asante Award from the National Communication Association. This award recognizes Gordon’s exceptional contributions to publishing scholarship advancing Black studies in the field of communication.

November 2024

November 21, 2024

Amit Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics and interim head of the Department of Sustainability, published Spatial Spillovers: Viewpoints from Asia. He also delivered a fellows lecture at the North American Regional Science Council conference in New Orleans on Nov. 13.
November 19, 2024

Erica Haskell, school director; Andy Head, assistant professor; Alexa Scott-Flaherty, senior lecturer; Thomas Warfield, Professor of Practice; and Ben Willmott, director of operations and administration for the School of Performing Arts, presented “Building a Performing Arts Ecosystem in a STEM-Focused Institution” during the a2ru conference on Nov. 14 at RIT. The panel explored the challenges and successes of establishing a campuswide performing arts ecosystem and scholarship program.
November 15, 2024

Kelly Feke, a fourth-year computational mathematics major and environmental science minor, published a letter to the editor on Cleveland.com on Nov. 13. The letter was part of a course assignment in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society.
November 15, 2024

Amit Ray, associate professor in the Department of English, presented "Scaling Ignorance: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), Agnotology, and Ecology" at the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts in Dallas. His paper delved into GAI's proprietary frameworks, ecological impacts, and its role in producing cultural ignorance through opaque practices.