Two UF alums were among the winners of the International K-12 Teacher of the Year Award presented by the University of Florida International Center (UFIC). The 2013 International K-12 Teacher of the Year Award winner is Donald DeVito from Sidney Lanier Center School. Robert Ponzio from Oak Hall School received an Honorable Mention.
Joshua Neumann has been elected as the President of the Graduate Student Council for 2013-14. In this role, he seeks to continue to develop strong relationships for graduate students in all facets of life at the University of Florida, particularly in the areas of financial support for research and professional development, and interdisciplinary networking and endeavors.
Email him at president@ufgsc.org for ways to be involved or to express concerns about the graduate experience at UF.
Aaron Keebaugh (Ph.D. Musicology 2011) presented his paper “Asleep Among the Son of God’s Disease: Mikel Rouse’s Failing Kansas and the Legacy of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood” at the National Conference of the College Music Society November 2012 in San Diego.
Presently, Aaron teaches courses in music history and World history at North Shore Community College in Danvers, MA. He is a music critic for The Boston Classical Review.
If you’re headed to Atlanta this summer, be sure to check out works from UF Ceramics MFA alums Susan Feagin and Charlie Cummings at the Mudfire Gallery. Their pieces are part of a show titled Print on Clay, showing May 3- June 3, 2013.
Other artists featured include Shalene Valenzuela, Paul Andrew Wandless, Justin Rothshank, Jay Jensen, Alice Drew, Israel Davis, David Allyn, and more! Print on Clay showcases the magic of print on clay in a variety of techniques from underglaze transfers to decals on functional and sculptural forms. Check out www.mudfire.com/print-on-clay-2013.htm for more information on the show!
About Charlie Cummings’ work, Mudfire says: Charlie Cummings is well-known for his artworks combining ceramics and printmaking. Cummings’ work illustrates how today’s technology has become an important bridge between clay and image-based art forms. His method involves printing full color photographic images using common underglazes and stains.
UF SoM alum Christina L. Reitz (Ph.D. Historical Musicology, ‘07) is an Assistant Professor of Music at Western Carolina University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in musicology.
Recently, Dr. Reitz has been contracted to write two entries for the Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Encyclopedia through Sage Publications (anticipated publication date August 2014).
Dr. Reitz will present her research entitled “Monster Concerts: Gottschalk’s Brobdingnagian South American Festivals” at the College Music Society’s International Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June. Dr. Reitz also presented the following papers this past spring: “Sacred and Ecological Works of Meira Warshauer” at the Athena Festival in Murray, KY and “The Civil War Concert Tours and American Departure of Gottschalk” at the Nineteenth Century Studies Association in Fresno, California. For the Nineteenth Century Studies Association, she serves on the Board of Directors and the Publicity Committee and hosted the national conference in Asheville in 2013.
SA+AH students and alums are finding success in teaching positions.
MacKenzie Moon Ryan (Ph.D. 2013) will take up a position as Assistant Professor of Art History at Rollins College (Winter Park, FL) in the fall.
Amy Schwartzott (PhD Candidate) is teaching non-Western art history at Coastal Carolina University.
Jordan Fenton (Ph.D. 2012) is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Kendall College of Art and Design (Grand Rapids, MI).
Be on the lookout for alum Lyndon Smith (BFA Acting 2011) who will be featured in the “I’m A Gator” section of the alumni publication, the Florida GATOR this September!
You’re invited to a Brazilian Music Institute concert on Friday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the UF School of Music, room 101. Enjoy performances by Jorge Continentino, Adriano Santos, Ulisses Rocha, and Larry Crook along with special guests from the Brazilian Music Institute. See you there!
Join the free Tallahassee premiere of The French in Florida on Friday, May 31 from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. The film is produced by the UF Digital Worlds Institute for the George A. Smathers Library with assistance from the France-Florida Research Institute. The French in Florida is a digitally animated short film based on the historic Jacques Le Moyne and Theodor de Bry engravings of early Florida. It is narrated by renowned Florida historian Dr. Michael Gannon. James Oliverio, Executive Director of DWI, will describe the development of the project and the digitization process, and historical archaeologist and Theodor de Bry descendant Dr. John de Bry will provide context for these iconic engravings. The Digital Worlds string quartet from the University of Florida will play the original score by Emmy Award-winning composer James Oliverio live during both showings.
Please join us for this innovative look into Florida’s history as brought to life with digital animation, sound design and live music.
For more information please visit http://www.flhistoriccapitol.gov/exhibits/FrenchInFlorida.cfm
UF BFA Graphic Design alum Frankie Batista, shot American actress, singer and songwriter Emmy Rossum for the May 2013 cover of Cosmo en Espanol magazine. Batista has quickly garnered success as a photographer with his broad range of clientele in the editorial, entertainment and music industries. His work extends from brands to record labels to top editorial fashion publications. He travels between Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
UF SoTD Associate Professor of dance Neta Pulvermacher was recently awarded a grant for her proposal Advanced Computing Dance. The grant was awarded to Pulvermacher from UFIT.
More information about Pulvermacher can be found on her dance company website here.
From Newsweek Magazine, published in The Daily Beast:
When I arrive at [UF BFA alum] Marilyn Minter’s Manhattan studio on an unseasonably warm March afternoon, the artist is presiding over her assistants the way an Old Master might. She lopes around a high-ceilinged room, where six young people are hunched before bright, large-scale canvases, each performing different tasks. Minter is the director-producer of the operation: she corrects details of one painting and then—midthought—wheels around to blurt out another. “Matt, can you hear me?” she says to an assistant who is wearing headphones while he paints. “See—he’s wired in.” In a way, it’s a mix between a Renaissance studio and the programming department at Facebook.
Read the full article here.
UF SoTD alum Jaime Samson took over the reins as the Wardrobe Supervisor on the 1st National Tour of the musical Memphis. He moved to NYC in August of 2011 after earning his MFA from the University of Florida. By October he was building costumes for Tony Award winners Joel Grey and Sutton Foster (respectively) in Anything Goes; the 80s rockstars in Rock of Ages, as well as dressing the suave gentlemen in Jersey Boys, and the incredibly talented cast of Memphis on Broadway. The second year of the Memphis tour kicked off in September and has been seen coast to coast ever since. The tour ends it’s Equity run in Orlando May 19th so catch it while you can! See www.memphisthemusical.com for more information.
UF SA+AH alumnus, Christy Everett (BA Art History, ‘99), founded respondé, a modern sustainable furnishings company, that produces and curates an attractive collection of handsomely crafted, unique, durable furnishings that are safe and sensitive to the environment. respondé will be debuting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City next week!
Christy developed a passion for quality materials, fine craftsmanship and
conservation during her study of architectural preservation at the UF. Her appreciation for detail, timeless aesthetics and functionality has
shaped her sensibility for modern design and furnishing. Check out some of Christy’s designs here!
Jessica Hurov Natalie Morrison
Jessica Hurov will begin her new position as the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for the University of Florida College of Fine Arts on June 3, 2013. She will lead the college’s communication plans in public relations, social media, recruitment, design and marketing.
Natalie Morrison has been promoted to Development and Alumni Affairs Coordinator effective this May 10, 2013 following a successful year as the Coordinator of Development Programs and Donor Fulfillment.
