FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

Composer and performer Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols, visiting associate professor, Digital Arts, participated in a night of experimental music at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City featuring renowned avant-garde musician and electric violinist Ana Milosavljevic. One of Bukvich-Nichols’s original compositions was performed in addition to the world premiere of Milosavljevic’s latest work—a collaboration with choreographer Takehiro Ueyama and his company TAKE Dance—based on a Macedonian folk song called Zajdi, Zajdi. Bukvich-Nichols also accompanied the set with performances on keyboard, electronics, and voice.   

Joseph Hemway, vice president of information technology and CIO, Information Technology, was credited in an online article published by EdTech Magazine. Hemway was recognized for overhauling computer operations at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he worked as the school’s assistant vice president and chief technology officer, through “virtualization,” a strategy that allows a single server to run multiple operating systems and applications simultaneously. 

Frank Lind, professor, Fine Arts, was quoted in The Financial Times about the work of courtroom sketch artist and alumna Marilyn Church (B.F.A. ’59), commenting on her distinctive style and artistic technique. Church has been the sole visual documenter of some of the country’s most famous and infamous hearings.

Janice Robertson, visiting associate professor, History of Art and Design, spoke at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s first ever EduTech Day on March 10. The symposium addressed physical and virtual learning spaces and trends in classroom design. Robertson joined Brian Emery, chair of the photography department at FIT, in a conversation titled “Are we teaching art or technology? How can we do better?”

Theodora Skipitares, associate professor, Art and Design Education, debuted her new production of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata at La Mama Theater in New York City on February 8. Skipitares adapted, designed, and directed the show, incorporating puppets and masks to tell the comedic story of Lysistrata’s mission to end the Peloponnesian War. Skipitares was praised for her contemporary approach to this famous story in an article by Rachel Saltz that appeared among the theater reviews in The New York Times on February 8.

Laurel Thompson, professor, Creative Arts Therapy, recently received her doctorate from Union Institute and University in interdisciplinary studies, with a concentration in psychology and a specialization in creative arts therapy. Her dissertation was titled “Artistic choices in therapeutic practice: The use of art forms in creative arts therapy.”

Steve Zucker, chair, History of Art and Design, was profiled in The New York Daily News on February 25 about the launch of his new website, Smarthistory.org, which he created with Beth Harris, digital learning director at The Museum of Modern Art. The site provides free art history commentary on works of art organized by time period, artists, and style.