Faculty Accomplishments

Alicia Díaz, associate professor of dance, and Patricia Herrera, professor of theatre, presented two new short films at New Spiritualities: Film as Ritual at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU. The program recognized their collaborative project, ruinas/ruins, developed through long-term artistic research at the abandoned sugar mill in Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico. Díaz and Herrera collaborated previously on an award-winning dance film.

Matthew Oware, Irving May Professor of Human Relations, published “Race and Space in Rap: Conceptions of (Multi)Racial Identity and Urban Life in Rap Music” in The Arts and Urban Development.

Matthew Oware, Irving May Professor of Human Relations, received the 2025 Distinguished Educator Award from the University of Richmond at Colloquy.

Alicia Díaz, associate professor of dance, reflects on the MAPA dance project in “Excavando juntas en el paraíso,” in categoría cinco. The collaborative performance took place in the ruins of the Cine Paradise, a former movie theater in downtown Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.