University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Keith Anthony Morrison.
Jamaican-born American contemporary artist Keith Morrison was a painter, educator, and leader whose career is intertwined with The Driskell Center’s history and the university's own. He and David C. Driskell were colleagues at both Fisk University and the University of Maryland. Here at UMD, Morrison served as chair of the Art Department from 1987-1992 and briefly dean of the College of Arts and Humanities in the mid-nineties.

Morrison's vivid, imaginative paintings—filled with brilliant color, history, mythology, and fantasy—speak to African diasporic experience as well as Morrison’s unique sense of humor and narrative composition. His distinctive style is represented in major works that The Driskell Center is privileged to have in our permanent collection, including "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1989) and "Posse" (1994). Morrison’s achievements are celebrated in "The David C. Driskell Series of African American Art: Volume V, Keith Morrison" by Dr. Renée Ater.

Morrison’s artwork and influence will continue to inspire and educate for generations to come.

📸 Aaron Douglas and Keith Morrison at an exhibition of Morrison's work at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University, 1974. Photograph by David C. Driskell. David C. Driskell Papers, MS01.11.01.P0259. Courtesy of The Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

🖼️Keith Morrison, "Posse," 1994. Gift of the artist, Keith Anthony Morrison.

Tonight, the NOI Philharmonic takes the stage at Carnegie Hall.

Selected by conductor Marin Alsop as part of her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series, more than 90 fellows from the University of Maryland’s will make the orchestra’s debut at one of the world’s most celebrated concert venues with a program featuring works by Gabriela Ortiz, Kevin Puts and Leonard Bernstein.

For many of the musicians, it will also mark their first performance at the legendary hall.

“I know it as a place where great musicians have performed,” said violinist and UMD doctoral student Manuel Alejandro Ordoñez Sierra. “I’m excited to see it for the first time and play a nice concert.”

Read the full story at the link in the comments.

National Orchestral Institute

As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, educators from across the region will gather at the University of Maryland this month to explore a timely question: What does dissent look like, and how can we teach it?

The Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities will host its fourth annual Maryland Humanities Summer Institute on June 26. Designed for secondary classroom and community-based educators, the free, daylong program will examine the theme “Dissent!” through workshops, discussion and collaborative learning.

The institute will explore dissent in its many forms—from organized protest and activism to acts of resistance, refusal and civic engagement. Sessions will focus on topics such as Black Marylanders’ activism during the Civil War, reparative archiving and the preservation of public records, lessons on youth activism, and more. Associate Professors in Nancy Mirabal and Bayley Marquez will both deliver keynote addresses.

The institute will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and includes breakfast, lunch, ASL interpretation and giveaways. Registration is free and open through June 19.

Link in to register comments.

Department of American Studies at University of Maryland

Tiara Lowe, retention coordinator in the College of Arts and Humanities, has received the 2026 Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education (OMSE)-University of Maryland Excellence in Service Award for Outstanding Staff.

Presented as part of OMSE’s annual Academy of Academic Excellence Awards, the honor recognizes faculty and staff members who have made outstanding contributions to advancing student success and inclusive excellence at UMD.

In her role, Lowe supports several student populations across the college, including first-generation students, students on academic probation or returning after time away from the university, and others navigating academic and personal challenges.

Congratulations, Tiara!

https://arhu.umd.edu/news/tiara-lowe-receives-2026-omse-excellence-service-award-outstanding-staff

Two of our own have earned one of UMD's highest honors.

Congratulations to Professor of History Richard Bell and Professor of Linguistics Valentine Hacquard, named 2026 Distinguished Scholar-Teachers at the University of Maryland!

The Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Program, established in 1978, recognizes faculty who have shown exceptional achievement in both scholarship and teaching. At UMD, the two go hand in hand.

Richard Bell is a historian of early America whose prize-winning new book, "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World" (2025), repositions the nation's founding as a global event. A public historian, Carnegie Fellow and recipient of more than a dozen teaching awards, he brings the past to life in the classroom and beyond.

Valentine Hacquard works in linguistic semantics, exploring how grammar shapes meaning and how children acquire the language of belief, desire and possibility. Over two decades at Maryland, she has mentored more than 10 Ph.D. students, all of whom have gone on to careers in linguistics, philosophy, computer science or developmental psychology.

Read the full story: https://arhu.umd.edu/news/richard-bell-and-valentine-hacquard-named-2026-distinguished-scholar-teachers

UMD Department of History

Richard Bell and Valentine Hacquard Named 2026 Distinguished Scholar-Teachers | College of Arts and Humanities Professor of History Richard Bell and Professor of Linguistics Valentine Hacquard have been named 2026 Distinguished Scholar-Teachers at the University of Maryland.

At graduation ceremonies across the country this spring, the Class of 2026 has been booing commencement speakers who bring up AI.

UMD's own Fabrizio Cariani, chair of the philosophy department, and the professor behind our course "AI and the Human Experience," offered some thoughtful perspective to USA Today on what those boos actually mean.

His take is that students have real questions about AI's impact on jobs, the environment, academic integrity and what authenticity even means anymore.

Meanwhile, ARHU's own commencement this year looked a little different. Our speaker was award-winning author and ARHU alum Jason Reynolds. He delivered a speech that moved the room in all the right ways, with a lot of heart.

This is exactly what we believe arts and humanities education does: It gives people the tools to ask the hard questions about technology, society and what it means to be human, and to do something meaningful with the answers.

🔗 Read the full USA Today piece:

Here's why people are booing college commencement speakers this year Multiple college graduations were marked by booing at featured speakers, who came to realize they had "struck a chord." What set the crowd off?

Two innovative courses from the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities are among those selected for 2026–27 course development grants from the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland.

“Embodied AI Studio: Installation, Performance and Intelligent Media Through Reflective Making,” developed by Immersive Media Design Lecturer Jonathan David Martin and Computer Science Assistant Professor Huaishu Peng, brings together students across art, design and engineering to explore AI through physical experience. From wearables to responsive environments, students will prototype interactive, portfolio-ready projects while examining the ethical and social dimensions of embodied AI.

In the University of Maryland Department of English, Associate Professor Lillian Yvonne-Bertram’s course, “Surfing the Model: The Creative Practice/Critical Literacy of Writing with AI,” invites students to move beyond the hype. Through hands-on experimentation and critical analysis, students will explore how large language models shape reading and writing, while interrogating their limitations, biases and broader societal impact.

Together, these courses highlight the vital role of the arts and humanities in shaping how we understand, question and create with AI.

College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences - Univ. of Maryland

Read more at the link in the comments.

What does it mean to use communication for good?

A new course at the University of Maryland is showing students exactly how. Housed in the UMD Department of Communication, this class teaches Terps how to turn ideas into action by developing, pitching and funding projects that make a real difference.

Students identify causes they care about, present their ideas and vote on which initiatives will receive “mini Do Good grants” to bring them to life. Along the way, they build practical skills in public speaking, persuasion and civic engagement.
It’s a powerful example of how UMD’s Do Good campus mission is preparing students to lead with purpose.

Read more at the link in the comments.

Congratulations to Professor of History Richard Bell, whose book “The American Revolution and the Fate of the World" is a finalist for the 2026 American Battlefield Trust Prize for History. The award recognizes the most outstanding and accessible work of early American military history published in calendar year 2025. The prize winner and two runners-up will be honored in October.

Learn more about Bell's book through the links in the comments.

UMD Department of History

Congratulations to Janelle Wong on being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious scholarly societies.

Wong, a professor in the Department of Government and Politics and the Department of American Studies at University of Maryland and director of the Asian American Studies Program, was recognized for her influential research on race, immigration and political participation. Her work uses multi-ethnic, multilingual surveys to examine public opinion, religion and the civic engagement of immigrant communities, helping to reshape how we understand Asian American experiences and political life.

She is the author and co-author of foundational books on immigration and Asian American political identity, and has led major national research efforts including the National Asian American Survey. Beyond academia, she collaborates with community organizations and contributes to public conversations on issues such as affirmative action and social justice.

Wong joins Darryll J. Pines, president of the University of Maryland, who was also elected this year for his leadership in higher education.

We are proud to celebrate Professor Wong’s scholarship, leadership and public impact, as well as this recognition of excellence across the University of Maryland community.

UMD President and Political Scientist Elected to… | Maryland Today Darryll J. Pines, Janelle Wong to Be Inducted for Educational Leadership, Study of Asian American Experience