�鶹��Ƶ Faculty Earn Ohio Arts Council Excellence Awards</h1> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Faculty Earn Ohio Arts Council Excellence Awards</h1> <p>kviancou — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 20:58:59 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Faculty Earn Ohio Arts Council Excellence Awards</span> <span><span>kviancou</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-10T16:58:59-04:00" title="Tuesday, March 10, 2026 - 16:58">Tue, 03/10/2026 - 16:58</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Six faculty members representing �鶹��Ƶ’s creative writing, theater, and music composition programs are among 77 Ohio artists honored by the Ohio Arts Council. Each received a 2026 Individual Excellence Award—a $5,000 grant that recognizes outstanding artistic achievement across a range of disciplines. </p><p>The awards provide artists with the resources to experiment and explore their art forms, develop skills, advance their careers, and receive affirmation and recognition for their outstanding work. The winners were selected through an anonymous, open-panel review process that focused solely on exceptional artistic achievement. </p><p>This year, the Ohio Arts Council received 469 applications from artists across the state. �鶹��Ƶ’s recipients, and their respective award categories, are:</p><ul><li data-list-item-id="ec38c8ef0a8a0430492fc4ed4caa44b0c"><a href="/kari-barclay">Assistant Professor of Theater Kari Barclay</a> (playwriting)</li><li data-list-item-id="e90907cd44b649ee1b7a681dc4a831519"><a href="/emily-barton">Associate Professor and Chair of Creative Writing Emily Barton</a> (arts criticism)</li><li data-list-item-id="e8d07e609b4e48901b60e68684b5c3679"><a href="/amanda-hodes">Lecturer of Creative Writing Amanda Hodes</a> (poetry)</li><li data-list-item-id="ec167f1a6f5fad04510b1f24128792813"><a href="/elizabeth-rogers">Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers</a> (poetry)</li><li data-list-item-id="eb0508d81f54009c8d1b16275a243038b"><a href="/ghassan-abou-zeineddine">Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Ghassan Zeineddine</a> (fiction)</li><li data-list-item-id="e25973b4d95c16047973c18972652909c"><a href="/jesse-jones">Associate Professor of Composition Jesse Jones</a> (music composition)</li></ul><p>“Our communities are full of artists who make their livelihoods, hone their crafts, start their businesses, and share their talents right here in the Buckeye State,” says Donna S. Collins, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council. “By supporting outstanding artists, we recognize the value of individual creativity and the essential role that arts and culture play in our lives.”</p><p><a href="https://oac.ohio.gov/home/news-and-events/all-news/iea-fy-2026?fbclid=IwY2xjawPon8ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEegu5JkMqtuBfAbHyscwLhqmMR7aBtnKjUuLKwA-PQT0XdQnsDOQaAWunQrxQ_aem_7SDIbHZs_kPlM1UJwCTqcQ">Learn more about the awards on the Ohio Arts Council website.</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Highly competitive program awards $5,000 grants recognizing outstanding artistic achievement.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2026-03-10T12:00:00Z">Tue, 03/10/2026 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4290">BA/BFA</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33331">Composition</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/emily-barton" hreflang="und">Emily Barton</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jesse-jones" hreflang="und">Jesse Jones</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/kari-barclay" hreflang="und">Kari Barclay</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/amanda-hodes" hreflang="und">Amanda Hodes</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/elizabeth-rogers" hreflang="und">Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers ’07</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/ghassan-abou-zeineddine" hreflang="und">Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">�鶹��Ƶ's Ohio Arts Council honorees for 2026 (clockwise from top left): Kari Barclay, Emily Barton, Amanda Hodes, Jesse Jones, Ghassan Zeineddine, and Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers.<br> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Joins Park Arts, Bringing World-Class Programs to Historic Synagogue</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 16:34:19 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Joins Park Arts, Bringing World-Class Programs to Historic Synagogue</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-04-10T12:34:19-04:00" title="Thursday, April 10, 2025 - 12:34">Thu, 04/10/2025 - 12:34</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Since the Park Synagogue congregation departed its historic Cleveland Heights campus several years ago, there has been a remarkable effort underway to restore and repurpose this important site into a center for creative arts and humanities. </p><p>�鶹��Ƶ is proud to bring its unique combination of outstanding academics and world-class music and arts education to the dynamic community that is planned for the Park Synagogue. Called “Park Arts,” this collaboration is a milestone in one of the most ambitious and historically significant reclamation projects within the nation’s Jewish community.</p><p>Developed by Sustainable Community Associates (SCA), a Cleveland-based team of �鶹��Ƶ alumni, and the nonprofit Friends of Mendelsohn, Park Arts honors architect Erich Mendelsohn’s legacy while designing an intergenerational center for artistic creation and humanities education. �鶹��Ƶ will add its newly established Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Arts (BA+BFA) to this creative hub. Launching in fall 2025, the combined degree program can be completed in five years: the first four on �鶹��Ƶ’s bucolic campus, followed by a fifth year set amid the rich professional arts community at Park Arts. With the first BA+BFA students scheduled to arrive at Park Arts in June 2027, this program will provide hands-on opportunities for students in Northeast Ohio’s vibrant arts scene.</p><p>“We are thrilled to forge this connection between �鶹��Ƶ and the greater Cleveland community,” says �鶹��Ƶ President Carmen Twillie Ambar. “This partnership allows us to honor one of Cleveland’s historic Jewish synagogues while our students interact with the region’s cultural institutions. Our students will gain real-world experience and contribute their talents to a city known for artistic excellence. It bridges �鶹��Ƶ’s close-knit campus with the creative energy of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.” </p><p>�鶹��Ƶ’s BA+BFA in Integrated Arts dual degree program eventually will bring up to 50 fifth-year students to Park Arts for an immersive arts year. Students will have 24-hour access to private studios, rehearsal spaces, theaters, and production facilities, culminating in a substantial, public-facing project—a performance, exhibition, or installation—determined in collaboration with their �鶹��Ƶ faculty mentors. The program is designed with collaboration in mind: Students will work with renowned visiting artists and with Cleveland’s arts organizations through internships, commissioned works, and public programming.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Partnership will yield host site for new BA+BFA combined degree program.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-04-09T12:00:00Z">Wed, 04/09/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2583">College of Arts and Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4290">BA/BFA</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25436">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25331">Dance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25441">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25326">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25256">Cinema and Media</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/julia-christensen" hreflang="und">Julia Christensen</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/dance" hreflang="und">Dance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/theater" hreflang="und">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/cinema-studies" hreflang="und">Cinema and Media</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/creative-writing" hreflang="und">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Built in 1950, Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights will be redeveloped as Park Arts. Fifth-year �鶹��Ƶ students in the new BA/BFA program will pursue their studies at the transformed space beginning in 2027.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy of SCA</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40692" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-giant> <p>For artists, community connections are invaluable. Collaborating with Cleveland’s arts organizations, securing internships, and being immersed in a thriving cultural district will be transformative.” <em>—Julia Christensen, BA+BFA Program Director</em></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40399" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>The partnership with Park Arts also presents a pathway for �鶹��Ƶ to expand Jewish Studies—drawing on the congregation’s archives as well as pursuing course-based research opportunities focused on the history of Park Synagogue—and the potential for community concerts and other musical outreach. </p><p>In addition to �鶹��Ƶ, Park Arts will house a diverse collection of nonprofit and educational programs, expanding access to creative programming for the broader Cleveland community. Overall, the 28-acre Park Arts campus will contain intergenerational housing, an expanded neighborhood preschool, public walking trails and green space, and the preservation of the Mendelsohn-designed building—an applicant for National Landmark status—while simultaneously integrating sustainability initiatives such as geothermal heating and cooling.</p><p>According to Susan Ratner, former President of Park Synagogue, the donation of Park to SCA was a continuation of the congregation’s legacy. “Our goal has always been to honor Park’s history while ensuring it remains an inspiring part of Greater Cleveland’s cultural landscape. The larger vision for the restoration and �鶹��Ƶ’s presence will bring new energy, creativity, and scholarship, making Park Arts a truly unique center for artistic innovation and education. We are thrilled to be a part of it and to return each year for high holidays.”</p><p>Park Arts places �鶹��Ƶ students near some of the region’s most distinguished cultural institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, and Dobama Theatre, as well as Cleveland’s renowned performance venues and galleries.</p><p>“This move provides an essential bridge from student life to professional careers in the arts,” says Julia Christensen, Program Director and �鶹��Ƶ’s Eva & John Young-Hunter Professor of Integrated Media. “Park Arts offers students the opportunity to engage with the Cleveland arts community while honing their creative practice in an academic setting.”</p><p>“For artists, community connections are invaluable,” Christensen adds. “Collaborating with Cleveland’s arts organizations, securing internships, and being immersed in a thriving cultural district will be transformative. At the same time, these emerging artists will bring fresh perspectives and energy to the broader Cleveland arts scene. It’s an exciting exchange.”</p><hr><p><a href="/arts-and-sciences/ba-bfa-dual-degree-integrated-arts"><em><strong>Learn more about �鶹��Ƶ’s BA+BFA program at �鶹��Ƶ.edu.</strong></em></a></p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Launches Combined BA+BFA in Integrated Arts</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:02:25 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Launches Combined BA+BFA in Integrated Arts</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-02-21T16:02:25-05:00" title="Friday, February 21, 2025 - 16:02">Fri, 02/21/2025 - 16:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For generations, �鶹��Ƶ graduates have gone on to become groundbreaking creative forces in artistic settings all over the world. </p><p>Now a new pairing of �鶹��Ƶ degree programs enables undergraduate students to establish their own paths toward interdisciplinary careers across the arts.</p><p>Beginning in fall 2025, students may pursue a combined dual degree that culminates in a <a href="/arts-and-sciences/ba-bfa-dual-degree-integrated-arts">Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Arts</a>. The two degrees can be completed in five years: the first four on �鶹��Ƶ’s bucolic campus, followed by a fifth year set amid the vibrant professional arts community of nearby Cleveland.</p><p>“What is most inspiring about this new BA+BFA pathway is that it emerged organically,” says <a href="/node/4921">David Kamitsuka</a>, Dean of �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Arts and Sciences. “It developed through an extraordinary, collaborative commitment among our arts faculty to design a program that is attuned to the future of the art world and attentive to the aspirations of our endlessly creative and thoughtful students.” </p><p>Students in the program complete courses in their chosen BA major, <a href="/arts-and-sciences/areas-of-study">selecting from more than 50 areas of study</a> offered by the College of Arts and Sciences. They also take 10 additional courses in the <a href="/arts-and-sciences/practicing-arts">practicing arts</a>, which may include cinema and media, creative writing, dance, musical studies, studio art, and theater.</p><p>In year five, students live and work in Cleveland, with 24-hour access to private studios, rehearsal spaces, theaters, and production facilities. This immersive arts year is dedicated to completing a substantial, public-facing project—a performance, exhibition, or installation, for example—determined in collaboration with their �鶹��Ƶ faculty mentors.</p><p>Unlike traditional BFA programs, which require selection of a single area of study, �鶹��Ƶ’s BFA in Integrated Arts invites students to shape their own path by incorporating other disciplines into their individual artistic practice. In this way, painting could be paired with politics, theater with environmental studies, creative writing with neuroscience—or any number of other combinations.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Five-year path toward two degrees includes focused work in the thriving arts world of nearby Cleveland.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-02-21T12:00:00Z">Fri, 02/21/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2583">College of Arts and Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2556">Admissions</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4290">BA/BFA</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25436">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25331">Dance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25256">Cinema and Media</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25326">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25441">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/julia-christensen" hreflang="und">Julia Christensen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/david-kamitsuka" hreflang="und">David Kamitsuka</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/theater" hreflang="und">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/dance" hreflang="und">Dance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/creative-writing" hreflang="und">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/cinema-studies" hreflang="und">Cinema and Media</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students in �鶹��Ƶ’s BA+BFA dual-degree program devote their first four years to studies on campus, followed by a fifth year of immersive arts study in Cleveland.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-37735" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-giant> <p>Our students don’t just learn to be artists; they learn to be thinkers who engage deeply with the world around them.”</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-37109" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>The program creates an ideal bridge between students’ academic journey and their chosen professional path—and a launching pad for a new generation of increasingly vital “thinking artists.”</p><p>“This program is built on the idea that artists thrive when they have a broad intellectual foundation,” says Program Director <a href="/node/5041">Julia Christensen</a>, �鶹��Ƶ’s Eva & John Young-Hunter Professor of Integrated Media. “It’s about bridging the gap between creativity and academic exploration.</p><p>“Artists don’t usually see themselves as just a painter or just a sculptor,” Christensen says. “They draw from all kinds of disciplines and backgrounds. That’s the kind of artistry we want to foster here: Our students don’t just learn to be artists; they learn to be thinkers who engage deeply with the world around them, using their creative problem-solving skills to address complex, real-world challenges.”</p><p>Current students in their first or second year of studies in the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible to participate in the BA+BFA in Integrated Arts program, with the first year of immersive art studies in Cleveland slated for 2027-28. Current �鶹��Ƶ students interested in the program must apply by their junior year and be on track to finish the required credits and submit a portfolio for review. </p><p>New students applying for enrollment in fall 2026 will have the option to apply to the BA+BFA program as part of the first-year application process.</p><hr><p><a href="/arts-and-sciences/ba-bfa-dual-degree-integrated-arts"><strong>Learn more about the BA+BFA in Integrated Arts at oberlin.edu. </strong></a></p><p><strong>Thinking about �鶹��Ƶ? </strong><a href="mailto:college.admissions@oberlin.edu?subject=�鶹��Ƶ's%20BA%2FBFA%20program"><strong>Connect with us at college.admissions@oberlin.edu.</strong></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> </main></body></html>