Florida State University School of Dance seniors will share the stage with professional dancers Oct. 6 when Adele Myers and Dancers presents an Opening Nights performance at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre.

The program will feature work by FSU School of Dance alumna Myers and dancer and choreographer Cecilia Benitez, with School of Dance seniors performing alongside professional artists.

For senior Madeline Wellman, the opportunity to be on stage with professional dancers is a dream come true.

“I was so excited for this experience and to be able to work with Adele,” Wellman said. “It means the world to me.”

The senior cohort began working with Benitez in late September in preparation for the performance. In just a short time, Benitez said she has been impressed by the students’ curiosity and work ethics.

“The students are incredible. It feels really magical because they’re hungry for knowledge about what the professional field is like,” Benitez said. “They’re extremely hardworking, and I feel like as someone who’s worked with younger generations in dance, you see less and less of that now.”

Benitez is a Miami-based freelance artist who performs with Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, Adele Myers and Dancers, and Syncopate Collective. She also brings her experience as an educator to her work with the FSU students.

“The way Cecilia conducts herself in the room is really inspirational to me because she is so genuine, silly, fun and warm, but she’s still so professional that you really just want to stay focused,” Wellman said. “Cecilia’s energy and her inviting attitude makes it feel like whatever I do is going to be contributing to the whole group, which is such a unique feeling.”

Collaboration is central to Benitez’s approach. Rather than giving students every movement, she has invited them to help shape the work.

“Cecilia took a poem and we started the first day just improvising with this imagery and creating little phrases for ourselves that she’s utilizing,” Wellman said. “So, there also feels like there’s little pieces of each of us in the work.”

Benitez said that creative freedom can be a new experience for dancers accustomed to following a choreographer’s direction.

“The students are like ‘Wait, I get to choose? or I have the creative agency in that way?’” Benitez said. “Maybe they’ve worked together like that in the past, maybe they haven’t, but I can tell for a lot of them they’re like ‘Can I? Can I?’ I’m like ‘Yes. It ends up being a reflection of the people in the room, not just what I want.”

The experience also gives students a closer look at professional dance careers.

In addition to working with Benitez and Adele Myers and Dancers artist and rehearsal assistant Maria Bunt, the cohort participated in a Q&A with Myers on Sept. 29.

Wellman, who plans to pursue a career in contemporary choreography after graduation, said the experience has helped her build professional relationships.

“I really feel like I could reach out to both Cecilia and Maria to be like ‘Hey, what do you think about this job?’ or ‘Do you know anything about this opportunity?’” Wellman said.

As she looks toward graduation, Wellman said she also wants to make the most of her final year at FSU, including the chance to share the Oct. 6 performance with an audience.

“I think it’s such a beautiful opportunity every time a guest artist comes to perform because you really don’t know the limits of what’s out there until you see,” Wellman said. “My family’s coming, so I’m excited to show them what Cecilia has created with our senior cohort.”

Benitez hopes the audience comes away with an appreciation for the individual dancers and how much they have developed during their time at FSU.

“I want people to experience the individual beauty of each student that’s in the program,” Benitez said. “I want the audience to look at these seniorsand see how much they’ve grown, and while their journey is coming to a close look how much they’ve accomplished in their time here.”

Adele Myers and Dancers perform at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre Oct. 6 as part of Opening Nights at Florida State University. Tickets are available through Opening Nights.

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From Shakespeare to Broadway musicals, Florida State University’s School of Theatre will bring a wide range of stories to the stage during its 2026-27 season. Tickets are now on sale. 

The five-production season features three musicals and two plays performed by FSU students, beginning Oct. 16 with “Bring It On: The Musical,” a production inspired by the cult classic film. The show features music by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt. Performances run through Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Richard G. Fallon Theatre. 

Friday, Nov. 6, through Sunday, Nov. 15, the Lab Theatre will host William Shakespeare’s play “Coriolanus,” a classic tragedy that explores the cost of pride and the dangers of unchecked ambition. 

The annual Theatre for Young Audiences production, “Me … Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall” runs Nov. 19-22 at the Richard G. Fallon Theatre. Based on the children’s book “Me…Jane,” by Patrick McDonnell, the show follows young Jane Goodall, who would become a world-renowned primatologist, and her toy chimp, Jubilee, on a musical adventure full of wildlife.  

Spring 2027 brings Bess Wohl’s environmental dark comedy play “Continuity” to the Lab Theatre from Feb. 26 to March 7. Told in six takes, the playfuses Hollywood, science and satire in a story in which the real disaster is us. 

Closing the 2026-27 season is “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” based on the Victor Hugo novel and featuring songs from the Disney film. The tale of love, acceptance and what it means to be a hero runs April 9-18 at the Richard G. Fallon Theatre. 

Tickets range from $10 to $35 each and can be purchased online, by phone at (850) 644-6500 or at the Fine Arts Ticket Office in the Fine Arts Building at 540 W. Call St. 

The Fine Arts Ticket Office is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, as well as one hour before each performance. Performance times vary. Visit the School of Theatre website for more information or to purchase tickets. 

To learn more about the FSU School of Theatre, visit theatre.fsu.edu. 

2026-27 season at a glance

Oct. 16-25: Bring It On: The Musical, Richard G. Fallon Theatre 

Nov. 6-15: Coriolanus, The Lab Theatre 

Nov. 19-22: Me … Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall, Richard G. Fallon Theatre 

Feb. 26-March 7: Continuity, The Lab Theatre 

April 9-18: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Richard G. Fallon Theatre 

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Florida State University’s Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) will welcome nationally recognized choreographers to campus this fall as the center resumes its artist residency program after a one-year hiatus. 

The fall lineup includes Fana Fraser, Kimberly Bartosik, and Joseph “MN Joe” Tran and Lisa “MonaLisa” Berman of BRKFST Dance Company. 

“We are excited to have artists back in the studio,” said MANCC Director Ansje Burdick. “Joining us from across the country, our fall artists are all in early developmental stages of creation as they explore human emotion and interior experiences, collaborate with dramaturgs, refine movement vocabularies and construct soundscapes.” 

MANCC is one of only two national choreographic centers housed at a university. Its location at FSU allows visiting artists to collaborate with scholars and researchers across disciplines and draw on the university’s specialized facilities as they develop new works in contemporary dance. 

MANCC tailors each residency to an artist’s creative process and stage of the work. Artists may experiment with movement alongside FSU School of Dance students, explore lighting design, construct set pieces or consult with academic experts across disciplines. 

The residencies give FSU School of Dance students access to nationally recognized choreographers and a look at how new works are developed.  

This fall, students can attend work-in-progress showings and open studio sessions, participate in movement experiments and engage directly with the artists. Read more about the visiting artists below:

Fana Fraser 

Artist, director and producer Fana Fraser returns to MANCC this month to begin developing a new project, “After the Fallow.” Fraser participated in MANCC’s Forward Dialogues laboratory program in 2017, and their dance films and live performances have since been featured at events and festivals around the world. During the residency, Fraser plans to work with dancers and dramaturgs to bring elements of their outdoor movement practice into the studio and share work in progress during an open studio.     

Kimberly Bartosik   

Guggenheim Fellowship-winning choreographer, performer and educator Kimberly Bartosik comes to MANCC for the first time in October to developher new work, “blood anchor,” which explores the complex power of blood relations and the epidemic of modern loneliness. During this early-stage residency, Bartosik will collaborate with three performers, a dramaturg and a lighting designer to explore the work’s emotional landscape and shape its visual design. 

BRKFST Dance Company  

Joseph “MN Joe” Tran and Lisa “MonaLisa” Berman, co-founders of the Minnesota-based BRKFST Dance Company, come to MANCC for the first time to develop an evening-length duet blending breaking, improvisation and partnering. The work explores how connections to oneself, the body andrelationships evolve during trauma. It draws from Berman’s experience as a two-time cancer survivor and Tran’s experience supporting her through her treatment. Tran and Berman are recipients of the 2026 McKnight Choreography Fellowship, and their MANCC residency was supported by funds from the McKnight Choreography Fellowship program, administered by Springboard for the Arts and funded by the McKnight Foundation. 

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Florida State University has launched the FSU Humanities Center within the College of Arts and Sciences, establishing an interdisciplinary hub to advance humanities research and expand the field’s visibility across the university and beyond.

Led by its founding director, John Corrigan, the Lucius Moody Bristol Distinguished Professor of Religion and Professor of History, the center aims to encourage collaboration and innovation by exploring questions about the historical, intellectual and cultural dimensions of the human experience. It will also help prepare students for careers in fields including law, education, writing, communications and public service.

“The Humanities Center reflects the legacy of FSU’s commitment to the advancement of the humanities,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “I am especially grateful to John Corrigan for his leadership in bringing this center to life and to Provost Jim Clark and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sam Huckaba for their commitment to making this a reality. We are creating new opportunities for faculty, students, staff and the community to collaborate, pursue important research and further strengthen the humanities at FSU.”

Affiliated units include FSU’s Departments of Classics, English, History, Modern Languages and Linguistics, Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences; Art History and Theatre and Performance Research in the College of Fine Arts; and the Musicology program along with Music Theory and Composition in the College of Music. The center will support four FSU faculty fellows, six dissertation fellows pursuing doctoral degrees from FSU humanities departments, 15 undergraduate fellows pursuing honors theses or other humanities research projects, and four postdoctoral fellows serving two-year residencies.

Researchers in the FSU Humanities Center will unite their efforts around a central theme that runs on a two-year cycle. The theme for 2026-2027 is “The Human in the Humanities,” which explores what it means to be human amid the rise of artificial intelligence and the discoveries of neuroscience and genetics, and what ethical behavior and the “good life” look like in this new technological era. The fellows’ collaborative work may result in books, exhibitions, reports, extended articles, websites or other public expressions of their research.

“Establishing this center has long been a goal of our faculty members, and it will showcase the research excellence and scholarly productivity of FSU’s humanities programs.”

— Sam Huckaba, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

“Establishing this center has long been a goal of our faculty members, and it will showcase the research excellence and scholarly productivity of FSU’s humanities programs,” Huckaba said. “I appreciate the efforts of the Humanities Center Task Force in developing this bold proposal and President McCullough and Provost Jim Clark for their support in turning it into reality.”

The new center is also a member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, a global forum that supports hundreds of humanities centers and institutes through advocacy, funding opportunities and fostering collaboration. Membership connects FSU faculty and students with a network of humanities scholars and provides opportunities for partnerships and engagement with other humanities centers and institutes around the world.

“The Humanities Center rests on the premise that good things happen when people from different disciplines share their ideas about what it means to be human,” Corrigan said. “Our vision is to create a place where researchers in the humanities at FSU, as well as the public, can engage in interdisciplinary conversation and equally find ways to strengthen their expertise in their areas of study.”

By partnering with university, cultural, social and governmental organizations, the center also aims to expand its work beyond campus. It will host a series of lectures and events open to the public throughout the academic year, culminating in an annual international conference in February that explores the current theme. The conference will feature a keynote address by Blair LM Kelley, the president and director of the National Humanities Center, a nonprofit institute founded in 1978 with the mission of supporting scholars whose work helps expand knowledge and shape our understanding of the world we inhabit.

“It is a great time for the humanities to increase their visibility and emphasize the career paths open for those in this field ­— from roles like journalists, teachers, government and NGO employees, and consultants, to lawyers, business entrepreneurs, public relations professionals and more,” Corrigan said. “At the same time, the humanities will continue to do what they have always done, which is to prompt students to think creatively and critically about who they are, what the human is, and what it means to be a good citizen, friend and person.”

To learn more about the FSU Humanities Center, visit humanities.fsu.edu.

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The phenomenon of transforming a college dorm room into a personalized living space has flooded social media, creating a flourishing market driven by fervent online communities. Behind the viral #DormTok trend lies masked benefits and consequences that go beyond remaking an Instagram-worthy room.

In a 2023 study published in “Anxiety, Stress, & Coping,” research showed students whose dorm rooms were less aligned with their ideal vision of a living space reported more depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower overall well-being. The closer a student’s living space matches their desired environment, the better their mental health outcomes tended to be.

Florida State University’s Stephanie Sickler, an associate professor at the FSU School of Design, centers her work on student success in design education and beyond. According to Sickler, personalizing living spaces on campus have both positive and negative consequences for mental and emotional health.

“Personalization of space creates a supportive environment that can be restorative in times of need and activating in times of growth,” Sickler said. “Students benefit when their private spaces are enhanced even in small ways. However, elaborate decorative dorm room appointments can quickly become weaponized as a delineator of perceived worth and value among campus housing residents when the disparity between individual spaces is as vast as the examples being promoted in the media.”

Sickler adds that students may take great pride in portraying a strong personal self-image in how they appoint their space. However, social media can contribute to them feeling like they cannot keep up with the aesthetics required for perceived acceptance, creating a lack of self-esteem.

Sickler, a recent inductee into the Council of Fellows of the Interior Design Educators Council, says research shows that redesigned living spaces can still be correlated to student success because of important predictors like having a campus community to identify with and living at least one year in campus housing.

“Students electing to live on campus are already ahead of their peers as it pertains to their chance for student success,” Sickler added. “Possessions are an important component to protecting one’s sense of self — an aspect students are building afresh with their start to college. Studies have shown that students’ well-being is positively influenced by their ability to personalize their private spaces with possessions that have value to them.”

Media interested in understanding how dorm room redesigns affect student mental health may reach out to FSU School of Design Associate Professor Stephanie Sickler via email at ssickler@fsu.edu.

Stephanie Sickler, associate professor, Florida State University School of Design

What are some of the most impactful design shifts — from a standard university dorm room to a customized living space — that you notice often in these dorm room makeovers? How can these redesigns benefit students?

“Standard campus housing provides furniture for students and a standard window covering such as mini blinds. Students only need to bring bedding, clothing and personal belongings to be able to move into their room. Highly customized spaces now include features such as upholstered headboards, window treatments, custom bedding, rugs and specialized furniture items such as upholstered ottomans and convertible chairs. These items, while beautiful, are luxury items used in private residences. Including them in a dorm room may make certain students feel more at home, if they have such features in their family home, but at the same time creates a false sense of what the world may be like when they graduate.”

“Custom soft goods vary greatly in cost, and since many are only used in the dorm for one year before students move to off campus housing or another residence hall, the expense is high for such a temporary housing scenario. That said, the soft headboard may make it more comfortable for a user to sit and study or watch tv in bed. Window treatments may offer better light control and sound insulation. Soft furniture may make it more comfortable to gather with friends in the room.”

“Some proponents of the trend have posited that students will no longer be using their dorm rooms for the live-work-sleep scenario as before, which seems a waste of the curated features. If the goal is to personalize the space to the point that the student feels they are back at home, it doesn’t make sense to never spend any time in the luxury space that was curated.”

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The Florida State University School of Dance will bring new choreography, creative research and artistic collaboration to the stage during its 2026-27 production season, “Unbound.”  

The season features performances and special events that showcase the range of creative work and inquiry taking place across the School of Dance.  

The season opens Oct. 6 with the Tallahassee premiere of “Adele Myers and Dancers: a world gone FABULOUS” at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre, presented in partnership with Opening Nights. 

“We are especially pleased to have our students featured as part of this Opening Nights performance,” said James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “The evening will open with a newly commissioned work performed by our senior dance majors. It gives our students the chance to bring their work to a broader audience and gain valuable experience performing alongside professionals.” 

“Unbound” combines longtime-favorite productions, including Days of Dance in the fall and Evenings of Dance in the spring, with new opportunities for creative exploration. Among this year’s additions is the inaugural Meridian Dance Film Festival, a juried event that promises to feature work from filmmakers from around the world.  

“This season reveals the depth and range of creative work within our community,” said Helanius J. Wilkins, chair of the School of Dance. “At its core, ‘Unbound’ honors our rich legacy while creating space for reinvention. It invites curiosity, rigorous artistic inquiry and new perspectives while expanding opportunities for collaboration among our students, faculty and distinguished guest artists.” 

Visit the FSU Dance website to purchase tickets. For more information about the FSU School of Dance, visit dance.fsu.edu.   

2026-27 School of Dance performance schedule 

Oct. 6 — Adele Myers and Dancers: a world gone FABULOUS: Presented in partnership with Opening Nights, the Tallahassee premiere features Adele Myers and Dancers, with senior dance majors opening the evening with a newly commissioned work. 

Nov. 6. 7, 13, 14 — Days of Dance: This annual mainstage production brings together works by faculty with a juried selection of pieces by students and staff, performed by School of Dance students.  

Dec. 3 — Sketches: This new, scaled-down dance production emphasizes experimentation and student-driven perspectives, featuring a range of dance styles and creative approaches.  

Jan. 22 — Emerging Voices: A Graduate Showcase: This new showcase presents original works by graduate students in the School of Dance, inviting audiences to explore the questions, processes and possibilities shaping their creative work. 

Feb. 5 — Festival of the Creative Arts: Part of FSU’s annual celebration of interdisciplinary creativity, “Into the Deep” brings together oceanography, dance, music, poetry and other disciplines, with an emphasis on student-created work. 

Feb. 6-7 — Young Dancers Workshop: The annual Young Dancers’ Workshop gives about 200 dancers, ages 10 to 18 the opportunity to participatein a weekend of master classes with School of Dance faculty, including Suzanne Farrell, and invited guest artists.  

Feb. 6 — Meridian Dance Film Festival: This inaugural juried dance film festival features works selected from filmmakers around the world, givingaudiences an opportunity to experience diverse approaches to dance that extend beyond the boundaries of the stage. 

April 9-10 — Evenings of Dance: The School of Dance’s annual spring mainstage production features student performers in works created by School of Dance faculty and distinguished guest artists, highlighting the creative exchanges that emerge through mentorship, collaboration and artistic practice. 
April 13 — Senior Capstone: The Senior Capstone showcases culminating creative projects by graduating students, who bring together their artistic, technical and scholarly development through original work presented to the School of Dance community. 

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The Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA) will present “Floating Metal: UNDERcurrents In My Father’s Garden” beginning Aug. 27, an immersive performance exhibition bringing together the work of two artists and FSU faculty members, father and daughter Ed Love and nia love.

Conceived by School of Dance Professor and Guggenheim-winning choreographer nia love and co-curator Benin Ford, “Floating Metal” brings love’s choreography and dance films into conversation with the work of her father, Ed Love, a sculptor, fellow Guggenheim recipient and celebrated member of the Black Arts Movement. Known for transforming discarded scrap metal into powerful sculptures, Ed Love served as an FSU professor of visual arts from 1990 until his death in 1999.

“One of the central ideas of ‘Floating Metal: UNDERcurrents In My Father’s Garden’ is that our understanding of an artist is never complete. Knowledge unfolds as new works, memories, archives, relationships, and perspectives are brought into conversation,” said Kaylee Spencer, director of the museum. “By looking at Ed Love’s work through the experience of nia love’s performances and video installations, we can revisit the past with new information and see the present differently. We are excited to share this experience with the Tallahassee community.”

The exhibition will combine dance, live jazz music and video projection with the first museum presentation of images from Ed Love’s 1988 “Beloved” series and a selection of his metal sculptures commemorating Black historical figures.

The exhibition is personal for nia love because it draws on her relationship with her father and her own experiences as an artist.

“My father sent me forth to do the dance,” said love. “What happened to tear us apart is not a small thing. It all crosses the seas, estuaries and rivers. Floating Metal recalls and continues this movement. It is a prayer of memory and healing, and a message of invention and rupture.”

nia love will perform at the museum Aug. 27-29 as part of the exhibition. Performances are free and open to the public, but reservations are requiredbecause of limited capacity. Free tickets are available through Eventbrite.

The exhibition also will feature a live performance camera obscura installation encompassing the museum’s central gallery. The darkened installation will project the movements of performers and audience members as images onto the museum walls.

An opening reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3. The event is free and open to the public.

love began developing work related to “Floating Metal” during a 2022 residency at FSU’s Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, before joining the School of Dance faculty. During the residency, she conducted research and developed choreography that contributed to the exhibition.

The presentation of “Floating Metal: UNDERcurrents In My Father’s Garden” was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Additional support comes from FSU’s Council on Research + Creativity.

MoFA is Tallahassee’s only art museum accredited by the American Association of Museums. Home to a permanent collection of over 7,000 objects and works of art, the museum fosters creativity, collaboration and connection in our community. Visit the MoFA website to learn more and plan your visit.

 Performance schedule

Thursday, Aug. 27: 5:30 p.m. 

Friday, Aug. 28: 5:30 p.m. 

Saturday, Aug. 29: 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. 

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 The Florida State University Department of Art Education has a new name: the Department of Arts Leadership, Education & Therapy. The new name better reflects the full range of disciplines already housed within the department, including art education, art therapy, arts administration and museum education and visitor-centered curation. 

 “This change reflects the comprehensive scope of our graduate program areas,” said Department Chair and Professor of Art Education Rachel Fendler. “While our commitment to academic excellence and student success remains unchanged, our new name better reflects the full breadth of the department’s mission.” 

The Department of Arts Leadership, Education & Therapy focuses exclusively on graduate education, preparing the next generation of leaders in the arts. The department offers a range of graduate programs, including several fully online options designed for working professionals, and its programs have earned regional and national recognition. 

To learn more about the department and its programs, visit ArtsLeadership.fsu.edu. Follow the department on Instagram at @fsuartsleadership for the latest news and updates.  

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Florida State University’s College of Fine Arts is launching the School of Design at the start of the 2026-27 academic year, a move that reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the design profession.  

Formerly the Department of Interior Architecture & Design, the newly designated school better reflects the breadth of design education now offered at FSU while advancing its nationally recognized interior design program. 

The School of Design builds on more than 50 years of excellence in design education. FSU’s interior design program is ranked No. 3 in the nation for both undergraduate and graduate education by Niche, reinforcing the university’s longstanding reputation as one of the country’s top destinations for design education. 

The transition coincides with the launch of a new bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary design and the addition of a graduate certificate in graphic design last year. Together, the programs expand opportunities for students while positioning the School of Design to meet the evolving needs of the profession.  

“For more than half a century, Florida State University has been training leading designers who shape how we live, work and interact with the world,” said James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “The launch of the School of Design reflects our dedication to design thinking, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. We are preparing students not only for today’s creative industries, but also for the evolving challenges and opportunities shaping the future of design.” 

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Seven faculty members from Florida State University have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards for the 2026-27 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

FSU’s seven scholars will travel to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Belgium, Vietnam and India to teach, conduct research and engage with colleagues in their fields.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational and cultural exchange program. Led by the U.S. government in partnership with 160 countries worldwide, Fulbright offers programs for passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research. Participants enrich their education, advance their careers and make meaningful contributions to communities abroad and at home.

In addition, FSU’s Vice President for Student Affairs Amy Hecht received a Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) Award, which supports two-week seminars for U.S. higher education administrators to learn about participating countries’ higher education systems, exchange information on best practices and explore the potential for partnerships with institutions of higher education in the host country.

Hecht will use the award in France, where she will participate in briefings, campus visits, appointments with government officials, networking and cultural activities and meetings with French international education professionals to familiarize herself with France’s higher education and research system.

The 2026-2027 Fulbright Scholars from FSU are: 

Jim Lile, a professor at the School of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts, will use the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach courses about Western production practices and conduct research on Asian production methods at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, during the spring 2027 semester. 

Lile brings 25 years of experience in live theater. He was first invited to Taipei in October 2023 to conduct a series of master classes based on his experience with the Western theatrical technical production methods used for opera, musicals, plays and dance. The short visit provided such a valuable opportunity that Lile wanted to return to Taipei to continue teaching and learning more about live performance practices in Asia.  

By focusing on the various organizational structures, training techniques and uses of text, movement and music to tell stories, Lile will explore how cultural values and traditions are reflected in technical production methods. 

“I hope to build an international network with theater designers and technicians and create long-term collaboration opportunities in Taiwan and other regional countries,” Lile said. “Taiwan’s multicultural history offers rich opportunities to study the diverse traditions and histories of Asian live performance.” 

Judith Pascoe, the George Mills Harper Professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, will expand on her research and teaching interests in Nara, Japan, through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program starting in March.  

This is Pascoe’s second Fulbright award to Japan. She previously received the Fulbright Japan Lecturing Award for the 2009-2010 academic year while teaching at the University of Iowa. This experience led to her writing “On the Bullet Train with Emily Brontë: ‘Wuthering Heights’ in Japan,” an account of her quest to discover the reasons for the continuous Japanese embrace of the novel “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë. 

Pascoe will teach classes and continue her research on Japanese adaptations of world literature at Nara Women’s University from March to August 2027. Her classes will draw from her experience as a specialist in nineteenth-century literature, while her research will focus on why certain works have gained popularity among youth demographics.  

“I look forward to fine-tuning the teaching strategies I cultivated for use in Japanese classrooms, to forging relationships with new Japanese colleagues and to learning about present-day Japanese challenges,” Pascoe said. “The Fulbright support for the humanities is a tremendously strong force for kindness, empathy and cross-cultural solidarity.” 

Hui Wang, an associate professor in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, will conduct collaborative research at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore from January to July 2027 through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.  

While at NTU, Wang will collaborate with colleagues on a research project focused on improving manufacturing quality control and process design in advanced production systems, particularly 3D printing.  

The project combines process simulations, sensor measurements and engineering knowledge to better understand how manufacturing conditions affect product quality. 

“Singapore provides a unique environment where advanced manufacturing and data-driven engineering innovation are closely integrated,” Wang said. “Beyond the technical research, I value the cultural exchange aspect of Fulbright very highly. I believe there is much to learn from Singapore’s emphasis on discipline, efficiency and engineering rigor, while also sharing perspectives from the U.S. research environment that encourage open discussion, interdisciplinary exploration and student-centered mentoring. 

Aleksandra Zimmerman, the Ed McIntyre Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Department of Accounting at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business, will carry out research in Antwerp, Belgium, during the fall and spring semesters.

Zimmerman will work with researchers at the University of Antwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where she will collaborate with faculty on research and engage with students and scholars on topics related to accounting and auditing, human capital and labor markets, and regulatory policy. Her research project will focus on accounting and business with a particular emphasis on issues related to emerging trends and to the accounting and auditing profession and regulation policies in a global context.

The project seeks to address how different institutional structures, cultural norms and regulatory environments influence accounting, auditing and business practices and decision making. Through collaborative research and scholarly exchange, Zimmerman aims to better understand how institutional and cultural settings shape business practices, regulation and standard setting.

“Belgium is an ideal location for this work given its central role in European regulatory and economic systems,” Zimmerman said. “I am most looking forward to the collaborative aspect of the Fulbright experience, working closely with international colleagues, engaging with students, and immersing myself in the academic and cultural life of Belgium and visiting other schools in Europe. Fulbright support is particularly important for accounting and business because these fields are deeply shaped by global economic forces and international regulation.” 

Biwu Ma, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, will also travel to Belgium to conduct research at the University of Antwerp during the upcoming fall and spring semesters through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. He will spend the academic year merging material science and medical physics to improve how ultra-high dose rate radiotherapies monitor radiation in real-time. 

With recent advancements in FLASH radiotherapy, an emerging cancer treatment shown to reduce damage to healthy tissue while delivering high rates of radiation at extreme speeds, comes a need to create radiation dosimeters that reliably detect dosages. Ma’s work focuses on developing organic-inorganic hybrid scintillation materials to provide accurate, real-time dose monitoring and enhance treatment precision. 

“The (University of Antwerp) provides a unique environment where materials science can be directly connected to clinically relevant validation and translational research,” Ma said. “The award emphasizes the importance of international collaboration in driving scientific innovation and translating fundamental discoveries into real-world societal impact.” 

Frankie Wong, the McKenzie Endowed Professor in the College of Nursing and founding director of the Center of Population Sciences for Health Empowerment, will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, next spring to further his research at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at National Vietnam University (VNU-USSH).

Wong, who has visited Vietnam nearly 10 times in the past decade and has previously worked in countries like China, Russia, South Africa and Tajikistan, will further his work examining HIV-related stigma intervention among high-risk men in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam with the highest rate of HIV in the country. His work seeks to encourage more people to engage in HIV research, which can lead to more cutting-edge strategies to mitigate and/or prevent this global burden. 

“The Fulbright Fellowship will allow me to have an immersive experience. I believe I have the temperament, humility and appreciation of American culture to serve as an effective cultural ambassador for the U.S.,” he said. 

Paromita Sanyal, an associate professor of Sociology in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy and research associate at FSU’s Center for Demography and Population Health, will travel to India using the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award.

Sanyal specializes in international development, gender, economic and political sociology. Her research examines large-scale programs aimed at inducing development, women’s empowerment and financial inclusion.

As a member of the World Bank’s Social Observatory team, which is based in India and tracks projects aiming to eradicate poverty and improve livelihoods around the world, she uses her insights to understand the impact of socioeconomic interventions on women in India. She will expand upon this work during her Fulbright experience.   

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Notable Fulbrighters include 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors.  

More than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, over 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants — recent college graduates, graduate students and early career professionals — participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year. 

FSU faculty interested in learning more about applying for Fulbright Program funding can contact Peggy Wright-Cleveland, Director of Faculty Development in the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement, at mwrightcleveland@admin.fsu.edu or (850) 645-8202. 

To learn more about FSU’s global footprint, visit global.fsu.edu. 

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In Florida and across the Caribbean, hurricane season is more than a forecast. It is a reminder that safety, housing and survival are shaped by decisions people make long before a storm arrives.

For Paul Niell, an associate professor in Florida State University’s Department of Art History, those decisions are also questions of history, ecology and cultural knowledge. His research on Indigenous Caribbean architecture points to a timely idea for communities facing stronger storms: Buildings can be designed to work with the environment around them, not apart from it.

“You have to build in such a way that it works with that ecological condition,” Niell said. “And of course, that’s a very complicated problem to work out.”

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Florida State University’s education and educational research program ranks No. 25 globally, No. 2 among public universities in the United States and No. 1 in Florida in the 2026-27 Best Global Universities rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

Florida State also ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions in psychiatry and psychology (No. 80), social sciences and public health (No. 89) and arts and humanities (No. 92).

The rankings evaluate more than 2,250 universities in more than 100 countries based on academic research performance and global and regional research reputation. The methodology emphasizes factors such as publications, citations and international collaboration.

“These rankings across crucial professions and disciplines reflect the quality of our faculty and the impact of their scholarship,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark. “The recognition earned by our education program, along with strong performances in psychology, the social sciences and the humanities, demonstrates the public value proposition of the academic excellence across Florida State University.”

FSU’s performance reflects the university’s continued growth as a leading research institution. The university recorded a record $488 million in research expenditures, a 50 percent increase since 2021, and surpassed $1.2 billion in research funding proposals in 2025.

U.S. News uses data from Clarivate’s Web of Science Core Collection and InCites Benchmarking & Analytics to evaluate universities. The Best Global Universities rankings focus primarily on institutions’ research performance and scholarly impact rather than undergraduate education.

For more information and the complete rankings, visit the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities website.

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