VPA Internal Grant Recipients

Undergraduate Students

• Eliora Enriquez, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “Senior Thesis Film ‘Cometierra’”
• Amaya Evans, School of Design, for “Fashion Design Streetwear Senior Collection Development”
• Carmela Garcia, School of Design, for “Advancing Hempcrete Research for Sustainable Tiny Homes: Cornell Hemp Building Workshop”
• Clara Kelley, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “The Good Memory Project”
• Paige Mathes, School of Design, for “Here in our Underworld: Researching Communication, Disability, and Self-Expression in Fashion through Emerging Technologies”
• Hannah Tjaden, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “Sophomore Student Thesis Project”

Graduate Students

• Evan Caggia, Setnor School of Music, for “The Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference”
• Alex Luyan Cao, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “Change: Graduate Thesis Sci-fi Short Film & Practice-Led Research”
• Taylor Gearhart, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “Drowned, Pleasured and Veiled”
• Adam Huffman, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “Survival Story: A Film M.F.A. Production”
• Klark Johnson, Setnor School of Music, for “Student Led Direction of ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’”
• Emily Rogers, Department of Film and Media Arts, for "’The Mother of Gloom’ Short Film”
• Jiayue Yu, Department of Film and Media Arts, for “’Afterimage of a Vacation’: Project Completion”

• Christine Albright-Tufts, Assistant Professor, Department of Drama
  An Artist Family—Accessing the Work Constellations (By Nick Payne at the Rogue Theater Company in Ashland, Oregon; Directed by Emily Moler; Starring Christine Albright and John Tufts)
  This project supports the rehearsal and performance of "Constellations" by Nick Payne, a two-person play exploring love, mortality, and the infinite possibilities created by life’s smallest choices. Assistant Professor of Acting Christine Albright-Tufts and actor John Tufts will perform the work with Rogue Theater Company in Ashland, Oregon, a company known for centering artists with deep ties to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival community. The grant will fund a two-week rehearsal process in Syracuse, New York, allowing the artists to develop the production at home before traveling to Oregon for technical rehearsals and performances. By housing director Emily Moler in Syracuse during rehearsals, the project enables a flexible, family-centered model of artistic collaboration that supports both creative excellence and sustainable working conditions. The process also reflects Albright-Tufts’s commitment to mentorship, accessibility, and professional engagement, demonstrating for students how artists can build meaningful careers while prioritizing community, family life, and innovative approaches to producing theater.
  
• Scott Cuellar, Assistant Professor, Setnor School of Music
  Travel Assistance for Research Leave at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile
  The Setnor School of Music has identified the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile, as a desirable destination for Setnor students during their semester abroad, as Syracuse University already has a longstanding partnership with PUCC. We have already begun this partnership by sending faculty and students to perform, and Cuellar’s visit in Fall 2026 will be a part of this schoolwide push to build a stronger connection to a university that can provide high-quality instruction to our students while they are abroad, in a location where Syracuse University has a presence. Cuellar will perform a recital on November 12, and will be in country from November 9-15, giving lessons and masterclasses. The VPA Faculty Enrichment Grant will be used to fund travel to Santiago.
  
• Natalie Draper, Associate Professor, Setnor School of Music
  Video Collage of "Pattern Dances" Music & Choreography
  The faculty enrichment fund will support hiring videographer Michael Sherman to create a video collage of Natalie Draper’s “Pattern Dances” for solo organ, which was written for Syracuse University faculty member and organist Anne Laver. This video will assemble footage from four performances: the premiere with Laver and School of the Arts dance students in Rochester in March 2022, with Jeffrey Smith and dance students at Indiana University in March 2023, with Laver and dance students of the Göteborg Balletenakadamien in Sweden in October 2023, and with Laver and the Meagan Woods Collaborative at the premiere of the SU Catholic Center in March 2026. This video will be shared at an album release concert in fall 2026, which will celebrate “Interlaced: Music for Organ, et al.,” soon to be released by Acis Productions. The video will also be available for viewing on Draper’s website to help promote the album. 
  
• Heath Hanlin, Associate Professor, Department of Film and Media Arts
  Production support for "The Artifact," an animated short film exploring climate change in a forest in CNY utilizing a novel animation technique.
  “The Artifact” is a short animated film directed by Heath Hanlin, poetically depicting climate change and an invasive species event in a small forest in upstate New York adjacent to his home. The project utilizes a novel stop motion animation technique developed by Hanlin and is made with data and materials sustainably salvaged from the forest. Part of his ongoing “One Square Mile” project which uses a variety of media to depict climate change in places no larger than a square mile, “The Artifact” communicates about and encourages dialog around humanity's need to grapple with the emotional, social, and physical ramifications of climate change.
  
• Soudabeh Moradian, Assistant Professor, Department of Film and Media Arts
  Feature film Wild Berries: European Film Market Participation and Project Development
  Wild Berries" is a feature-length narrative film currently in advanced development, written and directed by Soudabeh Moradian and based on the award-winning play "The Language of Wild Berries." The project builds on Moradian’s previous feature films "The Mermaid," "Polaris," and the feature documentary "Doomsday Machine," which explore themes of memory, displacement, trauma, and fractured communication across cultures and generations. The film follows an immigrant couple whose road trip becomes a metaphysical journey through time and place. The project has an internationally recognized cast attached and is being developed as a European co-production with Georgia, Luxembourg, Germany, and France. Production is currently anticipated for 2027.
  
• Ralf Schneider, Associate Professor, School of Design
  Gamified Learning Strategies for Collaborative Virtual Reality Spatial Design
  This project develops and evaluates a novel gamified learning environment for teaching VR sketching through collaborative, station-based spatial exercises. Building on two semesters of teaching DES 300 Designing in Virtual Reality at Syracuse University and working with SOURCE research assistants Nia Griffin (IID '28) , Ben Fossella (IID '28) and Ben Radoff (IID '28), we identified that collaborative exercises generate significantly higher student engagement than traditional individual instruction. We designed a torus segment spatial configuration where four-student groups progress through task stations that scaffold learning from fundamental VR interactions to intermediate design skills using Gravity Sketch. The VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund supports presentation of this research at the 10th International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Virtual & Augmented Reality Simulations (ICVARS 2026) in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, July 8-10, 2026. This dissemination contributes to understanding how spatial configuration, collaborative dynamics, and gamification principles can enhance VR design education for digitally native learners.

• Kelly Gallagher, Associate Professor, Department of Film and Media Arts
  Brood Patch (short personal documentary film)
  “Brood Patch” is a short, personal, experimental documentary exploring the filmmaker’s matrescence (process of becoming a mother). The film combines present day reenactments and dance sequences filmed on 16mm and super 8mm, alongside historical archival footage, and animation to create a deeply textured visual metaphor for the rich and layered experience of one's entry into the beautiful wilderness of motherhood.
  
• Anne Laver, Associate Professor, Setnor School of Music
  Post-production costs for The Organ in America, a feature-length documentary exploring the history, innovation, and cultural impact of the pipe organ in the United States.
  This VPA Enrichment Grant will support a portion of editing costs for “The Organ in America,” a feature-length documentary exploring the history, innovation, and cultural impact of the pipe organ in the United States.
  
• Wendy Moy, Associate Professor, Setnor School of Music
  Professional Development Through Choral Conference Leadership and International Collaboration
  This project advances scholarly research, international collaboration, and program development through leadership at three professional conferences in choral music. At the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) Conference, Dr. Moy presents "Reconceptualizing the Collegiate Choral Program in a Post-Pandemic World," establishing her profile as an active scholar-practitioner while contributing timely research to the field. At the ACDA Eastern Region Conference, she serves as liaison for five Portuguese conductors, facilitating cross-cultural pedagogical exchange and hosting one conductor's campus visit, bringing international perspectives directly into Syracuse University classrooms. The NY ACDA Collegiate Conference strengthens regional professional networks and provides current insights into challenges facing new music educators, enhancing mentorship of student teachers and recent graduates. These activities collectively advance Dr. Moy's research trajectory with potential publication opportunities, enrich Music Education and Choral Conducting curricula with global approaches, ensure programs remain responsive to field demands, and actively recruit high-quality graduate students while elevating Syracuse University's visibility within national and regional choral communities.
  
• Erica Murphy, Assistant Professor, Department of Drama
  Wolf Women: An Original New Play and Mask-Making Workshops
  “Wolf Women” (working title) is a devised physical theater show that captures the transformation of women in mythology through the backdrop of the extirpation and rehabilitation of wolves in the Adirondacks over the last century. The Faculty Enrichment Fund will support the early stages of mask development for this new work, as well as mask-making workshops to be offered both to the greater Syracuse University community and within the course DRA 373: Clown Technique. These mask-making and performance workshops will be taught by Murphy and collaborator Lei- Lei Bavoil, a mask maker and actor with the Berlin-based company Familie Flöz and the Oslo-based puppet theater company Wakka Wakka.
  
• Meri Page, Associate Professor, School of Design
  Practice-Based Research in Typographic Design
  Typographic design has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by cutting-edge digital tools, a surge of independent type foundries, and the growing demand for unique visual identities. Building on and expanding Professor Page’s research expertise in typography, this funding will provide the resources necessary to create and prototype original typefaces, digitally revive historic lettering, and contribute to innovation in typography.
  
• Kyra Stahr, Assistant Teaching Professor, Setnor School of Music
  Professional Development in Choral Conducting: American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Michigan Music Educators Conference (MMEA), and International Choral Exchange Program (ICEP) in Portugal
  Professional Development in Choral Conducting supports Kyra Stahr’s participation in five major professional engagements during the 2025–26 academic year: the NY Collegiate ACDA Conference, Michigan Music Educators Conference, ACDA Eastern and Southern Division Conferences, and the International Conductor’s Exchange Program (ICEP) in Portugal. Through conference presentations, performances, recruitment activities, and international collaboration, this project will enhance Stahr’s professional growth and expand Syracuse University’s visibility in the global choral community. Highlights include presenting research on Filipino choral music and representing the United States as one of six conductors selected for the ICEP exchange in Portugal. Funding from the VPA Faculty Enrichment Fund will offset travel, lodging, and registration costs, ensuring Stahr’s full participation and advancing Syracuse University’s mission of excellence, diversity, and international engagement in the arts.

• Kara Herold, Associate Professor, Department of Film and Media Arts: “A Subtle Coming-of-age Portrait with Delicate Undertones” is a dark comedy that examines the fragile line between persistence and delusion, revealing how ambition, envy, and fantasy collide in the messy, often hilarious struggle of a creative life.
  
• Lily Jiang, Assistant Professor, School of Design: “Heat Made Visible: Thermochromic Wearable Art for Climate Awareness” will investigate how climate data can be translated into embodied visual experiences on clothing to improve public understanding and engagement.
  
• Quran Karriem, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies: “Using Consumer Hardware and Artificial Intelligence for Motion and Gesture-Based Performance Control Systems” will translate Dr. Karriem’s existing “Synthball” gestural system for live audio and video control to Apple’s iOS and watchOS platforms. The system has been used in several live performance settings in the U.S. and abroad, including one for which Dr. Karriem was recognized for ‘Best Sound Design/Music Composition’ by the New York Dance and Performance Awards. The project will make the technology easier to implement in performances by replicating some of its central features to the iPhone and Apple Watch. Once complete, the iOS and watchOS applications will wirelessly transmit real-time motion data to Dr. Karriem’s previously developed processes for controlling live performance media environments such as Max/MSP, Isadora, and Resolume. Dr. Karriem’s secondary goal is to train an AI model that can classify repeatable gestures and choreographies and apply them to discrete and predictable effects.
  
• Jacob Kerzner, Assistant Professor, Department of Drama: “Melodies on Parade: Examining the Canon of Depression-Era Political Musicals” will curate a digital archive of scripts and scores from these productions and produce practical reconstructions to revitalize attention to these rebellious comedies and to further incorporate their practices into musical theater pedagogy.
  
• Susannah Sayler, Associate Professor, Department of Film and Media Arts: “Every Abandoned Place” is an artist book of photographs taken during a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, where Professor Sayler documented the disassembly of the iconic National Fossil Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, originally built in 1911.
  
• David Tarleton, Professor and Chair, Department of Film and Media Arts: “Mantra” is a narrative/experimental short film that explores resilience and perseverance through a distinctly female perspective. Built around a rhythmic spoken word poem, the film foregrounds women’s voices and lived experiences in the face of adversity, offering a creative counterpoint to conventional depictions of struggle. The project celebrates mature women and situates their stories within poetic, cinematic expression.