For Applied Humanities major Nagasriya Ramisetty, the title of her poetry reading and art exhibition, “bit·ter·sweet,” reflects an essential theme in the writing: hunger. 

“It’s a hunger for knowledge, a hunger for growth, a hunger to always be more. It shows up in metaphorical and literal ways,” Ramisetty said. “This project has been a really awesome overlap of my interests in medicine, poetry, and art in a creative way.”

That hunger for knowledge and growth certainly defined her ambitious and multidisciplinary project, which both unites her various academic interests and applies an artistic lens. A junior in the Honors College, she is double majoring in Applied Humanities, with a Public Health emphasis, and Physiology and Medical Sciences, and minoring in Creative Writing, Education and a thematic minor of Self, Stories, and Society.

Her Applied Humanities thesis, “bit·ter·sweet” addresses mental health stigma among Asian Americans, but humanizes the statistical data with personal stories. “I really wanted to focus on highlighting narratives in the community and I wanted that to take a creative approach. I didn’t want to sanitize it down to numbers and instead chose to focus on the people affected and involved,” she said.

Ramisetty’s project has been supported by grants from the College of Humanities and W.A. Franke Honors College, and a JustArts Fellowship from the College of Fine Arts. Her “bit·ter·sweet” poetry reading and art exhibition, free and open to the public, will take place on Friday, April 17, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Health Sciences Innovation Building, 1670 E. Drachman St. 

The roots of Ramisetty’s project trace to high school, during the disruptions caused by COVID-19, when she saw a lack of structural support for students’ mental health, especially Asian American students and immigrant students. This current research serves as an extension of her advocacy for youth mental health support. 

With a Franke Honors Exploratory Mini Grant, she began researching the stigma against mental health in the Asian American community and how to make resources more accessible. She continued in exploring the intersection of health and humanities as one of the inaugural Health Humanities Hub Interdisciplinary Scholars. 

The artistic component of her project began coalescing in the Honors course “Living Poetry / The Poet’s Life and Work,” taught by Associate Professor of Practice Claire McLane, in conjunction with the UA Poetry Center and its Reading and Lecture Series. Students read the work of visiting poets, attended the Poetry Center readings and got to discuss those works with the poets themselves. 

“This class was a pivotal moment as I was writing poetry in reflection on other people’s works for the first time. I learned more about other people's writing philosophies as well, which really shaped my identity as a poet,” she said. 

A final component that helped focus the project arrived while Ramisetty was studying abroad in Greece last summer, and she began incorporating Greek mythology into her poetry, either in retelling or reimagining Greek myths in relation to her research, or poems written in conversation with Greek mythology. 

“My voice as a writer has grown a significant amount. Many of the poems are written after I had the opportunity to study abroad in Greece,” she said. “That experience really grounded my poetry and gave it a more tangible form as I examined Greek mythology and the Asian diaspora.”

Ramisetty has already shown here interdisciplinary approach to the project in public, delivering a hybrid presentation of her public health research and poetry at the Health Humanities Consortium conference in Indianapolis earlier this month. 

“The JustArts Fellowship and College of Humanities have truly shaped my development as an interdisciplinary scholar. I would not be who l am today without the support of every community I am a part of, and I am endlessly grateful to my peers, mentors, and loved ones,” she said. 

The College of Humanities is proud to announce the following recipients of the Spring 2026 COH Scholarships.

Please join us in congratulating them on their outstanding achievements!
 

Alene Kelsey Metcalf Family Scholarship
Bianka Lopez | Major: Interdisciplinary Studies

Dana and Jeffrey Vandersip Endowed Humanities Award
Chloe Thompson | Majors: Spanish; Biochemistry
Chase Valentine | Majors: East Asian Studies; Biochemistry

Dante S. Lauretta and M. Katherine Crombie Award
Alice Miranda | Majors: Italian; Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology

David Evans and Lucille C. Nutt Scholarship
Nicole Digonno | Majors: Spanish; Physiology & Medical Sciences
Alba Sabelli | Majors: French; Chemical Engineering

Gerard Agnieray Memorial Scholarship
Maria Mouza | Major: French

Humanities Matter Scholarship
Annie Chen | Majors: East Asian Studies; Psychology
Honorable Mention: Josephine Desmarais | Majors: Russian; French; Political Science

Mary Ann Farman Memorial Scholarship
Sydney Crouthers | Majors: Spanish; Global Studies; Latin American Studies

Misto-Ertz Scholarship
Alexis Bojorquez | Major: Spanish
Angie Oluwafemi | Majors: French; Architecture

Quiteria M. Nelson Scholarship
Alex Gardner | Majors: Italian; Creative Writing
Madeleine Housh | Major: Spanish

College of Humanities Scholarship
Anna Chen | Majors: East Asian Studies; Psychology
Alice Miranda | Majors: Italian; Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology

Stephen D. Todd Interdisciplinary Humanities Scholarship
Samantha Cottam | Majors: French; Environmental Science
Leslie Fraijo | Major: Spanish

Van de Verde Memorial Scholarship
Dorian Andrews | Majors: Classics; Landscape Architecture
Laurel Burkholder | Majors: German Studies; Speech, Language & Hearing Sci
Adiba Haque | Majors: German Studies; Biomedical Engineering
 

STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS

Alfred and Mary Beigel Memorial Scholarship
Cade Young | Majors: German Studies; Architecture

Donna Dillon Manning and Larry Horner Endowed Humanities Award for Study Abroad
Elizabeth Lendo | Majors: Spanish; Art History
Skipper Vereen | Majors: East Asian Studies; Design Arts & Practice

Donna Swaim Study Abroad Award for Double Majors
Aryaman Elayadom | Majors: French; Neuroscience & Cognitive Sci
Elizabeth Ghartey | Majors: French; Biochemistry; Mathematics
Philip Kravtchenko | Majors: Russian; Intelligence & Info Ops

Kerr Family Endowment for Humanities Abroad
Alexa Garcia | Majors: Spanish; Psychology
Estrella Ruiz Romero | Majors: Spanish; Medicine

Waterfall Family Endowment for Humanities Abroad
Emely Trujillo | Majors: Spanish; Elementary Education

Werner Schirmer Memorial Scholarship
Ava Haga | Majors: French; Neuroscience & Cognitive Sci

 

Stephanie Springer, Principal Lecturer and Director of Internships and Career Readiness in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, is the winner of the university’s 2026 Community Impact Faculty Award. 

The award was presented by Campus Community Connections during the 2nd Annual Community Impact Symposium on March 26. This award recognizes faculty who have “significantly contributed to embedding community and engagement into a structural or institutional aspect of the University through policies or practices. The recipient must demonstrate a commitment to retaining and recruiting faculty, staff and students from various backgrounds, promoting equality of opportunity, and fostering a welcoming and supportive campus environment.” 

Springer was honored for her leadership through the University of Arizona Internship Council, which began in 2017 as the result of a campus focus group and has grown into a campus-wide, cross-role body that brings faculty, staff and administrators into coordinated dialogue around internships—an uncommon model nationally

“Through sustained leadership of the U of A Internship Council, Stephanie Springer has strengthened the infrastructure that governs credit-bearing internships across the University of Arizona. As Internship Council Chair since 2019, Springer has cultivated a cross-campus community of practice that fosters trust, candor, and shared learning,” according to award nomination submitted by Matt Mars, Interim Head of the Department of Public and Applied Humanities. 

Under Springer’s leadership, membership has grown 150 percent and transformed previously decentralized work into a connected system. By securing approval from departments across campus and key U of A committees, she clarified credit standards, strengthened faculty oversight and established equitable guidelines for paid internships. 

“By reducing isolation and equipping colleagues to navigate complex internship issues with clarity and confidence, Springer strengthens professional support networks that contribute to faculty and staff retention and engagement,” the nomination said. 

Springer designed the Applied Humanities career readiness and internship program and has mentored more than 2,100 students, guiding them through the process of finding, securing and completing internships and building the confidence needed to launch and navigate their careers.

“The phrase ‘Community Impact’ feels especially meaningful because the work being recognized is the result of many people who care deeply about building initiatives that strengthen and connect our university community,” Springer said as she accepted the award. “One of the things I love most about the Internship Council is that it brings together faculty, staff, and administrators from across the university who are all tackling similar challenges. While many of these efforts began independently in different corners of campus, the Council provides a space for collaboration and shared problem-solving, allowing us to exchange ideas, to support one another, and to strengthen internship policy, pedagogy, and practices for students across the U of A.” 

Jacqueline Barrios, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, was also a nominee for the Community Impact Faculty Award. 

Also announced at the symposium were Community Group Awardees, including two College of Humanities recipients. 

Harris Kornstein, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, received the Disability Research Advancement Award from the Disabled Faculty and Staff Coalition. 

Praise Zenenga, Head of the Department of Africana Studies, was one of three recipients for the inaugural Leadership Excellence Award from the Sankofa Faculty and Staff Association. 

Dr. Andres D. Onate, who received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and went on to become a foreign service officer, professor and department head, died in November. 

Onate published his first book right after completing his dissertation and subsequently he became an assistant professor and later department head of Oriental Studies from 1974-1978, said Chia-lin Pao Tao, Professor Emerita in the Department of East Asian Studies, who first met Onate in 1976 when she arrived at the U of A from Taiwan. 

“Not only was he a diligent scholar, but also an inspiring teacher. Even today we could find students now in their 60s reflecting how great a teacher he was in those years,” she said. 

Onate secured federal funding from the then U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to support programs in the Department of Oriental Studies, which later became the Department of East Asian Studies. He and Tim Light were instrumental in securing the external and institutional support in establishing the East Asian Center at the U of A in 1970s. 

Onate later left the university after accepting an offer from the U.S. Department of State. When Onate was assigned to be the Culture Attache in the American Embassy in Beijing, he continued to do his best to assist U of A faculty and students. 

In 1979, he wrote the book Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party, published by Nelson-Hall, which analyzed the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong’s leadership. 

“When a faculty friend encountered difficulty in China, it was Andy who provided him with the best advice. When an engineering student, now a great scholar in the energy field, failed to get a visa to study here it was Andy who helped him secure the F-1 Visa,” she said. 

At the State Department, Onate wore many different hats, even serving in the White House with the National Security Council during President Ronald Reagan’s term, said his wife, Annie Reed. 

After retiring from the State Department in 2015, Onate led the U of A Study in China Program headquartered in Nanjing and served as an adjunct professor in the Department of East Asian Studies. 

“He was dedicated in sharing his knowledge with students who were interested in Chinese political theories, Chinese history, U.S.-China international relations or classical Confucianism. He was so proud of being a U of A professor,” she said. 

Dr. Elizabeth Chesney Zegura, Associate Professor Emerita in the Department of French and Italian, passed away in February. She was 76. 

Carine Bourget, Head of the Department of French and Italian, and Fabian Alfie, Professor of Italian, wrote a memorial on behalf of the department:  

From 1978 when she first joined the UA, till her retirement in 2015, Dr. Elizabeth Zegura was a pillar of our department, dedicating her professional life to the transformative power of education and the pursuit of knowledge. 

As a scholar, Elizabeth’s rigorous contributions have helped advance Early Modern French studies, and most notably enriched our understanding of Rabelais, Ariosto, Marguerite de Navarre, and gender issues during the Renaissance. 

Beyond her publications, Elizabeth embodied the very best of what it means to be an educator through her generous support and mentorship of students and colleagues. She taught over 30 different courses in both French and Italian languages and cultures, as well as General Education. In addition to guiding students as Director of Undergraduate Studies, then Director of Graduate Studies, she also served as Honors Advisor and Arizona Assurance Mentor. Her dedication to students was recognized by the COH Distinguished Advising/Mentoring Award in 2004.

To those of us who have been fortunate to work with her, Elizabeth was a model of collegiality. We remember fondly her uplifting presence and sound advice. She was always good-natured, and generous with her time, and she believed strongly in the mission of the Department of French and Italian. Through her work, she contributed to both the French and Italian Programs, and she was central to establishing Italian on its current sound footing. 

Her legacy will continue through her research that paved new ground, and the students who viewed their future more broadly thanks to her guidance and teaching. 

We extend our sincere condolences to Krista (whom we saw grow up through pictures that adorned Elizabeth’s office) and her family. She last joined us for an alumni recognition event in 2022, and shared that she was enjoying spending time with her baby granddaughter. May our cherished colleague rest in peace.

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An expert on the French and Italian Renaissance, Zegura taught courses on literature, theater and language and authored or edited several books, including Marguerite de Navarre’s Shifting Gaze (2017), The Rabelais Encyclopedia (2004), Rabelais Revisited (1993), and The Countervoyage of Rabelais and Ariosto (1982). She also taught in the Humanities Seminars Program. 

Zegura received her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1976 and her bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1971. Before joining the University of Arizona, she taught at Davidson College and Depauw University. See the published obituary for more information. 

Dr. John G. Garrard, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies, passed away in February. He was 91. 

A prolific scholar, Garrard published nine books and more than 60 articles on Russian/Soviet cultural history, World War II, the Holocaust and the Russian Orthodox Church. Garrard began at the University of Arizona in 1984 and retired in 2010. 

Born in 1934 in England, Garrard earned his B.A. in Persian and Turkish Studies in 1958 from Oxford University and a master’s degree, graduate certificate and Ph.D., in 1966, from Columbia University. He became a U.S. citizen on July 4, 1977 at Monticello. 

Prior to joining the U of A faculty, he taught at Dartmouth College, Indiana University and the University of Virginia, where he was Director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies. 

Garrard served twice as a Senior Fellow by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a division of the Smithsonian Institute, in 2004-05 and 1984-85. His donated database, The Brest Ghetto Passport archive, is hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society and contains 12,640 names of victims. In 2008, he was recognized for Distinguished Contributions to the Humanities. 

He is survived by his wife and co-author, Carol Garrard. 

The College of Humanities will host the Spring 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, April 3, featuring presentations from 14 students across a range of topics. 

The event was created and organized by Louise Taylor, a double major in German Studies and Political Science and the senator representing the College of Humanities in the Associated Students of University of Arizona. 

Taylor said research can be more easily understood for students in scientific majors, but students in the College of Humanities can be just as active as their peers in terms of research. 

“A lot of people underestimate the power of humanities research. I wanted to show the cool humanistic things the students are doing in their classes because we have such a diverse array of classes that you don’t see in other colleges,” Taylor said. “Showing that we’re producing research dealing with culture and society and the way humans live in society, and that it does benefit people, can make more people realize the importance and the value of the humanities, on a community scale and a nationwide scale.” 

The symposium is organized thematically, with four groups of students presenting around a general topic, moderated by a faculty member with related expertise. See the full schedule below. 

For Taylor and the participating students alike, the symposium is an opportunity to gain important experience. 

“Participating in a research conference or symposium is important to have on your resume. And for me, making the event has been a huge, huge learning experience. I’ve learned administrative tasks, logistical tasks and budget tasks. I’ve had to do a ton of coordination and talking to faculty and administrators, which can be intimidating as a student, but it’s been hugely beneficial for me to get out of my comfort zone and take charge,” she said. “I’m excited to see it come to life and I hope the students benefit from it as much as we expect.” 

Kristy Slominski, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, who will moderate a panel relating to culture and healthcare, said students will benefit from both sides of the experience, the research and the presentation. 

“The COH Undergraduate Research Symposium is such an important opportunity to showcase the range and depth of student research happening in the humanities. Sharing original research is an essential part of the research process, so this gives students the opportunity to engage with this core academic practice and to build their communication skills,” she said. 

Spring 2026 College of Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium

Friday, April 3
Tucson Room (third floor), Student Union Memorial Center 

8:30-9:00 am Coffee and Bagels 
9:00-9:15 Opening Remarks by Dorrance Dean A-P Durand 

9:20-10:05 Panel #1: Innovation & Cultures of Care 
Moderator: Dr. Kristy Slominski, Religious Studies 
Presenters:
Fiona Liyanage 
Genevieve Kloch 
Marlie Nochomovitz 

10:10-11:10 Panel #2: Affect & Personal Experiences 
Moderator: Harriet Olulo, German Studies 
Presenters:  
Mia Romero 
Siobhan Leavy 
Andree Ader 
Gabriela Navarro

11:15-12:15 Panel #3: Cultural Studies 
Moderator: Dr. Matt Mars, Public and Applied Humanities 
Presenters:
Caitlin Campos 
Hanga Andras-Letanovszky 
Madelyn Miller 
Caroline Keller 

12:15 -1:15 Lunch (not provided) 

1:15-2:00 Panel #4: Women in History 
Moderator: Dr. Victoria Meyer, Interdisciplinary Studies 
Presenters:  
El Sterling 
Cassandra Quijada 
Mia Molina 

2:00-2:30 Closing Remarks by Associate Dean Chantelle Warner, Awards, and Reception