On October 26, UCBA hosted its first annual Arts and Humanities Luncheon in celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month. The event took place in UCBA’s Library and featured nine guest speakers comprised of UCBA professors. Featured presenters and performers included David Hartz from the Department of Electronic Media; Claudia Skutar from the Department of English and Communication; Jody Ballah from the Department of Foreign Language and Study Abroad; H. Michael Sanders from the Department of Electronic Media Communications; Robert Murdock from the Department of English and Communication; Julie Mitchell from the Department of Art and Visual Communication; Krista Sigler from the Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Art History; Kevin Oberlin from the Department of English and Communication; and Mike Roos from the Department of English and Communication.
During the 90-minute event, professors were able to showcase many of their own works of poetry, music, paintings and electronic renderings, as well as present pieces from other notables, including a few pieces from United States Poet Laureate, Philip Levine, read by Professor Claudia Skutar. The event was anticipated to draw a crowd of around 300 guests, but attendance is believed to have reached as many as 350 people. “Space was definitely a problem,” said Professor Rhonda Pettit, who was one of the organizers of the event.
The event was jointly sponsored by the Dean’s office, the UCBA Liberal Arts Program, the Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Art History, the Department of English and Communication, the Department of Visual Art and Design, the Department of Electronic Media Communications, the Department of Foreign Language, and the UCBA Library.