Dance faculty joins Jacob’s Pillow leadership team
Dance professor and former department chair Gerald Casel is joining the Jacob’s Pillow leadership team as the new Carole and Dan Burack Director of The School at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, MA.
NEWS
Theater alum stars in HBO Max’s “Task”
Emmy-winning alum Tom Pelphrey (BFA’04) is garnering rave reviews starring opposite Mark Ruffalo and Martha Plimpton in HBO Max’s buzzed-about new series, from the creator of the hit “Mare of Easttown.”
Art & Design faculty and Rutgers–NB Laureate fosters connections between art and science
Sue Huang’s project examines plant extinction scientifically and culturally. “There is the physical realm, where we lose the actual body of a species, but there is also the loss of a species in our social memory, which feels especially profound. . .because we lose our emotional relationship to those beings,” she says.
Rutgers welcomes the class of 2029
Class of 2029 Filmmaking student Dylan Bates made a video about his experience competing in the World Stinging Nettle Eating Championships in England.
Fall 2025: Meet our new faculty
This year we welcome to our full-time faculty new arrivals in Art & Design, Music, and Theater. Get to know the newest members of our teaching community.
Alum receives Fulbright to learn Swedish glassblowing technique
Art & Design alum Serafina Kennedy (BFA’23) spent nearly a year learning graal, a decorative etching process.
Rutgers Theater ranked among “25 Best Drama Schools in the World” for 2025
“Rutgers’s location means that students are able to regularly work with industry professionals who come in as guest artists as well as access opportunities in New York,” The Hollywood Reporter says.
Nancy Yunhwa Rao named Board of Governors Professor of Music
The Rutgers Board of Governors acknowledged Rao’s “award-winning scholarship on a wide array of topics, including gender and music, sketch studies, musical modernism, cultural fusion and racial representation.”
Ellen Bredehoft named interim dean
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ellen Bredehoft will assume the role of Interim Dean of Mason Gross School of the Arts, effective July 1, 2025, as the university continues the search for the school’s next permanent Dean.
Dance alum uses movement skills in her career as a social worker
“Dance is such a great outlet for emotions, and when I notice that a client is struggling with reconnecting with their body, I will use dancing mindfulness to help them,” says Maddy Zijdel (BFA’13), assistant director of clinical support at Rutgers’ Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance.