Min Kwon (pictured), head of piano and professor in the Music Department, has been named Rutgers–New Brunswick Laureate. Kwon will hold the Laureate position through the 2026–27 academic year. The Laureate Program, established in 2026, supports faculty in the arts and humanities and nurtures their ties across the university and with the wider community.
According to the Chancellor’s office, Kwon’s laureate project, called American/Beautiful—Reimagining our Nation, Its Democracy and Civic Engagement through the Arts, “builds on her acclaimed multiyear initiative America/Beautiful, which reimagines the song ‘America the Beautiful’ as a living civic text through newly commissioned piano works by 76 contemporary American composers, archival research, and public performances.”
Jason Geary, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, says: “Professor Kwon’s proposal stood out for its innovative integration of the arts with public dialogue and its emphasis on performance and accessible programming.”
Kwon, a concert pianist who has performed around the globe, has released 12 CDs, including the five-CD set America/Beautiful, released on May 8, 2026, on Delos Productions/Outhere Music. She has been on faculty at Mason Gross since 2002. This latest project is meant to bring together Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Guggenheim, Rome Prize, and MacArthur Fellowship recipients as well as “emerging voices” in the world of music. America/Beautiful will manifest throughout the school year in live concert performances that involve film screenings, photography exhibits, poetry readings, and panel discussions taking place both on campus and in venues throughout the City of New Brunswick.
“America/Beautiful will demonstrate how the arts and humanities can function as democratic practice,” the Chancellor’s office says, “fostering empathy, historical understanding, civic imagination, and meaningful human connection.”
Read more about American/Beautiful and the Laureate Program.
Image credit: Andrej Grilc