From the Dean's Desk

There is a special energy that comes with the start of a new academic year. It’s wonderful to see our community come together again and to welcome our new and returning faculty, staff and students. I hope each of you had a restorative summer.

In this letter, I have two important updates to share. First, we are shaping a Future Studies Initiative that will lead the School of Arts and Humanities on an exciting new intellectual path. In addition, the inaugural UC San Diego ArtsConnect Prize launches this fall.

Preparing our students to imagine and build the future

Future studies is a discipline in the making, and the arts and humanities have a distinct opportunity to shape this growing field.

Many existing programs focus on forecasting what is probable or considering a range of possible outcomes. Scholars in the arts and humanities are adept at holding uncertainty and speculating about the unknown. This capacity is essential for imagining a future we prefer — and determining what needs to be done to get there.

Our mission at the School of Arts and Humanities is an education for the common good, preparing students with foundational, transferable and enduring skills and knowledge. Future studies is a natural extension of this mission. It asks us to consider what constitutes a good life as the nature of work, education, relationships, achievement and agency shifts in this era of rapid technological advancement.

Our faculty already hold expansive expertise in these areas, with strengths in philosophy and ethics; creative writing and science fiction; cultural and postcolonial studies; and art and speculative design. We’ll explore these strengths and opportunities for growth during the Future Studies Exploratory Symposium, happening Oct. 15. I invite you to join the conversation.

The future is not only a scientific or technological experiment. It’s a wager on our shared humanity — and the arts and humanities help us know what we stand to win and what we stand to lose. This is a pivotal moment that calls for values-based decisions about the future we want to build.

Introducing UC San Diego’s ArtsConnect Prize

I am also thrilled to share that the highly anticipated ArtsConnect Prize launches this fall. The program invites emerging and established artists based in the San Diego–Tijuana region to create a new work at UC San Diego, supported by a $20,000 prize and culminating in a dynamic weeklong residency at the university in October 2027.

I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to the faculty members who served on the steering committee that helped shape this prize. Our vision is to support an artist or small collective in creating an interdisciplinary work that exemplifies the role of the arts as a means of connection: among people, with the land, with our cultural traditions, our shared histories and our imagined futures.

The prize is a key part of the Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, ArtsConnect, which I co-lead with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Alysson Satterlund. The initiative celebrates the connections created through the arts at UC San Diego, from interdisciplinary faculty research and hundreds of arts events each year to hands-on creative experiences that enrich the student experience.

As you return to campus this fall, you’ll also discover a vibrant new ArtsConnect campaign, including banners throughout the campus arts districts, a full-page spread in the fall arts issue of San Diego Magazine, trolley cards on the UC San Diego Blue Line and more. Together, these efforts reinforce UC San Diego’s strengths as a destination for arts education and experiences.

An exciting year ahead

These are just two of the many exciting developments taking shape across our school. I look forward to all that we will imagine, create and accomplish together in the year ahead.

Wishing you a wonderful start to the academic year.

Sincerely,

There are many reasons why I am proud to serve as Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. Throughout the academic year I have the chance to preview new artistic works, cultivate endowed chair funds, build bridges with international partners and celebrate the successes of our students and alumni.

On the eve of commencement, I am again reflecting on the excellence and sense of purpose our scholars and artists bring to their work. Like James Selby, an undergraduate student in Theatre and Dance who is pursuing his dream at the age of 41. He speaks about his experience as a “second chance” and reminds others that it’s never too late. Selby is one of nine choreographers featured in this year’s Day of Dance, a new tradition that invites the campus and community to connect through shared creative experiences.

Many of our faculty are illuminating unique intersections between disciplines. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Nancy Cartwright, who has received the Frontiers of Knowledge Award, has dedicated her career to examining how science actually works across laboratories, institutions and policy settings. While in the arts, Professor of Music Lei Liang has partnered with Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist Josh Jones to bring the inaudible ocean hidden to life through experimental music.

Our academic programs continue to gain recognition and attract new students. The latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of graduate schools placed our MFA in Visual Arts 8th nationally and 4th among public institutions, while more than 85 students have already enrolled in the Institute of Arts and Humanities’ new cinematic arts and film studies major. We are equally proud to see our alumni making an impact beyond campus. History alumnus David Marchick was recently named interim president of American University and honored with a 2026 UC San Diego Illustrious Alumni Award.

I am continually inspired by our academic community. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni bring together curiosity, creativity and conviction in service of the common good. Their contributions continue to shape UC San Diego and communities far beyond our campus.

With gratitude,

Cristina Della Coletta
Dean, School of Arts and Humanities

The dawn of a new year is as much a time for joyful celebration as it is an occasion for quiet contemplation. At this moment, both feel essential.

Our community in the School of Arts and Humanities is uniquely skilled at making connections between these two ways of seeing. We are deeply creative and forward-thinking while also providing profound reflection on the state of our world.

Our inaugural Night of Research and Creative Activities celebration invited the campus and local community to explore these impacts. Faculty and students showcased some of their most exciting projects, which ranged from the development of sound holograms to the recovery of lost histories and the exploration of dance as biotechnology. This remarkable work is happening on stages, in studios and among archives across the globe.

Always in motion, our scholars are thinking deeply about the human condition and producing timely creative work. Professor of Music Anthony Davis and Professor of Theatre and Dance Allan Havis recently debuted a new bilingual children’s opera exploring the hopes and perils of migration at the U.S.–Mexico border. Meanwhile, Professor of Music Susan Narucki earned her third Grammy nomination — a testament to her extraordinary talent as a soprano.

We’re also shaping public conversations by recovering histories that have been lost or overlooked. Professor of Literature Daisuke Miyao is re-examining cinema studies by spotlighting unsung creators in two forthcoming publications. In addition, Professor of History Edward Watts broadens historical perspective in his new book, The Romans, which traces two millennia of Rome’s past to illuminate enduring questions of power.

Furthermore, I feel immense pride when I hear about the accomplishments of our alumni. Just two examples of many: Visual Arts alumnus Rajee Samarasinghe recently received the Truer Than Fiction Award for his film, a compelling reflection on crime and bereavement in the wake of the Sri Lankan Civil War. And we soon get the pleasure of hearing from Literature alumna Paola Capó-García, named San Diego’s Poet Laureate, who will be sharing her work at the New Writing Series event in February.

I’m so impressed by the diverse projects underway. Let’s continue this inspiring momentum throughout 2026.

With gratitude,

Cristina Della Coletta
Dean, School of Arts and Humanities

We sit down with Dean Cristina Della Coletta to discover what she looks forward to most at the start of the fall quarter, as well as her own path to higher education. We also learn her perspectives on how the arts and humanities continue to play a crucial role in deepening our understanding of complicated histories and present challenges impacting our world.

In a constantly evolving educational landscape, what makes the arts and humanities enduring?

We’re not satisfied with the simple answer. Scholars and artists in the School of Arts and Humanities ask difficult questions that require deep thinking. We do not ask only the ‘what’ question; we ask ‘how’ and ‘why.’ And that, in and of itself, can complicate potential answers in very meaningful ways.

This is precisely what we teach our students — the ability to feel comfortable in uncertainty, in doubt. To not give up because you don't know. Instead, you delve deeper. You’re willing to question, you're willing to disagree, and you're willing to do it in a very civil manner, in a dialogical way that respects other people's positions. This is why the arts and humanities are so fundamental and endure over time.

What does ‘An education for the common good’ mean to you?

Our school’s mission centers on the idea that knowledge and creativity are most powerful when they contribute to something larger than ourselves — strengthening our communities, preserving our shared humanity and fostering mutual flourishing. Our students graduate with a greater sense of self as well as an understanding of their role as global citizens. They learn how to recognize the connections between their individual vision and how to positively contribute to our collective humanity. I think we need more of this in our society.

What are you excited about for this upcoming academic year?

I'm excited to welcome our new students and discover what kind of enthusiasm, skill and excitement they bring to our campus. And getting to know the faculty that we recently hired, helping them get settled on campus, is something I always look forward to.

I'm also happy to see our new major in cinematic arts launch this fall through the Institute of Arts and Humanities. It’s a unique opportunity to study film theory and production. We’re very grateful to the Israni Family for supporting our vision for the new program, which expands our existing minor in film studies. As a film scholar myself, I’m personally thrilled to see this discipline grow at UC San Diego.

Tell us about your path to the humanities and higher education leadership.

When I was an undergraduate literature student at the University of Venice, I earned a scholarship to study at the University of California. I was nervous because California was a world away from Italy, but I started looking up the faculty and there was a UCLA professor who specialized in my area of interest. Studying at an American university was a life-changing experience for me in many ways. It offered different opportunities compared to Europe, like the chance to live on campus and build a social life.

I decided to move to the United States afterward and pursued a master’s degree at the University of Virginia and Ph.D. at UCLA. My first academic position was at the University of Virginia, and then the opportunity to become an administrator at UC San Diego arrived. Having an academic career in the U.S. is full of freedom and opportunity, much more than in Europe. But that doesn’t mean I don’t continue to have strong ties there. This is where my primary research, the Turin 1911 Project, is based. I feel like I live the best of both worlds.

You are co-leading the Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, known as ArtsConnect. What is the goal?

This is our opportunity to draw attention to the immense artistic talent of our faculty, students and alumni. It’s also a way to invite the entire campus and community to engage in the arts at UC San Diego, which is quickly becoming an arts destination. Our university can hold multiple distinctions, with recognition in both the arts and STEM.

Together with ArtsConnect co-lead Alysson Satterlund, vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, we’re establishing stronger connections across our arts ecosystem and working with University Communications to develop compelling stories that grow awareness and esteem for our programs. We have Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning faculty, state-of-the-art venues and hundreds of performances and events in the arts each year. The foundation is there, now we are connecting the dots.

With gratitude,