The West Virginia University Humanities Center is pleased to announce the recipients of its FY26 grants and fellowships. Through various monetary awards, the Humanities Center supports campus faculty to promote and facilitate research within the humanities, building on its mission to grow a united and flourishing humanities community at WVU.
Showcasing the vital role of humanities scholarship and creativity in a thriving and just society, projects were selected by an interdisciplinary committee of humanities faculty after careful review of many strong and interesting proposals from colleagues throughout the University.
“I know I speak for the entire review committee when I say we are proud to support these humanities projects,” said WVU Humanities Center Director Sharon Ryan, PhD. Now more than ever, we are fortunate to be positioned to support humanities research projects at WVU.”
I know I speak for the entire review committee when I say we are proud to support these humanities projects. Sharon Ryan, PhDDirector, Humanities Center, WVU Libraries
Without proper funding, much of the research that meaningfully improves the lives of human beings is not possible. Humanities Center research funding is provided by generous philanthropists committed to the importance of the satisfaction of human curiosity, the exploration of difficult questions with rigor and artistry, the promotion of civil discourse, the advancement of well-being and a deep respect for the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
The Humanities Center officially congratulates its FY26 fellows and grantees.
Fellows
- Adam Komisaruk, professor, English, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Reading Enlightenment Sexualities”
Collaborative Grantees
- Nina Assimakopoulos, professor, music, College of Creative Arts and Media, “The New: Appalachian Resilience in the Land, River, and People of the New River Gorge”
- Maria Perez, director of undergraduate studies and associate professor, geography, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “The Human Story of Unusual Geologic Encounters: Lessons from Southwestern Puerto Rico”
Research Support Grantees
- Michael Allen, visiting assistant professor, history, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Mass Housing and Its Futures”
- Rose Casey, assistant professor, English, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Inheriting Dispossession: South African Succession Law and Literature’s Narrative Temporalities”
- Dylan Collins, associate professor, Art, College of Creative Arts and Media, “Digital Stone Carving”
- Tania de Miguel Magro, professor, world languages, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Archival Research at Biblioteca Nacional de España”
- Erik Herron, Eberly family distinguished professor, political sciences, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “How We Vote and Why it Matters”
- Joseph Hodge, professor, history, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Between Empire and Development: The Ubiquitous Life and Career of Arthur Bunting”
- William Holly, teaching assistant professor, history, English, creative arts, WVU Institute of Technology, “The Mountain is Part of Us: Tourism, Community, and the American Indian Sacred Land in Northern Arizona Since 1969”
- Jenny Johnson, assistant professor, English, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Good Bully”
- Daniel Renfrew, chair and professor, sociology and anthropology, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, “Green Extractivism and the Politics of Forests in Uruguay”
- Michael Sherwin, professor, art, College of Creative Arts and Media, “Sentiers: The Intersection of Photography, Printmaking, and Place”
The Humanities Center thanks the review committee, whose time and expertise are invaluable to evaluating proposals. This year’s committee included Catherine Fonseca, WVU Libraries; Rhonda Reymond, WVU Art History and Museum Professions; James Siekmeier, Department of History; Matthew Talbert, Department of Philosophy and Lisa Weihman, Department of English.