A multimedia concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding spotlights a famous poem by Allison Hedge Coke, distinguished professor of creative writing at UC Riverside. Hedge Coke’s “America, I Sing You Back,” published in 2011, is one of three related poems that inspired “I Hear America Singing,” a traveling stage production.
The Palm Desert Low Residency MFA program at UC Riverside has been selected as a partner of the 2026-27 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, an international talent development program led by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that supports non-professional screenwriters.
Homer Arnold, a doctoral student in art history at UC Riverside, has been awarded the George Gurney Fellowship by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Salisbury, a doctoral student in art history at UC Riverside, has been awarded the Betsy James Wyeth Fellowship in Native American Art by the Smithsonian Institution. The yearlong residential fellowship is considered one of the most prestigious for the study of Native American art.
UC Riverside has been selected to host Belgian audio producer and educator Frank Duchêne next spring as a Fulbright scholar in residence. “This is a great recognition of the teaching and research happening in the UCR Music Department,” said Liz Przybylski, a professor of music at UCR, who led the effort to bring Duchêne to campus.
David Swanson, a distinguished professor emeritus of sociology at UC Riverside, was presented with the Mindel C. Sheps Award at the Population Association of America’s annual meeting in May in St. Louis.
Sara Hovda, a student in the Master of Fine Arts program at UC Riverside, has won the 2026 Trio Award for her debut poetry manuscript, “Night’s Grammar.” “I was honestly beside myself,” Hovda said.
Xiao Chen, an assistant professor of history at UC Riverside, has been awarded a Luce/ACLS Early Career Long-Term Fellowship in China Studies. With a yearlong research leave made possible by the $45,000 grant and support from UCR’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Chen plans to complete a book manuscript.
Erika Villeroy da Costa, a graduate student in critical dance studies at UC Riverside, has been awarded a 2026 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. Da Costa will use the $52,000 grant to support her research on first-generation members of the Afro-Brazilian dance troupe Balé Folclórico Mercedes Baptista.
A two-day symposium earlier this month at UC Riverside convened academic researchers, activists, government officials and leaders from nonprofit organizations to explore the effects of climate change on maternal and reproductive health as well as strategies for mitigating the risks.
Georg Michels, a professor of history at UC Riverside, has won the 2026 Richard F. Gustafson Guggenheim Fellowship in Slavic Studies, one of only three named fellowships awarded by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Allison Benis White’s most recent poetry collection, “A Magnificent Loneliness,” was awarded the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry. “This recognition of ‘A Magnificent Loneliness’ is what writers dream about," White said. "And I’m grateful to represent UC Riverside, and our Creative Writing Department, with this honor.”
Ronald Loveridge, associate professor of political science at UC Riverside, was presented with a 2026 Poppy Award from the California Association of Councils of Governments for his efforts to support UCR students and advocate for good regional governance.
Cristina Gomez-Vidal, an assistant professor of society, environment, and health equity at UC Riverside, has been awarded a $100,000 grant to study how counties in Greater Los Angeles can improve the political representation and participation of residents in unincorporated communities.
Cambra Sklarz, who earned a doctorate in art history at UC Riverside in 2024, was named a finalist for the 2026 McNeil Center for Early American Studies Dissertation Prize.
Dana Simmons, an associate professor of society, environment, and health equity at UC Riverside, is the winner of the 2025 Emory Elliott Book Award for her latest work, “On Hunger: Violence and Craving in America, from Starvation to Ozempic,” which is available free online.
Tod Goldberg’s latest crime novel, “Only Way Out,” has been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction. “I am surprised, honored, and humbled,” said Goldberg, founder and director of the Low-Residency MFA program at UC Riverside’s Palm Desert Center. “This is my second time being a finalist, but the first time in over 20 years!”
