NEW LONDON, Conn. — Connecticut College Professor of Dance Lisa Race is among the performers in “The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor,” a new dance work that will have its North American premiere Sept. 16-27 at The Joyce Theater in New York City.

The production, conceived, choreographed and directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh, draws on O’Connor’s music, memoir and public life. It had its world premiere this summer at Aviva Studios in Manchester, England, and opens The Joyce Theater’s 2026-27 season.

Race is one of 10 women performing in the company. For Race, the project brings together her professional work as a performer and her role teaching and mentoring students at Connecticut College.

“It’s such an incredible and rare opportunity, particularly at this age, to be working with Sonya and challenged by movement vocabulary that is new to me,” Race said. “As a performer, teacher and viewer of dance, I think a lot about what life experience brings to the work. To be part of this company of women 40 and older, performing a piece centered on Sinéad O’Connor’s voice and legacy, feels meaningful because the music and Sonya’s choreography ask us to bring our full lives into the room.”

The Joyce Theater run also creates a direct connection for Connecticut College students. Approximately 60 students are expected to attend performances during the engagement, giving them the opportunity to see Race perform in a major new work on one of New York’s leading dance stages.

“Having Connecticut College students see this work at The Joyce makes it even more special,” Race said. “They are seeing the professional practice we talk about in class — the rehearsal process, the discipline, the collaboration and the vulnerability it takes to keep making work over a lifetime. I also hope it challenges some of the assumptions students may have about how long a performing career can last, particularly for women.”

Race teaches dance technique, improvisation, composition and choreography at Connecticut College. She spent much of her career as a performer, teacher and choreographer in New York City before joining the faculty at Conn. She danced with David Dorfman Dance from 1989-2000 and earned a New York Dance and Performance Award, known as a Bessie, in 1995.

“The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor” runs Sept. 16-27 at The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., New York. More information is available at joyce.org.

What gets lost when women’s lived experiences of pain are not fully heard or preserved?

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Shakita Thomas Kpetay lives with endometriosis. In a new book co-authored with Tamien Elder, the Connecticut College assistant professor of education and Africana studies draws on that lived experience to examine the historical and present-day forces shaping Black women’s reproductive health.

“Remembered and Living Text: Black Women Living With Endometriosis” is part memoir and part call to action. Through their personal stories, Kpetay and Elder examine Black women’s experiences with endometriosis while exploring the cultural, historical and health care systems that shape those experiences.

Kpetay will sign copies of the book from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 24, in the Chu Room of Charles E. Shain Library at Connecticut College. The event is free and open to the public.

Published earlier this year by Aya Collective Publishing, “Remembered and Living Text” combines personal narrative, cultural memory and historical analysis. The book centers Black women’s lived experiences as sources of knowledge and asks readers to consider what can be learned by listening closely to people living with chronic illness and reproductive health conditions.

For Kpetay, the project brings together the personal and scholarly. Her research and teaching focus on Black intellectual thought, culture and education, Black feminisms, oral history and critical ethnography. Her work examines how Black communities understand, document and make meaning of their experiences.

“Living with endometriosis has taught me how much can be lost when pain is minimized or when women are not treated as experts on their own bodies,” Kpetay said. “Tamien and I wrote this book to preserve our experiences, place them within a larger history and create space for Black women to be heard on their own terms.”

The book also challenges readers to think beyond endometriosis as solely a medical condition. By connecting personal experience with history, culture and questions of whose knowledge is valued, Kpetay and Elder address broader issues surrounding reproductive health, care and advocacy.

Elder is a certified patient leader, entrepreneur and advocate whose work centers health, connection and community.

“Music of Resilience” features violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv, the New England Chamber Orchestra and three world premieres

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Shou-Ping Liu, assistant professor of music and director of orchestral studies at Connecticut College, will conduct the New England Chamber Orchestra in “Music of Resilience: Ukrainian Voices and Beyond” on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York City.

Presented by Music at the Institute, the concert celebrates the release of violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv’s new Naxos album, “Music of Resilience.” Ivakhiv will perform with Liu, the New England Chamber Orchestra and soprano Andrea Nalywajko in a program highlighting Ukrainian composers alongside works by Felix Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler.

The concert will feature three world premieres: Bohdana Frolyak’s chamber-orchestra arrangements of Ihor Sonevytsky’s “A Lullaby’s Lament” and “The Serenity of Your Smile,” and Connecticut College Professor of Music Dale Wilson’s “Khortytsia.”

“Having grown up in Taiwan, I have always paid close attention to musicians from smaller countries who are restricted from performing due to political circumstances,” Liu said. “We will also present the world premiere of Dale Wilson’s ‘Khortytsia,’ a work commissioned by NECO in 2025 and dedicated to Ukraine.”

The invitation followed a February NECO concert commemorating the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ivakhiv, who performed in that concert, introduced Liu to Ukrainian Institute of America President Kathy Nalywajko. That connection led to NECO’s invitation to perform at the institute.

The program also includes Yuriy Shevchenko’s “We Are! We Do Exist!”; Frolyak’s “Nocturne” for violin and strings; Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor; and the final movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, arranged for soprano and chamber orchestra by Klaus Simon.

Ivakhiv is a professor of violin and viola and head of strings at the University of Connecticut. She also serves as artistic director of Music at the Institute. Her album “Music of Resilience,” released Aug. 28, brings together works by living and lesser-known Ukrainian composers.

Liu founded the New England Chamber Orchestra after joining Connecticut College in 2023. She serves as the orchestra’s artistic director and directs the Connecticut College Orchestra and Connecticut College Singers. NECO focuses on rarely performed works, new commissions and programs that place music within its historical and cultural context.

“Music of Resilience: Ukrainian Voices and Beyond” begins at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Ukrainian Institute of America, 2 E. 79th St., New York. Tickets are $40 for general admission, $35 for UIA friends, seniors and students, and $30 for UIA members. A reception will follow the concert.

For concert information and tickets, visit ukrainianinstitute.org/event/2026-09-19-mati. Information about the album is available from Naxos.

Student connects historic preservation, housing and community-based research in eastern Connecticut

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Connecticut College junior Allie Cook ’28, whose work connects historic preservation, housing justice and community-based research in eastern Connecticut, has been named a 2026-27 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact.

Cook, an architectural studies and anthropology double major and scholar in Connecticut College’s Program in Community Action and Public Policy, joins student civic leaders from 39 states, Washington, D.C. and Mexico in the yearlong fellowship.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who demonstrate leadership potential and a commitment to creating positive change in their communities. Each Campus Compact member president or chancellor may nominate one student from their institution for the fellowship.

Cook’s work examines the relationship between the built environment and housing insecurity, including how histories of urban renewal, redlining and disinvestment continue to affect communities today.

Through her work with the Center for Housing Opportunity Eastern Connecticut, Cook has combined historical research with community-based work focused on housing in the region. She has collaborated with residents, tenant organizers and community organizations while developing a deeper understanding of housing policy, affordability and tenant rights.

Her interest grew from a Connecticut College course examining the built environment and how people interact with it. She later took a seminar focused on the history of housing affordability in eastern Connecticut and became particularly interested in the lasting effects of urban renewal.

Cook approaches historic preservation as more than the preservation of buildings. Her work explores how the history of neighborhoods and the built environment can help communities understand current housing challenges and participate in decisions affecting the places where they live.

“Allie’s selection as a Newman Civic Fellow reflects the kind of thoughtful, community-minded leadership we hope to cultivate at Connecticut College,” President Andrea E. Chapdelaine said. “Her commitment to civic engagement, along with her interest in architecture and historic preservation, demonstrates how students can connect their academic pursuits to the communities and issues they care about. We are proud to see her represent Conn in this national cohort.”

Cook also spent summer 2026 as the Myrick Howard Preservation Intern with Preservation North Carolina, where she gained additional experience in historic preservation.

The Newman Civic Fellowship runs from September through May 2027. Fellows participate in virtual professional and leadership development, receive one-on-one mentorship and join a national network of student civic leaders. Fellows may also apply for grants of up to $1,500 to support community projects and pursue scholarship, career, publishing and presentation opportunities.

The Annual Convening of Newman Civic Fellows is scheduled for Nov. 5-7 and will bring fellows together for three days of skill-building, collaboration and networking.

Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort at compact.org/current-programs/newman-civic-fellowship/newman-civic-fellows.

NEW LONDON, Conn. — New Director of Arts Programming Jay Silva will launch his first season at Connecticut College this fall with original Rent stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, opening a five-performance onStage Guest Artist Series that spans Broadway, dance, chamber music, world music and Shakespeare.

The 2026-27 season marks Silva's first as director of Arts Programming, succeeding longtime director Rob Richter. A New London resident for nearly 20 years, Silva has worked in film, television and stage production, toured nationally as a musician and held programming roles at the Garde Arts Center in New London and The Bushnell in Hartford.

"My goal is to create performances that bring people together while introducing audiences to artists and ideas they may not encounter otherwise," Silva said. "There is no place I'd rather do that than here at Connecticut College."

The season opens Friday, Sept. 25, with Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp: Celebrating 30 Years of Friendship and Music. Best known for originating the roles of Roger Davis and Mark Cohen in Broadway's Rent, Pascal and Rapp will perform songs from their careers, including selections from the landmark musical that launched their decades-long friendship.

Other performances include:

• The City of Tomorrow: A Town Hall (Nov. 6), an interactive performance blending experimental classical with modern chamber music and poetry to explore community and civic life just days after the 2026 general election.
• Limón Dance Company (Feb. 6), featuring José Limón's Mazurkas and Akram Khan's reimagining of The Moor's Pavane, which originally premiered at the  College in 1949 during the American Dance Festival's residency on campus.
• Sandeep Das and the HUM Ensemble (Feb. 19), bringing together Indian classical music and contemporary global traditions through the work of Grammy Award-winning tabla musician Sandeep Das.
• The Acting Company's touring production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (April 2), closing the season with a fresh take on one of the playwright's best-known comedies.

All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Single tickets are now on sale and range from $26 to $50, with discounts available for seniors, students and  College employees;  Connecticut College student tickets are $8.

Tickets and additional information are available through the onStage Guest Artist Series webpage, by calling the Box Office at 860-439-ARTS (2787), or in person at the Athey Center for Performance and Research at Palmer Auditorium. Information about parking and accessibility is available on the Arts at Connecticut College website.

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Connecticut College will host its second annual AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium on Oct. 16-17, bringing scholars, educators and AI practitioners to New London for conversations about artificial intelligence, higher education and the future of the liberal arts.

The 2026 symposium, The Paradox of AI in the Liberal Arts, will explore how AI is changing teaching, learning, creativity, critical thinking and human decision-making.  

The symposium will feature presentations, interactive activities, group discussions, an Oxford-style debate and a keynote presentation by new media scholar Jon Ippolito.  

Registration is now open.

Debate asks whether AI can possess wisdom

“The Great AI Debate” begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

AI and education strategist Patrick Dempsey and P. Anand Rao, professor of communication and digital studies and director of the Center for AI and the Liberal Arts at the University of Mary Washington, will debate the motion:

“This House believes that wisdom cannot be synthesized by AI.”

Dempsey will argue in favor of the motion, while Rao will argue against it.

The debate will examine whether AI can move beyond processing information to demonstrate judgment, meaning and wisdom. ScholarStack AI is supporting the event.

Jon Ippolito to deliver keynote

Jon Ippolito, professor of new media and director of the Digital Curation graduate program at the University of Maine, will deliver the Harold F. Wiley Keynote Presentation.

Drawing from his collection of "AI Fault Lines," Ippolito's interactive keynote will explore the contradictions, risks and possibilities surrounding AI and invite participants to consider its relationship to creativity, education and the liberal arts.

For more information, contact Susan Purrington, Connecticut College's Harold F. Wiley Generative AI Teaching and Learning Fellow, at spurringt@conncoll.edu.