A woman speaks at a podium at the far right of an art gallery. Others sit in chairs in front of her. On a projection screen is a slide titled "Korean Historical Patterns and Colors: Floral Latticework of Buddhist Temple" by Mi-Sook Hur.

Faculty Features | Spring 2026

Published Apr 29, 2026 by
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Check out the latest news from our faculty from the last quarter, approximately February to April 2026.

 

We celebrate the achievements and awards earned by our faculty this semester:

  • ECU Trendsetter awards
    • Dr. Drew Ashby-King, School of Communication, Early Career
    • Dr. James Franklin, School of Music, Eminent Achievement
  • ECU Teaching Awards
    • Dr. Cindy Elmore, School of Communication, UNC Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award
    • Hilary Huskey, School of Art and Design, Scholar-Teacher Award
  • Dr. Virginia Driscoll, School of Music, ECU’s 2026-2027 Sponsored Activities and Research Catalyst (SPARC) award, which provides up to $20,000 over two years for faculty initiating new directions in their scholarly activities.
  • CFAC Research and Creative Activity Awards for 2026-2027
    • Daniel Kariko, School of Art and Design, “Between the Pillars of Hercules: A Photographic Study of a Borderland”
    • Thomas Kim, Brittany Green, and Bill Staub, School of Music, “Clarinet Concerto project”
    • Dan Shirley, School of Music, “New Voices from Shropshire”
Four people pose on a stage; one man holds a certificate. There is a podium, and people are sitting at tables during this award ceremony.

Dr. Ashby-King

Six people stand next to each other in front of a long table. One holds an award.

Dr. Elmore

 

Solo exhibition “Accelerations” by Lisa Beth Robinson opened on April 10 at Piedmont Arts in Martinsville, Virginia. It “explores interconnectedness and vanishings, particularly in relation to the environment. Her work is propelled by the hidden lines she sees sewing the universe together. Sometimes close, sometimes loose, there are parallels and commonalities to be found among these lines. By bringing them to light, she weaves a space where viewers can see themselves as part of a larger whole, finding meaning, connection, and agency over life’s outcomes.”

Robinson’s work was made in the School of Art and Design and her home studio, and she praised the support and collaboration with SoAD faculty and staff, particularly Jeb Hedgecock and Shannon McGinnis. Visitors can see Robinson’s work there through June 6.

 

Dr. Jin-Ae Kang on April 9 shared her research about women’s mental health from the perspective of the 2025 film “KPop Demon Hunters” during the International Students and Scholars Symposium for Research and Creative Achievement Week.

College professor holds papers in her hands, standing at a podium.

Dr. Kang

 

Emily Buccola was featured in the March edition of The LOW B Note, the newsletter of the League of Women Bassplayers. As part of the profile, Buccola shared a message to prospective students: “I would want any prospective student to know that I will always have their back and support them in becoming the musician they want to be. I want them to know that I will create a studio environment where they can be themselves and feel safe taking risks in their playing. I hope that I will be the toughest teacher that a student will ever have, in a way, because part of supporting them is holding them to a high standard. But I think it is my primary job to get to know and understand each student and what they want to accomplish, then drive them to success by helping them find the pathway that fits them best (e.g. repertoire, methods, etc.).”

 

In late February, the School of Music theory/composition/musicology area was well represented at the Music Theory Southeast (MTSE) meeting at Morehouse College in Atlanta, and the American Musicological Society Southeast (AMS-SE) meeting at UNC-Chapel Hill:

  • At AMS-SE:
    • Dr. Navid Bargrizan presented “From Stage to Canvas: Mythology, Trauma, and Utopia in Mečys’ Ligeti Iconography.”
    • Cameron Stevenson presented the research paper “May Not a Cheated Maiden Die?: An Examination of the Role of Katisha in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado.”
  • At MTSE:
    • Dr. Navid Bargrizan presented “Engraving in Sound: Roughness-Finesse Dialectics in Manfred Stahnke’s Chamber Works.”
    • Four Seasons operations manager Dr. Tanner Cassidy presented the research paper “Echoes of Imperialism: Godzilla, Gunka, and Military Music in Postwar Japan.”
    • Dr. Derek Myler presented “Tiny Tunes: Miniaturization Strategies and Formal Compression in Kids’ TV Musicals.”
    • Dr. Morgan Rich presented “A Microtonally-Expanded Timbral Palette: Analyzing the ‘Quasi-Melodic’ in Rebecca Saunders’ Works.”

Four adults stand next to each other, wearing name lanyards.  Four adults stand next to each other in front of a piano and a pipe organ. They are wearing name tags.

 

In late February, Dr. Andrea VanDeusen performed with the women’s choral ensemble mirabai at the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Region conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Their headlining performance, “Signals: Music of Origin, Separation, and Connection” centered around a commissioned piece by composer Shara Nova, “Faint signals/Signa tenuia.” VanDeusen is a founding member of mirabai, which aims to enhance the artistic expectations of women’s choral singing by connecting powerful music of women, past and present; and performing, commissioning, and recording new and innovative musics that express the rich emotional terrain of a woman’s life. A choral group of a couple dozen women stand on stage, on risers, with another woman sitting at a piano in front of them, two women soloists standing by the piano, and a conductor at a podium. The stage is lit by blue lights.

 

Mi-Sook Hur held a solo exhibition, “Heritage Reimagined,” this semester at Faulkner Gallery in Joyner Library. She displayed works made from metal and enamel, inspired by the Korean Buddhist temple lattice doors she studied during her prestigious Fulbright Scholar Program year in 2024-2025. An exhibition reception was held in January in conjunction with the School of Art and Design’s Material Topics Symposium, and she held an artist talk in the gallery on March 17.

A woman speaks into a microphone, standing in front of two people sitting in chairs. A podium is off to the side and art pieces hang on the wall behind.

Mi-Sook Hur answers questions after her artist talk.