“I want to inspire people to take charge of their own lives and make the world a better place.”

That’s how Afra Masud describes her purpose. It’s a purpose that has guided her experience as a student leader at Adelphi, a podcaster and writer, and as a successful nominee for a prestigious from Campus Compact.

As one of this year’s fellows, she will be able to connect with other student leaders from colleges and universities across the country. She’ll attend an in-person Convening of Fellows, take part in virtual events and work with a mentor to further develop her leadership skills. She’ll also have opportunities to present or publish work through Campus Compact.

For Masud, the fellowship is “an opportunity to learn more about the world and connect with like-minded individuals who want to change the world for the better. I’m looking forward to the many leadership opportunities that come with the program.”

Masud gets around campus in an electric wheelchair, undeterred by the rare genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, which causes her bones to deform and break easily. “My disability has never been a problem for me academically,” she said. “But socially, physically and emotionally, it has always been a struggle. Despite all of this, I’ve never seen my disability as a burden or an obstacle. It’s one of my many superpowers.

“It motivates me to make the world a better place, and reminds me to take care of myself and others,” she added. “Ultimately, my disability is the reason I’m able to do so much. It gives me perspective, hope, courage and a lot of empathy.”

A Voice for the Silenced

The Queens native’s journey as a Panther is fueled by her inherent understanding of others that she has gained through her own experience as a Muslim woman in a wheelchair. She started her podcast drama, The Ugly Princess, in order to be a “voice for those of us who have been silenced and to speak for the voiceless,” she has said.

Masud’s short story “Our Fallen Stars” was published this year in issue. “I wrote about a girl who was named after a star [because] her parents wanted a child who would illuminate the world,” she explained. “This is what a voice can do. Armed with education and love, I aspire to do just that.”

A Campus Leader, a Global Scholar

Masud also met the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult at the Writers & Readers Festival.

From the start at Adelphi, she has exhibited a commitment to leadership, community engagement and service, and academic excellence as a sociology major and psychology minor.

“Sociology and psychology are fields about people—how our world works and who we become as individuals are explained in many ways through both fields of study,” she explained.

“One thing that fascinates me the most is what makes a human being so complex and multifaceted,” she added. “This combination has allowed me to get more answers and find more questions about this topic.”

While she has presented the results of a research project on societal reactions to people with antisocial personality disorders and psychopathy at Adelphi’s Scholarship and Creative Works Conference, she also explores arts such as filmmaking, sculpture and storytelling.

A student leader, Masud is the secretary of Adelphi’s Levermore Global Scholars (LGS) program, which prepares students for leadership roles as global thinkers.

“The thing I value most about LGS is the way it has enriched my college experience,” she said. “The classes that I took for the program have truly changed my life and the way I think about the world. It’s a great experience and a big key to why I love my journey as a Panther so far.”

She has also worked at Adelphi’s Innovation Center as an ambassador supporting fellow students’ academic success, and has served as an Office of University Admissions event assistant.

Looking Ahead to a Career Helping Others

“Adelphi has taught me a lot about independence and what it means to act on your own values and morals,” Masud said. “I’ve done many things that I never thought I would do before, and I’ve learned how to do many things by myself that I didn’t know how to do two years ago. I believe that I have become more grounded and more able to appreciate the world that I live in.”

It’s a world full of possibilities. “I want to do many things after I graduate,” she said. “I want to go to grad school and become a psychologist. I want to give TED talks. I want to write books about humans and how we make our own world without really realizing it.”

As a Newman Civic Fellow, Masud will be well on her way to honing the leadership skills that will help her meet those goals—now and in the years ahead.

The post Speaking for the Voiceless: Afra Masud, Our 2026–2027 Newman Civic Fellow appeared first on Adelphi University.

When arts patron and friend of the University Lee Steinberg made her generous bequest to Adelphi, it not only strengthened the future of the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center—it shone a spotlight on the vibrancy of the arts at Adelphi.

“Lee Steinberg’s legacy gift reflects a deep belief in the transformative power of the arts,” said Thomas Kline, EdD, vice president of University advancement and external relations. “Her generosity strengthens not only our facilities, but the student experiences and creative opportunities that define Adelphi’s performing arts community.”

The $1.77 million gift supports immediate physical improvements at the Center as well as permanent, flexible funding for its ongoing capital, programming and operational needs. In recognition of her extraordinary generosity, the University has named the center’s Recital Hall in her honor—the Lee Steinberg Recital Hall.

The hall is one of the five state-of-the-art venues at the Center, along with the 500-seat Westermann Stage at the Concert Hall, the Olmsted Theatre, the Dance Theatre and the Black Box Theatre.

Adelphi’s Rich History in Theatre

Adelphi’s theatre, dance and music programs have produced generations of artists, none more illustrious than Jonathan Larson ’82, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and composer of the iconic Broadway musical Rent. Larson majored in acting at Adelphi and began composing music for small student productions and cabarets, often writing about topics like AIDS, addiction and homophobia, which would later inform his renowned works.

“He came in like a spark plug,” said Nicholas Petron, MA ’70, retired professor and chair of the Department of Theatre. “My first impression was: ’Who is this guy?’ He was a firecracker.”

Larson’s legacy lives on at Adelphi through the $2 million Jonathan Larson Scholarship endowment, established by a bequest from the Larson Family Trust and a matching grant from the University. The endowment supports four annual scholarships for theatre students.

In 2015, Adelphi also launched the annual Larson Legacy Concert Series at Center to celebrate the next generation of musical theatre creators. It has featured performances by recipients of Jonathan Larson Grants from the American Theatre Wing and artists who’ve gone on to Broadway stardom, like Michael R. Jackson, who won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award in 2021 for A Strange Loop.

Adelphi also hosts The Poole Family Broadway Series, generously sponsored by Mary Jane ’62 and Thomas Poole, which brings Broadway legends, cabaret stars and musical theater revues to the center.

Empowering the Next Generation of Excellence in Music and Dance

Theater ������’t alone at Adelphi as a pacesetter for university arts departments. The University’s dance department became one of the first established at a college in the United States when it was founded in 1938 by one of the leading lights of modern dance, Ruth St. Denis. Since then, it has been home to many prominent faculty members, including , Paul Taylor, Norman Walker, Carmen de Lavallade, Jack Cole and Hanya Holm.

In the music department, Pulitzer Prize-winning and Grammy-nominated composer , has been a professor since the early 2000s, nurturing new generations of musical talent while continuing to produce critically acclaimed oratorios. He was honored as one of only five University Professors at Adelphi in 2004.

“One of the great things about Adelphi is that it supports its faculty in its research—in my case, its creativity,” Dr. Moravec said. “I’m eternally indebted to Adelphi for facilitating all of the work that I’ve done in the 25 years that I’ve been here at Adelphi.”

A Donor’s Lifelong Commitment to the Arts in New York

Lee Steinberg’s gift, which was received from her estate in July 2025, reflected her wish to support arts programming and performance centers on Long Island as well as her lifetime commitment to cultural institutions throughout the greater New York region. Steinberg, who briefly served on Adelphi’s Performing Arts Council, died in 2021 at the age of 106 and was posthumously added as a member of Adelphi’s Million Dollar Roundtable, which recognizes our most generous donors, whose cumulative giving exceeds $1 million.

In accordance with Steinberg’s intent, the University has established two funds to support the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center—the Lee Steinberg Performing Arts Center Capital Fund, for immediate physical improvements, and the Lee Steinberg Performing Arts Center Excellence Endowed Fund, to provide permanent, flexible support for the center’s ongoing capital, programming and operational needs. This generous gift reinforces Adelphi’s reputation as a preeminent leader in arts education and performance in our region.

Enhancements to Center will elevate the experience of student performers, faculty directors, guest artists and audience members. Several capital improvements have already been funded through an initial $500,000 allocation, including:

• A comprehensive refresh of the Olmsted Theatre, featuring new lighting, audience seating, carpeting, acoustic panels and painting, as well as the installation of a new digital sound mixing console
• Brighter lighting in the Center’s second-floor dance studios
• New house lights and work lights in the Concert Hall

Beginning in 2027, annual distributions from the endowment will ensure that the spotlight never fades—empowering generations of future artists to push creative boundaries and inspire the world from Adelphi’s stages.

The post Leading the Arts: Landmark Donation Secures Adelphi’s Performing Arts Spotlight appeared first on Adelphi University.

The film, What the Notes Say, was created under the guidance of three faculty mentors and ultimately submitted to the prestigious competition. For the students involved, the project became far more than an academic assignment—it was an unforgettable lesson in the power of storytelling, creativity and collaboration.

Working as a team, the students learned firsthand what it takes to bring a meaningful vision to life: balancing roles, supporting one another through challenges, and combining individual talents into a shared success. The experience underscored how teamwork and dedication can transform a student project into something with lasting impact.

Two students were flown to Hollywood to attend the awards ceremony, where the project received national recognition. When the moment arrived, the announcement was unforgettable:

“And the winner is… What the Notes Say!”

As then-Department Chair and Adelphi alumnus Paul Pitcoff ’65 reflected, the honor was “a testament to how significant student hard work, dedication, and passion can guide and affect educational advancement.”

Their achievement remains a lasting example of the creativity, teamwork, and excellence that define our alumni community—and a reminder of what students can accomplish when they come together with purpose.

We proudly recognize the talented student filmmakers from the Classes of 1974, 1975 and 1976: Rich Baron, Patrice Benneward, John Bencivenga, John Costello, Kurt Derner, Rosemary Ravinal, Sharon Thompson, Walter Trepashko, Tom Bisset, Sean Britt, Ken Cohn, Dorie Hightower, Karen Grossman and Rich O’Neill, along with their faculty mentors Marge Hudson, Len Price and Paul Pitcoff.

The post Celebrating an Award-Winning Legacy in Film appeared first on Adelphi University.

From launching a new trilogy set in the 1950s, to bringing Practical Magic to Broadway with help from a musical icon, Hoffman is proving that her storytelling is as potent as ever.

A Return to Her Roots

Founded by Hoffman herself two years ago, the Writers & Readers Festival returns to Adelphi’s Garden City campus from April 15–17. The event has become a staple of the New York literary scene, and this year’s lineup is no exception.

Hoffman will headline a keynote conversation with fellow No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult, focusing on the resilience of storytelling in an era of increasing book bans. She is also set to appear in a discussion of the writer-editor relationship alongside novelist Jessica Knoll and Scribner Books publisher Marysue Rucci.

Practical Magic 2, the Movie Sequel 27 Years in the Making

The phrase “midnight margaritas” is trending once again. Production has officially moved into the final stages for Practical Magic 2, scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on September 11. The film serves as a generational bridge, reuniting the iconic “aunts”—Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest—with stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. While the plot remains largely under wraps, it is confirmed to be inspired by Hoffman’s 2021 novel, The Book of Magic. Newcomers like Joey King, Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams and The Hobbit trilogy star Lee Pace join the coven, promising a sequel that explores the legacy of the Owens curse for a new era.

Published in 1995, Practical Magic was the basis for the 1998 film adaptation starring Kidman and Bullock as sisters descended from a long line of witches. The film became a cult classic, a supernatural drama blending romance with a story of sisterly bonds. The book went on to spawn a media franchise of the same name, which in addition to the film includes a 2004 television pilot (Sudbury), two prequels—2017’s The Rules of Magic and 2020’s Magic Lessons—and a sequel, 2021’s The Book of Magic.

From Page to Stage: The Practical Magic Musical

The most surprising development in the Hoffman universe is the leap to the theater. A stage musical adaptation of Practical Magic is currently in development. In a powerhouse collaboration, Hoffman is writing a book/script for the stage with playwright Peter Duchan (Dogfight), while 10-time Grammy winner Norah Jones will provide the music and lyrics in a collaboration with Grammy-nominated record producer Gregg Wattenberg. The project marks the first stage musical by Jones.

“This story of love and sisterhood is meant for the theater. Music is the heart and soul of Practical Magic,” Hoffman said of the project. “You can hear it as you read the book, even though it ������’t there. Now you will finally hear the story as I always imagined it. You will hear magic.”

Celebrating a Different Kind of Magic

Amid the witches and Broadway lights, Hoffman has also found time for a more personal project. She recently edited a new anthology titled The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love.

The collection features 14 celebrated authors—including Isabel Allende, Amy Tan, Roxane Gay and Bonnie Garmus—sharing stories of the canine companions that changed their lives. Hoffman will discuss the collection at the April festival, offering a “love letter” to the loyal animal friends who teach us about empathy and unconditional love.

A New Era of Witchcraft

Hoffman is already inviting readers back into the world of the supernatural. Her latest novel, The Witches of Cambridge, is slated for release on September 8.

The book, which kick-starts a new trilogy, was inspired by Hoffman’s own recent academic pursuits. Set on a college campus in the 1950s, the story follows two students, Ava and Lauren, who find refuge from the shadows of McCarthyism within a secret society of witches. Early praise from authors like Leigh Bardugo describes the work as “rich with history, heartbreak, and magic.”

“I went back to school and what began as my term paper ended up as a novel about witches, love, magic, sorrow, betrayal, sisterhood and best friends,” Hoffman said.

The post A Magical Year for Alice Hoffman ’73, ’02 (Hon.) appeared first on Adelphi University.

How does this specific trip to Italy align with the College’s mission to prepare future leaders and professionals for a globalized world?

aligns closely with the College’s mission by preparing students to become future leaders and professionals who can work effectively in a globalized world. The program is intentionally designed to move learning beyond the classroom by placing students in environments where history, culture, education, community and daily routines are experienced as interconnected realities rather than separate systems. Through visits to schools, historically significant sites and engagement with daily life, students encounter firsthand how social values, historical development and local resources shape approaches to education and everyday practices. These experiences allow students to see that professional practice is always embedded within cultural and social contexts, often shaped by constraints and priorities that differ from those in the United States.

Working in unfamiliar linguistic and cultural settings requires students to adapt, communicate across differences and reconsider assumptions they may have previously taken for granted. Rather than observing passively, students engage in structured reflection and faculty-guided discussion that connect daily experiences to their emerging professional roles. They examine how professional practices are influenced by history, policy and community expectations, and consider how these insights inform their own future work with diverse populations.

As a result, students develop not only cultural awareness but also practical judgment, flexibility and ethical sensitivity, capacities that are essential for professionals who will serve increasingly diverse communities. More importantly, the experience helps students recognize that effective professional practice requires the ability to understand context, listen across difference and respond thoughtfully rather than relying on a single model or assumption. In this way, the program advances the College’s commitment to educating professionals and leaders who are prepared to navigate complexity, engage responsibly with diverse communities and contribute meaningfully to an interconnected world.

Why was Italy chosen as the flagship destination for this faculty-led initiative?

Italy was chosen as our destination because it offers a uniquely layered learning environment that allows students to examine how culture and community are shaped over time and across civilizations. As a crossroads of Mediterranean, European and global exchange, Italy has played a significant role in the development of many ideas, institutions and artistic traditions that have influenced Western societies, while itself being shaped by interactions with other civilizations through trade, migration, religion and conquest. This historical layering provides an ideal context for helping students understand that contemporary professional practices do not emerge in isolation, but are the result of ongoing cultural dialogue and adaptation.

Italy’s cities and regions offer living classrooms where ancient traditions coexist with modern systems. Walkable urban spaces, strong regional identities, and a cultural emphasis on family, community and everyday well-being allow students to observe learning, care and social relationships as lived practices rather than abstract institutional models. Within a relatively compact geography, students can engage with schools, cultural institutions and community settings, making Italy especially well suited for a short-term program that seeks depth rather than superficial exposure.

Italy was also selected with equity and access in mind. Many of our students come from Italian or broader European heritage backgrounds, yet would not otherwise have the opportunity to engage meaningfully with this heritage through an academically structured, faculty-guided experience. At the same time, for students without personal or familial ties to Italy, the program offers an accessible entry point into global learning, one that combines cultural richness, linguistic diversity and strong infrastructure in a way that supports first-time international travelers. Without a college-organized program, financial, logistical and experiential barriers would prevent many students from participating in study abroad at all.

Taken together, Italy provides a powerful setting for a flagship program because it allows students to explore how historical depth, cultural exchange and contemporary professional practice intersect. The destination supports the College’s commitment to preparing future leaders and professionals who can understand complexity, appreciate multiple perspectives and apply culturally responsive thinking in an interconnected global context.

Does the program provide opportunities for education students to observe classroom instruction and student learning in local schools?

Yes. The program provides education students with opportunities to observe both elementary and secondary school settings in Italy. During these visits, students are able to observe classroom instruction, student engagement and teaching approaches within a different cultural and educational context. These observations allow participants to compare instructional practices, classroom organization and student-teacher interactions with those commonly found in the United States.

In addition to observation, students have opportunities, when appropriate, to interact with Italian students and educators. These interactions allow for informal exchanges about school life, learning expectations and cultural perspectives on education. Faculty-guided reflection following the visits helps students connect what they observe to their own developing teaching philosophy, encouraging them to consider how cultural, social and policy contexts influence educational practice. As a result, the experience supports the development of culturally responsive perspectives and broadens students’ understanding of teaching and learning in diverse settings.

For health science students, does this trip help them compare the Italian healthcare system or wellness culture with the U.S. model?

While students do not formally observe the Italian healthcare system or clinical settings—as we are not allowed to have access to healthcare facilities—the trip provides meaningful opportunities for students to examine broader concepts of wellness and well-being within the Italian cultural context. Students observe how health is embedded in everyday life through dietary practices, food preparation and social routines centered around meals and community interaction. Activities such as cooking classes and discussions of regional food traditions allow students to explore the relationship between nutrition, lifestyle and preventive approaches to health.

In addition, students observe patterns related to walkable cities, daily physical activity, social connectedness and the pace of daily life, all of which contribute to broader understandings of wellness beyond clinical care. Faculty-guided discussions encourage students to reflect on how cultural values, environment and lifestyle influence health outcomes, and to compare these observations with prevailing models in the United States that often emphasize treatment rather than prevention.

Through these experiences, students gain a more holistic perspective on health and well-being, recognizing that healthcare systems operate within cultural and social frameworks. This comparative perspective helps students consider how lifestyle, community practices and cultural attitudes toward health may inform future professional practice in diverse populations.

In what ways does navigating a foreign country help our students become more empathetic educators or healthcare providers when they return to diverse New York communities?

Navigating Italy places students in the position of linguistic and cultural outsiders. They must ask for help, interpret unfamiliar cues and manage moments of uncertainty. These experiences foster humility, patience and perspective-taking. When students return to New York, they carry a deeper understanding of what it feels like to navigate systems that were not designed with them in mind. This lived empathy translates into more responsive teaching, more compassionate care and greater sensitivity to the experiences of multilingual, immigrant and culturally diverse populations.

What is one “off-the-syllabus” experience you hope every student has while in Italy?

I hope every student has a moment of genuine connection in an ordinary setting, a conversation with a local shopkeeper, a shared meal, a moment of misunderstanding that turns into insight. These unscripted encounters often become the most meaningful learning moments. When students pause, reflect and talk through these experiences together, they begin to see how learning happens not only in classrooms, but in everyday human interaction.

How can students best translate this short-term Intersession experience onto a résumé or into a talking point during a job interview?

Students can frame this experience as evidence of global competence, adaptability and reflective practice. Rather than presenting the experience simply as travel, they are encouraged to articulate the specific skills developed through the program, including cross-cultural communication, careful observation, ethical awareness and teamwork in unfamiliar environments. In interviews and professional settings, students can draw on concrete examples of how navigating new cultural and social contexts in Italy challenged their assumptions, required flexibility in communication and problem-solving, and strengthened their ability to work thoughtfully and respectfully with diverse populations.

If you were a student again today, what part of this trip’s itinerary would you be most excited about?

I would be most excited about the moments that blend learning with lived experience, walking through historic cities, observing daily life, visiting schools and engaging in conversations that connect past and present. These are the moments when assumptions become visible and open to reflection, and learning feels alive. They are also the moments that stay with you long after the trip ends.

The post The World Is Our Classroom: Adelphi in Italy appeared first on Adelphi University.

Louise Geddes, PhD, an expert on Shakespearean drama and performance, teaches English in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Adelphi’s resident Shakespeare expert, Louise Geddes, PhD, associate dean for student success strategic initiatives, who teaches English in the College of Arts and Sciences, notes that this 2025 adaptation of the novel spins a yarn of what little is known about William Shakespeare’s family life and focuses on his marriage to Anne/Agnes Hathaway. It also suggests that his tragedy Hamlet was inspired by the death of their real son, Hamnet, in 1596.

According to Dr. Geddes, “The screenplay is created from a fascination with all that ������’t known about Shakespeare’s life—and this has prompted numerous movies and books before this.” Spoilers ahead.

Adelphi’s Shakespeare Expert Weighs In

Dr. Geddes, whose research interests include Shakespeare in performance and the ways his work is interpreted in modern life, shares what she believes has earned Hamnet the Oscar accolades.

Q: What is known about Anne Hathaway?

A: We know that Anne was older than Shakespeare and that she was likely pregnant when they married. She had her garden and she was known for herbal remedies. I think O’Farrell’s book Hamnet comes from a response to the casual and institutional sexism in the idea that if she was older and pregnant, he must have been forced into it—that he probably didn’t like her and went to London to escape her.

Q: What do we know about her life with Shakespeare?

A: The book addresses that and the fact that Stratford might have felt too small for him. We do know he ended up going back to Anne and living out his retirement with her. The book, more than the movie, really digs into what was left behind. To me, the book is a portrait of a marriage from a woman’s perspective. The husband wanted to find his path elsewhere, but they were living a small-town life. She had her children; she made sacrifices for him to have his life. I think the book really beautifully engages in this idea and does a lot to undo the narrative that he must have hated his wife.

Hamnet the Film Versus Hamnet the Book

Q: What do you think the buzz about the movie stems from?

A: That it’s the story that inspired Hamlet. But it shifts the focus away from the wife onto Shakespeare and why he wrote the play. I really enjoyed it, but it’s different from the book where he’s only known as “the Latin tutor” and “the husband.” Agnes doesn’t really understand that he’s a successful playwright.

In the book, when she goes to London and realizes that he’s incredibly famous, it’s such a shock to her, not because of the grief for their son, but because she’s been married to this man for so long, and there’s this whole part of his life that she doesn’t know. The book works really hard to tell their story. The movie does the exact opposite. It makes it about Shakespeare, and Hamlet is the product. It makes the suffering of losing Hamnet worthwhile because the art happens. That’s a very different narrative.

Q: And yet the director is a woman.

A: Yes. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that it focused so much on Shakespeare, because Agnes is such a rich character in the book. The movie shows us moments of Shakespeare crying alone over the death of his son. The book doesn’t care whether or not he’s crying. The book cares about what he’s doing for his family, for his marriage and for her. The movie lets him off the hook a little bit for not taking care of his marriage. It says he’s feeling his grief in his own way and his wife may need to understand that. It asks us to ask more of her.

I know many women, as wives and mothers, often put our feelings aside to take care of others, and the book says it doesn’t have to be that way. So I was a little surprised that a woman would take that perspective.

The Study of Shakespeare Today at Adelphi

Q: As an expert on Shakespeare, what did you enjoy most about the movie?

A: Visually, it was absolutely stunning. The depiction of the Globe Playhouse was gorgeous and the way they presented Hamlet was really beautiful. And there were these very striking moments, like after the death of their child where Agnes is pushing Shakespeare away. He just grabs her and holds her. I think it really conveys the depth of their love for one another and of their loss. I do think it did a lovely job of presenting Shakespeare the man.

But the movie did something the book didn’t want to do. While the book didn’t want to tell Shakespeare’s story, the movie wanted to tell both of their stories. I don’t think that was necessarily a bad thing. It’s also natural, because I don’t think you’re going to sell a movie worldwide about a woman most people have never heard of and who is Shakespeare-adjacent. It made for a really powerful movie.

Q: Why is there a fascination with what motivated William Shakespeare?

A: I think we all like the idea of a romantic genius.

Shakespeare continues to be popular because we adapt and modernize him constantly. When I teach Shakespeare in my English classes students always ask, “But what is it about?” I tell them it’s about anything you want it to be. It frustrates them, but I’ve been teaching for a while, and you see different generations of students respond very differently to the plays.

Hamlet, to a lot of people, isn’t a romantic hero. I’ve had students who thought he was a brat. One of the reasons we love Shakespeare is that we can use him to talk about contemporary issues. But there’s also this real desire from so many people who ask: What did he want me to get from it? The answer is probably that he didn’t care. He wanted to sell tickets.

But it’s a lot of fun to teach that way, to loosen up from the idea that there is a correct way of reading Shakespeare.

There’s a famous line from Hamlet when he’s talking to the actors, and he says, “to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature.” That’s arguably what all of Shakespeare’s plays do: They reflect back at us what we want to see in that particular moment.

We’re constantly reinventing him, and we probably always will.

The post To Win or Not to Win: Adelphi’s Shakespeare Expert Reviews the Oscar-Nominated Film “Hamnet” appeared first on Adelphi University.

Art students not only learn how to paint, draw and sculpt—they also learn to think. “The art department prepares students to be creative problem solvers, and we give our art students a wide range of skills based in the studio arts as well as in design, digital art and technology,” said Kellyann Monaghan, professor and chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

Adelphi offers degrees to appeal to different areas of interest, including Studio Art, Graphic Design, Art and Design Education, and Art History. Students benefit from small classes led by successful artists, branding experts and seasoned educators, along with real-world experiences like internships, collaborative mural projects and career preparation courses. “We function like a small art and design school within the larger University,” Monaghan said. Students can develop skills in complementary fields like psychology, business and communications. This flexibility helps them tailor their career paths to their interests.

Those paths are broader than many people assume. Adelphi art alumni work as photographers, art directors, school educators, art therapists, and in many other fields. “Students don’t have to be starving artists,” Monaghan said. “There are lots of different ways for them to make a living in the world.”

Case in point: Meet several Adelphi alums who built a thriving career with their art degree.

Turn a Creative Vision Into a Thriving Agency

Carl Timpone ’08, Portrait, Editorial and Commercial Photographer and Partner at Visual Natives

Photographer graduated at the start of an economic recession. Jobs were scarce, but the creativity and independence Adelphi fostered helped prepare him to think outside the box. He began sneaking backstage at concerts to take photos of musicians, which quickly led to creating album artwork. “My job was just to listen to the music, listen to their lyrics and translate that into a visual form,” Timpone said.

As he gained experience and became more successful, he partnered with a graphic design graduate he met through the music scene and launched an agency——that is still in operation today. Their clients span record labels, the fashion industry, enterprise companies, and legacy artists like Stevie Nicks and Def Leppard. “What I enjoy most about my career at this point is the ability to think quickly and creatively and the human connections that I make with the subjects, even if it’s brief,” he said. And those subjects happen to be Hollywood’s biggest stars, from Cynthia Erivo to Timothée Chalamet, and music industry icons like Post Malone and Chappell Roan.

The post What Can You Do With an Art Degree? appeared first on Adelphi University.

The accuracy of Season 5’s whimsical plot device was due to the advice and guidance given by Kaiya Provost, PhD, assistant professor of biology in Adelphi’s College of Arts and Sciences, who was called in to serve as a consultant on the show.

“I wear many hats,” Dr. Provost explained. “I’m a biologist, computational biologist, environmental biologist and an ornithologist.”

Meeting Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and the Crew

A series of serendipitous connections in early 2025 landed Dr. Provost her role on the show. After coming to the attention of unit manager and co-producer Chris George, she was invited to visit the show’s Long Island City soundstage in Queens, New York, one day in March to spend time with cast and crew members.

“It was a delight to spend time with actors Steve Martin, who is a real-life birder, Richard Kind and Selena Gomez, as well as other members of the cast and crew,” Dr. Provost said. “It was a real privilege to be the person they wanted to be there and to be able to see how the ‘Hulu sausage’ gets made.”

Adelphi’s Expert in Birds and Birdcalls

As the amateur sleuths in the show discovered, Lester the doorman—who was a birdwatcher—had left behind a ledger with bird names he had given to a group of shady billionaires. As he was dying, Lester even left additional clues via a bird whistle. No birdbrains, the trio decoded the ledger and birdcalls to expose Lester’s murderer in the season’s finale.

According to Dr. Provost, the birds whose calls needed to be replicated—the Eurasian Jay, Cowbird, Bowerbird and Kākāpō—had already been picked to identify the nefarious billionaires before she became involved.

“I was asked if I could replicate their noises and tell them how they sound and how actors could replicate them—and whether that would be funny.” Equally important, the birdcalls had to further the comedy-drama’s plot.

Dr. Provost referenced databases, including the one at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, to determine what sounds would be the easiest and funniest to mimic. “For instance, the Eurasian jay is itself a mimic,” she explained. “So I asked if it mimics blue jays, would the actors be able to be taught to make that sound.”

An Adelphi Professor Who Teaches Actors, Not Just Students

“I’ve always been interested in bird sounds and have become an expert on them,” Dr. Provost said. “And since I have some background in music as a percussionist and in theater, from high school and college, I could get close to imitating the sounds myself in order to teach the actors.”

She added that, as an example, “The brown-headed cowbird makes a ‘glug-glug-glee’ sound. You can mimic it by making a swallowing sound and then a whistle, or a screech, to make it funny.”

“I corrected the actors four or five times,” she said. “We could have continued working to make the sounds more and more accurate, but I’m quite happy with the results. My colleagues have said they were surprised at how accurate the sounds were.”

The Professor Who Made Steve Martin Laugh

“I had fun,” Dr. Provost recalled. “The experience as a whole was so positive. But if I were to pick a favorite thing, I’d have to say that I made some of these actors laugh while getting them to record a bird sound accurately.

“As an expert, I can be bombastic, but I’m not afraid to look silly to get the job done,” she admitted. “When I demonstrated the cowbird’s sound, I made its ‘glug, glug’ and then gave a big scream. No one was expecting me to scream, and I got a good laugh from that. I made Steve Martin laugh—and I’ll never forget that moment. This has been a peak of my career. It’s all downhill from now on.”

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