Spring 2026 ARHU Accolades: Faculty and Staff Awards and Honors
February 18, 2026
Read a roundup of recent accomplishments
Below are awards and honors ARHU faculty and staff have earned since mid-November:
Associate Director of the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House Dolapo Demuren was awarded the 2025 Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship this summer for his manuscript “American Love Sonnets.” Demuren’s chapbook explores themes of filial and paternal relationships, as well as how social, environmental and generational factors influence love poetry through those connections.
“Labor: Studies in Working-Class History” was awarded the prestigious 2026 Phoenix award under the editorial leadership of Professor of American Studies and History Julie Greene. The Council of Editors of Learned Journals gives this competitive award annually for “Significant Editorial and/or Design Achievement.” “Labor” is the official journal for the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA).
Sahar Khamis, associate professor of communication, won the Inaugural Service Award from the South West Asian/North African, Middle East Caucus at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention.
Associate Professor of History Piotr Kosicki was awarded the Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Research Fellowship from the JFK Library Foundation. The fellowships are intended to support scholars in the production of substantial works in either of the following areas: the foreign policy of the Kennedy Presidency, especially in the Western Hemisphere; or the Kennedy Administration's domestic policy, particularly with regard to racial justice or the conservation of natural resources. The successful candidate(s) develop at least a portion of their original research using archival materials from the Kennedy Library.
Assistant Professor of Communication Raquel Moreira won the Francine Merritt Award from the Women’s Caucus at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention.
KenYatta Rogers, assistant professor in the School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, won a 2025 BroadwayWord Award for Best Direction Of A Play (Non-Professional) for “Metamorphoses,” a Fall 2024 TDPS production featuring a wading pool in the Kogod Theatre.
Gareth Williams, lecturer of communication, won a Top Paper in the Communication and Future Division for “Cybersecurity as an Issues Management Wicked Problem: A Communications Approach to a Technological Challenge Facing Critical Infrastructure Organizations” at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention.
Director of Jazz Studies Mark Williams and The Count Basie Orchestra received a Grammy nomination this year for their latest recording, "Basie Rocks," featuring vocalist Deborah Silver. They were also recognized in DownBeat Magazine’s 73rd Annual Critics Poll, earning a place on the Large Ensemble of the Year list.
Lamia Zia, lecturer of communication, has been selected for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) International Affairs Fellowship. This is one of the most competitive and prestigious fellowships in the United States. It aims to bridge the gap between the study and making of U.S. foreign policy by creating the next generation of scholar-practitioners. Its alumni constitute a who’s who of the U.S. foreign policy community, including a former secretary of state, several undersecretaries of state and defense, ambassadors and many other influential leaders in government, academia and the private sector.
Know of a faculty or staff honor that should be included in this compilation? Please contact your unit’s communications lead or arhu-marketing@umd.edu.