Divya Janardhan

Photo of Dr. Divya Janardhan

Dr. Divya Janardhan, Assistant Professor of Arts Administration, Management, and Advocacy, and Area Head of Arts Administration for TCVPA, was invited by the Department of Political Science at Texas State University to give a guest lecture on Arts Administration and Cultural Policy for the graduate cohort of PA 5300: Introduction to Public Administration and Public Policy. Dr. Janardhan’s talk covered a broad range of topics from her research and pedagogical areas within arts administration and policy including arts management concepts, arts advocacy, cultural policy initiatives and policy tools, cultural diplomacy, the creative economy, and media-induced tourism.

David Forrest

Photo of David Forrest

Associate Professor of Music Theory David Forrest presented work from his forthcoming textbook, A Model for Teaching Timbre in Music Theory Class at the Texas Society for Music Theory conference in Waco, Texas.

Designed to fill 1-2 weeks of instructional time, these lessons do not require special equipment or instructor training. The module focuses on sound-source identification from which students may progress to more advanced timbral topics such as spectrograms and studies in attack, sustain, decay, soundwaves, and overtones.

Eric Allen

Photo of Eric Allen and the Shifting Direction album cover

Eric Allen, Associate Professor of Music and Associate Director of Bands, conducted the new album of the Texas Tech University Contemporary Music Ensemble, SHIFTING DIRECTION, released on the Navona Records Label. The album is receiving positive reviews, including an excellent review from Gramophone Magazine.

Von Venhuizen

Photo of Von Venhuizen in kiln yard; Von's artwork in upper right

Associate Professor of Ceramics Von Venhuizen is a nationally and internationally known and exhibited artist, contributing to the ongoing and evolving world of ceramics. Venhuizen recently displayed his show "Thoughts and Prayers" at Mercy Mount University. 

“The newest work in this exhibition deals with trophies, tragedy, and the frustration of ignorance. Trophies are often the spoils for, or from ‘winning’ with it being a visual reminder of the others loss. With so much ‘winning’ lately, these trophies are relating to a dark time in history: nothing happy here, nothing to celebrate. The way some individuals or groups chose to see the pandemic was curious to me. Many (some of my own family) dying, others spreading wild rumors (and the virus), others denying science in their own search at the farm feed store for ways to beat a global issue and/or others thinking they were being microchipped instead of protected. Get out the aluminum foil hats and send your Thoughts and Prayers. All hail the Google machine, social media, misinformation, ignorance, and arrogance.

“With most things that involve tragedies or celebrations, there often are balloons to celebrate or help people signify the importance of remembering those that have been affected. Almost every cause has a balloon and a color directly associated with it. I’m curious if when this pandemic lessens or hopefully is eradicated, will there be balloons? I’m guessing they’ll be red.” — Von Venhuizen

Texas Tech held a record-breaking Day of Giving in March, raising more than $577,000 from 1,498 donors. TCVPA donors - with the help of a very generous School of Music donor who made a matching gift – raised a total of $15,741 for College scholarships and programs. Gifts to TCVPA impact students in a number of ways. Scholarships allow more students to afford higher education in the arts while providing families with peace of mind. Gifts to flexible funds, such as the Visual & Performing Arts Fund for Excellence, help the College provide opportunities like community events, student travel, and new programs that enrich students’ experiences. 

Many donors who participated in Day of Giving were TCVPA alumni who wanted to “pay it forward” for support they received as students. Armando Godinez, Jr. (BFA 2004) noted, “I always want to be mindful that someone else’s gift helped provide me and many other students with the resources needed to succeed in our own academic journeys.”

Texas Tech’s Day of Giving was held March 25-26 for 1,923 minutes, representing the year of the university’s founding. Every dollar donated supports the ON&ON Campaign for Texas Tech, enhancing the campus and strengthening the university’s future.

>> View all results for Texas Tech Day of Giving 

What inspires them to give?

“My years in the Goin’ Band shaped lifelong friendships, taught me perseverance, and fostered a deep-rooted love of Texas Tech. Supporting today’s members through this scholarship fund ensures they can cherish their own ‘foot and a half,’ and I’m thrilled to help push this goal across the finish line. Wreck ’em!”
 
Trey Caliva – 2005 B.S. Math

“I gave to TCVPA because it’s more than a college—it’s part of my story. I see the incredible work our programs and departments are doing, the opportunities unfolding for our students, and the lasting impact on our community. I’m proud to invest in a future that uplifts creativity, supports our faculty and alumni, and continues the mission that helped shape my own journey.”

Kristi Mangiapane - 2010 BM Music Performance

“I feel it’s important to give back to the arts, as it has opened up an entire world and community to me professionally and through various experiences. I always want to be mindful that someone else’s gift helped provide me and many other students with the resources needed to succeed in our own academic journeys.”

Armando Godinez Jr. - 2004 BFA Communication Design

“I feel strongly about the importance of scholarships for several reasons. As a TTU employee, I’ve witnessed firsthand how scholarships can transform lives—often making it possible for students to attend the university when financial barriers might have otherwise stood in their way. Participation in the arts builds confidence, fosters self-expression, and collaboration, while developing transferable skills like communication and creativity. Most of my DIY skills were learned in the scene shop at TTU!”

Janet L. Veal - Director of Student Wellness, 1997 BFA Theatre Arts

TCVPA Faculty Duo awarded startup funds from Texas Tech Accelerator Competition

A pair of faculty from the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts, David Sears and Peter Martens, competed successfully in the month-long Accelerator Competition held at the Texas Tech Innovation Hub. Their project centers on a mobile app called GeoListen, which combines a world music name-that-tune game with a geography puzzle. Players hear a 30-second snippet of a song that has been played recently on a radio station somewhere in the world by an artist from that country.  They have five guesses to pick the country on a spinnable globe, with clues after incorrect guesses to help get to the right answer.

The idea and “under the hood” components for the game grew out of ongoing research projects in the Performing Arts Research Lab (PeARL), which investigate topics such as global music consumption habits and general knowledge of instrumental timbres. Turning these projects into a commercially viable product idea was not automatic, however.  Martens says, “The idea was the easy part; translating the research questions and even our normal modes of presentation into something that would ‘sell’ in a 10-minute pitch – it was a steep learning curve for us, but rewarding.” And while it’s good basic fun, the creators plan to develop educationally-focused versions of the game for classroom use, and to drive Spotify traffic to largely unknown artists from around the world, most of whom derive no compensation from the streaming service.

The duo walks away with $25,000 in startup funds, with an additional $15,000 provided when initial benchmarks are met during the year of the project’s duration. The Innovation Hub also provides mentorship and training in the business aspects of winning projects during that period of time. GeoListen is the first project from the TCVPA to meet with success in this Accelerator Competition.

pictured left to right: David Sears; Peter Martens

TCVPA STUDENTS JOIN FORCES IN RED RAIDER STARTUP

The Texas Tech University Innovation Hub hosted the 2025 Red Raider Startup to focus on entrepreneurship. Four students formed a team and pitched an idea called “Art Swap.” After facing a panel of sharks, the team was awarded the Visual and Performing Arts Award. We spoke with team member Hannah Broff, who was also awarded the best team leader, to learn more about their experience.

What made you want to join the Red Raider Startup?

I volunteered because I have always loved entrepreneurial learning opportunities, and so when I learned about this one, I had to find out more. When I inquired about the event to the School of Art Director, Ghi Fremaux, she thought I would be a good fit and asked me if she could nominate me to represent the school and participate. 

How did your team of four come together?

Lee and I met at the Red Raider startup event during the meet and greet and really gravitated to one another. We realized we were both from the School of Art and decided to work together on the same project. Lee told me her friend Emma would be joining the group later and when she arrived, I was delighted to realize Emma was my classmate from my performance class! At the pitch session later, we had several ideas for startups, and my idea for a startup called Art Swap ended up being chosen. After the pitch session, other members were then able to join our group, and that’s how we met our last team member Deniz! 

How did the idea for Art Swap develop?

I’ve had a faint idea for Art Swap floating around in my head for a while. Since I’ve joined the Texas Tech MFA program, I noticed that making art was way easier when I was around a community of artists where we could lend and swap materials for the projects we were working on, and I was thinking about how I could facilitate this process even after graduation. Then during the pitch session, the thought of pitching it as a startup occurred to me. I didn’t think it would get chosen to move into the next stage, but the mentors had a goal of reaching 67 pitch ideas I think, so I just threw it out there to help us get to 67, but it worked out well!

Have you received feedback from fellow art students? 

Yes! As we came back from Red Raider Startup, we told our classmates about our adventure and Art Swap, and many students told us that they loved the idea and that they would love it if this startup continued into development.

How will you use the resources from the Innovation Hub, and what do you see for the future and possibility of Art Swap? 

I was really impressed with the amount of powerful real-world applicable information that the mentors at the Innovation Hub were able to provide in such a short time. If we continue with the startup, we would love to get their input on the project as it continues. Art Swap is something we are very passionate about, but we are unsure about the short-term future of when we can start this venture. We are all grad students, so school keeps us very busy, but grad school doesn’t last forever, and long-term we would love to continue the project.

How did the college set you up for success in this area?

Well, most of us are grad students in the arts college, so in some respects, this is a little outside our wheelhouse. However, all the faculty in the school is so great about helping us gain entrepreneurial skills to become professional artists in any way they can. In this specific case, they gave us a lot of support prior to the Red Raider Startup and even helped re-arrange our school schedules so we could attend. 

pictured left to right: Deniz Unal, 2nd year Ed.D. Instructional Technology; Emma B. Leighton, 2nd year MFA Performance and Pedagogy; Lee Alvarado, 2nd year MFA Theatre and Design; Hannah Broff (team leader), 1st year MFA Sculpture

Revolutionizing Performance Stress Management: Neuroscience Meets Music at Texas Tech

Kim Walker, Professor of Music and Art Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with Dr. Chanaka Kahathudwa (Neurology) and (Surgery), has launched a pioneering initiative that brings together neuroscience, cognitive performance, and the arts. Their mission: to transform how we manage performance-related stress—starting with professional musicians and expanding to other high-stakes professions.

This project introduces a first-of-its-kind EEG-guided binaural beat intervention, which dynamically adapts to brain activity in real-time to reduce stress and optimize cognitive performance. Unlike traditional static audio tools, this system acts like a personalized “neural tuning fork,” calibrated for each individual.

This breakthrough positions Texas Tech University at the forefront of personalized neural intervention research, merging the arts and sciences in unprecedented ways.

The team was honored to receive Texas Tech University’s Cross-Disciplinary Faculty Research Excellence Award, along with $15,000, with which they will fund scanning, participant stipends, and EEG tools—demonstrating high impact with lean resources.

This project lays the foundation for scalable, evidence-based stress management solutions that could transform performance in fields where the margin for error is razor thin.

pictured left to right: Dr. Samudanai Dhanasekara; Kim Walker; Dr. Chanaka Kahathudwa

Medici Circle Soup & Champagne, March 8, 2025

The Medici Circle is a Lubbock community volunteer group supporting the School of Art through friends-raising and fund-raising for art scholarships. Since 2005, when the group first formed, the Medici Circle has successfully created or augmented $750,000 in art scholarship endowments using funds raised to incentivize new donors with fund-matching opportunities.

After a long hiatus due to COVID, the Medici Circle re-organized in Fall 2024 and presented its first fundraising event on March 8, 2025 by staging a Soup & Champagne Supper at a local home. Sixty attendees enjoyed soups made by members of the Medici Circle Council in cups made by students, faculty, and alumni of the School of Art’s Ceramics Program. Proceeds from the event will augment the Medici Circle Ceramics Endowed Scholarship that was  created in 2014-2015 when the first Soup & Champagne Suppers were staged.

The Medici Circle Council will be coming up with all sorts of opportunities for community members to meet School of Art students and faculty, to get more involved in the arts, and to support the creative and scholarly projects of our students.

Medici Circle continues to help create new endowments each year, the number and amount of scholarships available to support Art majors in all the areas at the undergraduate and graduate levels have steadily increased since 2007 when the first Medici Circle scholarship made.

School of Art endowments supported by the Medici Circle include:

Bill Lockhart Art Scholarship Endowment (2007)

Ken Little - Medici Circle Art Scholarship Endowment (2007)

Mrs. Linda S. & Dr. John M. Filippone, Jr. - Medici Circle Scholarship Endowment (2009)

Terry Morrow - Medici Circle Art Graduate Fellowship Endowment (2010)

The Willie and Eve Tate Family - James E. LaMunyon Chancellor’s Council Scholarship (augmented 2011)

Rex & Bonnie Aycock - Medici Circle Master’s in Art History Graduate Fellowship Endowment (2011)

E. Grey Lewis, Jr. Memorial - Medici Circle Art Graduate Fellowship Endowment (2011)

Real & Muff Musgrave – Medici Circle Art Scholarship Endowment (2012)

Donna Howell-Sickles & John Sickles – Medici Circle Art Scholarship Endowment (2014)

Deborah Milosevich – Medici Circle Scholarship Endowment (2015)

Medici Circle Art Scholarship in Ceramics (2015)

The Paul D. Hanna Memorial – Medici Circle Endowed Scholarship for the Fine Arts (2016)

Rick Dingus – Medici Circle Graduate Fellowship Endowment (2016)

Clarence E. Kincaid Memorial Scholarship Endowment (augmented 2016)

Cheatham/Howze Drawing Scholarship Endowment (augmented 2016)

Tina Fuentes Painting
Fellowship Endowment (2019)

Stacy Elko Memorial – Medici Circle Scholarship Endowment in the School of Art (2022)

Graphic by Jessica Murph

Join Medici Circle today with your $75 individual or family annual membership donation. Receive our announcements about exhibitions and receptions on campus, and at the School of Art’s Satellite Gallery located downtown at the Charles Adams Studio Project. Receive special invitations to Prossimo Receptions for members and receive deep discounts to fundraisers and events such as Soup & Champagne Suppers, the 5x7 Art Dash, and more. Join now and your membership is good through August 2026.

Contact Us:

Ghi Fremaux, Interim Director, School of Art (806-742-3826)

Robin Phillips, Director of Development, J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts (806.834.7353)

WARM UP

Professor of Violin Annie Chalex Boyle holds her studio class each Thursday after lunch. Students finish snacks and sandwiches as they unpack their instruments. The sound of strings tuning rings down the hallway of Texas Tech University’s School of Music. There is chatter, laughter and a feverish practicing of excerpts about to be played for their professor and peers. 

This hour each week is a chance for Chalex Boyle to work with all her students. Not every student plays each week, but everyone participates. For those not performing, they listen attentively and offer encouragement and constructive critique. It’s an opportunity for every student to become a better musician whether they’re holding an instrument or not. 

As graduate student Radman Rasti finishes movement one and two of Tartini’s “Devil’s Trill Sonata,” Chalex Boyle applauds and then pivots to ask the class what’s missing.

“The sound was a bit flat,” answers one student. 

“How might he fix that?” Chalex Boyle challenges. 

The students agree that a different vibrato could open up Rasti’s sound. He resets his bow and tries the beginning of the sonata again with a looser left hand, moving up and down the neck of the violin, summoning a depth of expression that was not there a few moments prior. 

“What has happened to the sound?” Chalex Boyle asks.

“The notes are popping out now,” offers one student. 

Another says, “Everything sounds loosened up.” 

“But how does that work? Technically speaking, how has he achieved a looser sound?” Chalex Boyle pushes, holding eye contact with her students. 

They look at one another, wondering if someone will find the answer their professor is hunting. But it’s clear this is a teaching moment.  

Chalex Boyle says, “When you loosen your wrist, you can manipulate the overtones of your sound.” 

Heads begin to nod, and various “Oh’s” echo.

Rasti plays the first four notes of the sonata over and over and over, trying different combinations of vibrato and bowing, until Chalex Boyle yells out, “Aha! Did you hear that?” 

A small smile creeps along Rasti’s face – it’s clear he did. 

Moments like these, and countless others, are what led to Chalex Boyle being selected as one of the YWCA of Lubbock’s 2025 Women of Excellence. It’s a list that a select few Texas Tech faculty members are named to most years, along with other professionals in the Lubbock community. 

>> Read the Full Story on Texas Tech Now

Photo Credit: Olivia Raymond

By Mark Charney

pictured left to right: Ron Schulz; Dr. Johnathan Marks

Spring 2025 seems an appropriate time to discuss the meaning of legacy in our School of Theatre & Dance, especially because we end the semester celebrating Ron Schulz, a beloved professor (1952-1982) who chaired the department, while directing dozens of plays at Texas Tech and in the community. And, sadly, we just lost a much more recent member of our School, Dr. Jonathan Marks, a Yale graduate who was not only our Head of Acting/Directing and Director of Graduate Studies, but also Interim Dean for a few years while directing several productions for us during his years at Texas Tech (1995-2018). So, the concept of legacy is much on our minds. 

First, a bit of background: 

Although Mr. Schulz was hired to chair our then-department of theatre, he directed three plays his first year for us--A Comedy of Errors, Cradle Song, and Light Up the Sky—as well as Hedda Gabler for the community, while working on his dissertation at Northwestern University: “The Reaction Against Realism in American Drama and Dramatic Theory from 1920-1950.” He had served as Supervisor of the Workshop Theatre at Northwestern, their most experimental program, and supervised over 80 productions during his time there while teaching drama and directing full-length plays for the university, so he came with plenty of experience and an incredible work ethic, based, I hear, on his unparalleled affection for the art of performance.

Dr. Marks had the honor of participating in the founding of the College of Visual & Performing Arts, serving as the second dean on an interim basis, and for the better part of two years held three offices: in the Theatre & Dance building, in the Provost’s Office, and in the old Dean’s office. He was hired to be Head of Directing but taught everything from theatre history to our very first dramaturgy courses. He often claimed that his favorite productions were always his most recent, and he was honored to open the new T&D complex with his devised production of Moliere’s Doctor Love, replete with original music and choreography. And he proudly headed the university’s first Quality Enhancement Plan, the Ethics Initiative that still guides the university’s principles that define how we do the right thing. 

While both professors attended two of the best universities in the nation, that’s not necessarily the criteria that ensures a legacy, because let’s be honest—the philosophy behind the concept of legacy is not just an impressive resume or even a list of accomplishments. I wasn’t fortunate enough to know Mr. Schulz, but from what I hear, he was much beloved and respected because of his keen insight into directing, his uncanny ability to create ensemble and his sheer affection for the students he took under his wing. Dr. Marks had a similar mission—he loved his students, fought for them, believed in them, and constantly encouraged their success by casting them in performances that challenged them. 

One quality I know both men shared was to embrace risk. It’s one thing to claim we encourage students to take risks even if they fail, but it’s another entirely to put them in positions where failure is, indeed, a viable option. Both chose plays to best educate their students, believing wholeheartedly that they had the capacity to “rise to the occasion,” to discover talents even they didn’t know they had. So, I suppose another quality that helps both professors reach legacy status is the implicit respect such a choice reflects about the manner with which they challenged their students. 

A third quality, one that’s a bit harder to define, rests in the impact both men had on our School. Mr. Schulz is still seen as one of the best directors to ever grace our stage, and students were so enamored with his talents that they almost rebelled when our theatre building was not named after him. From what I hear, he was tough, sure, but the students who worked for him knew that if they gave their time, they’d be proud of their work. 

From what I’ve heard from alums who studied under Mr. Schulz, he expected the world from them, but he also gave them 100%, no matter what other obligations he held. And I know the same is true of Dr. Marks, who was a great mentor to me in my early years here, and who always took on any challenge the School threw his way. He treated his students like family, giving them the benefit of the doubt, taking a firm stance when it was necessary without letting students too easily “off the hook.” Dr. Marks wanted the best for everyone with whom he came into contact and would work diligently to assure their success. 

Neither was seen as a pushover, but both earned respect and affection by never shying away from doing the work it took to convey their inherent belief in the students studying under them. And both greatly impacted where our School is right now. 

Ron Schulz retired in 1982, and yet, he was the first name I heard from alums when I arrived to chair the department in 2012. We just lost Dr. Marks, but I’m confident based on the chorus of voices praising him over social media that he will, too, leave a legacy here at Texas Tech. Maybe it’s because students don’t really honor either professor for the shows they directed or the classes they taught; instead, they praise them for pushing them to do their best, for trusting them, and for helping to transform them into the artists they later became. But more than that, students thank them for helping them understand their potential to use art to make a difference in the world—a combination of empathy, strength, vision, community outreach, and respect. 

Those who leave a legacy will be remembered and appreciated long after their retirement, and, indeed, long after those who have taken the time to read this column will be around, and there’s great comfort in that. 

As we mourn the passing of Dr. Marks and celebrate the achievements of Mr. Schulz, it’s truly the students themselves who determine the extent of their importance--for only they carry in their hearts the impact such giants have upon their lives. We witnessed this love in Dr. Marks’ retirement ceremony a few years back, and we saw it again this past April when alumni gathered to honor Mr. Schulz. Both men helped to build this School of Theatre & Dance that we all love, and we are, and will always be, grateful.

pictured: Alumna Susanne Wiley shares a fond memory at The Ron Schulz Years Alumni Reunion Dinner in April 2025.

Andrea Moon ‘09 MFA Ceramics, Sculpture
Appointed by the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts as the new Windgate Art School Director

Rachel Dunn ‘20 MFA Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing
Hired as an instructional teacher at the Honolulu Museum of Art

Submit your alumni updates at: vpa.ttu.edu/alumni