News & Announcements
Showing most recent announcements first. For press releases and media assets, contact press@acapa.edu.
2025
ACAPA Film Students Honored at Northeast Student Film Festival
Three students from ACAPA's Department of Film & Media Arts received top honors at the 22nd Annual Northeast Student Film Festival, held March 7–9 in Burlington, VT. Senior Maya Ostrowski (BFA Film Production, '25) won Best Short Narrative for her 18-minute film The Understudies. The team of Daniel Reyes and Priya Nair took Best Documentary for Mill Town, a portrait of a shuttered paper mill in Northfield, VT. Department Chair Prof. Celeste Huang called the recognition "a testament to the rigor and creativity our students bring to every frame." The festival drew entries from 38 colleges and universities across the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Dr. Marcus Webb Named Dean of Academic Affairs
President Eleanor Voss has announced the appointment of Dr. Marcus Webb as ACAPA's new Dean of Academic Affairs, effective April 1, 2025. Dr. Webb joins ACAPA from the Harwick Conservatory in Portland, Oregon, where he served as Associate Provost for Curriculum and Assessment for nine years. He holds a doctorate in Arts Administration from Columbia University and an MFA in Theatre Direction from Carnegie Mellon. Dr. Webb succeeds the retiring Dean Harriet Osei, who served in the role for 14 years.
$4.2 Million Calloway Scholarship Endowment Established for Dance Department
ACAPA alumna Patricia Calloway (BFA Dance, 1981) has made a landmark $4.2 million gift to establish the Calloway Scholarship Fund for Dance, the largest single donation in the college's history. The endowment will provide full-tuition scholarships to two incoming BFA Dance students per year, beginning with the class entering Fall 2026. Ms. Calloway, a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and founder of the Calloway Dance Foundation, cited the transformative influence of her ACAPA training on her career. "This institution gave me everything," she said in a statement. "I hope this fund gives the next generation the same chance it gave me." ACAPA's Department of Dance will formally receive the gift at a ceremony during Spring Showcase 2025.
Spring Showcase 2025: Call for Submissions Now Open
ACAPA's annual Spring Showcase will be held April 24–27, 2025 in Hargrove Hall and the Fenn Black Box Theatre. All current students in good academic standing are eligible to submit work for consideration in performance, visual art, film screening, and interdisciplinary categories. Submissions close February 28, 2025. Students may submit via the portal linked below. Questions may be directed to the Office of Student Arts Programs at showcase@acapa.edu or (802) 555-0190 x211.
ACAPA Launches New MFA in Music Composition Beginning Fall 2025
Following three years of curriculum development and accreditation review, ACAPA has received approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) to offer a Master of Fine Arts in Music Composition, the college's first graduate-level degree program. The two-year residential program will enroll an inaugural cohort of six students in September 2025. The program emphasizes acoustic composition, electroacoustic music, and notation for contemporary ensemble. Faculty will be led by composer-in-residence Prof. Samuel Adedayo, who joined ACAPA in 2023.
2024
Hargrove Hall Recording Studios Renovation Complete
The $1.8 million renovation of the three recording studios in Hargrove Hall has been completed ahead of schedule, reopening to students and faculty on November 18. The project, funded by a combination of capital reserves and a grant from the Vermont Arts Council, added a new isolation booth in Studio B, replaced analog consoles with hybrid analog/digital signal chains, and upgraded acoustic treatment in all three rooms. The project was overseen by Facilities Director Tom Abramowitz in consultation with acoustic engineers from Wrightfield Associates of Boston.
Dean Harriet Osei Honored with Emeritus Status at Convocation
At ACAPA's Fall Convocation ceremony on August 30, Dean of Academic Affairs Harriet Osei was formally awarded Emerita status by the Board of Trustees in recognition of her 14 years of distinguished service. Dean Osei joined ACAPA in 2010 after serving as Chair of the Liberal Arts division at Worthington College in New Hampshire. During her tenure, she oversaw the expansion of ACAPA's interdisciplinary arts programs and shepherded the college through its 2017 NECHE reaccreditation review. She will remain at ACAPA in an advisory capacity through December 2024.
Permanent Student Gallery Opens in Brenlin Building
A new 1,200-square-foot permanent student gallery has opened on the ground floor of the Brenlin Building, dedicated to rotating exhibitions of work by current ACAPA students. The gallery, named the Pratt Gallery of Student Work in honor of founding visual arts faculty member Jerome Pratt (1947–1979), features climate-controlled display space, flexible track lighting, and a small reading alcove with catalogs of past ACAPA exhibitions. The inaugural exhibition, Fault Lines, features 24 works by students in the Visual Arts, Photography, and Graphic Design departments and runs through May 31.
Undergraduate Curriculum Review Results Released; New Distribution Requirements Effective Fall 2025
The Academic Affairs committee has released the results of its 18-month undergraduate curriculum review. Beginning with students entering in Fall 2025, all BFA and BA candidates will be required to complete two semesters of Arts in Context, an expanded general education sequence covering arts history, critical theory, and professional practice. The revised requirements replace the former single-semester Arts History survey. The review committee, chaired by Prof. Annette Burrows (Theatre), gathered input from 312 students, 41 faculty members, and 68 alumni over the review period.
2023
Composer Samuel Adedayo Joins ACAPA as Composer-in-Residence
ACAPA's Department of Music has appointed internationally recognized composer Samuel Adedayo as Composer-in-Residence for a three-year term, beginning January 2024. Mr. Adedayo's compositions have been performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, and ensembles across Europe and West Africa. He is the recipient of the 2021 American Music Center Award and a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. He will teach two seminars per year and lead the newly created ACAPA Electroacoustic Ensemble.
ACAPA Receives Ten-Year NECHE Reaccreditation
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) has granted ACAPA full reaccreditation for a ten-year term, effective July 1, 2023. The visiting committee's report commended the college's "cohesive institutional identity, strong faculty governance, and demonstrated commitment to student outcomes." The review process began in September 2021 and included a self-study, a site visit in March 2023, and review of financial, academic, and governance documentation. ACAPA's next comprehensive evaluation is scheduled for 2033.
For older news items, see the 2022 Archive, 2021 and earlier, or use the category links in the sidebar.
All press inquiries: press@acapa.edu | (802) 555-0190 x204.
ACAPA is an equal opportunity institution. Accredited by NECHE since 1953.