Parvathy Anantnarayan
High School Academic Program
Artist and Citizen in the Age of AI

This Teaching Innovation Grant supports a revision of the existing AP English Language and Composition course through a thematic focus titled "Artist and Citizen in the Age of AI." By funding the development of a curated "AI Ethics Reader" and the implementation of project-based learning, the grant facilitates a semester-long investigation into the rhetorical, ethical, and artistic implications of generative technology.

By treating Generative AI as a rhetorical subject, this shift centers students by integrating AP English Language and Composition Learning Outcomes with contemporary explorations of digital literacy and ethical responsibility. These connections allow UNCSA students to examine the evolving relationship between the work of art and its reception while preparing to enter a professional landscape and world increasingly defined by automated technologies.

Molly Bernstein
School of Filmmaking
Expansive Cinema: Nonfiction and Hybrid Filmmaking

This Teaching Innovation Grant supports the development of a new 2-semester course in the School of Filmmaking titled “Expansive Cinema: Nonfiction and Hybrid Filmmaking I and II."  This will be a rigorous filmmaking workshop designed for students to investigate and practice forms of nonfiction such as documentary, essay, and hybrid models. Students will engage in a process-based approach, focusing on experimentation, discovering personal styles of filmmaking, and presenting their work in inventive forms. Students will develop their processes through research, observation, and adaptation. 

Jason Bohon
School of Drama
Character Masks

This Teaching and Innovation grant supports the expansion of the School of Drama’s rigorous, craft-based movement curriculum by purchasing half character masks for the second-year training. This addition enables the integration of voice and text work with physical embodiment, helping students more fully connect impulse, language, and expression. By deepening students’ physical awareness, imaginative capacity, and expressive range, the project enhances holistic actor training and better prepares students for the professional demands of the field.

Emily Nicolau
School of Dance
Re-Designing the Pluck Project

The Pluck Project is a year-long capstone course in the School of Dance that immerses students in the full lifecycle of professional dance production, integrating ensemble choreography, digital media, and arts administration. Students operate within a student-led organizational model, serving as Co-Chairs and committee members responsible for planning, fundraising, marketing, and producing original works drawn from their Emerging Choreographers projects, while also creating individual “Solos for Film” that develop and communicate their artistic identity. The course is supported by structured mentorship from the offices of Strategic Communications and Advancement, providing professional training in fundraising, public relations, budgeting, and touring logistics. This redesigned model functions as a professional incubator that builds collaborative leadership skills, production expertise, and sustainable workflows, preparing students for careers in choreography, performance, and arts administration while also establishing a replicable framework for future cohorts and faculty.