Faculty from the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston are among those recognized in the 2026 President’s Circle Awards, an annual program that celebrates outstanding faculty achievement in research, scholarship, and creative work across the university.
Launched in 2025, the President’s Circle Awards highlight a wide range of high-impact accomplishments—from major publications and prestigious national honors to externally funded research and internationally recognized creative practice. The awards are designed to recognize work that raises the university’s academic profile, advances knowledge in each field, and contributes to UH’s strategic goal of becoming a Top 50 public university.
This year’s honorees from the College of the Arts reflect the breadth and impact of artistic scholarship across disciplines, from musicology and performance studies to interdisciplinary collaboration and nationally recognized visual art.
Book Awards
The Book Awards category honors faculty authors whose published monographs or scholarly books make significant contributions to their disciplines, demonstratingoriginality, rigor, and influence in advancing research or creative inquiry.
Three faculty members were recognized for significant book-length publications that advance their fields:
- Paul Bertagnolli, professor at the Moores School of Music, received recognition for Edward MacDowell’s European Piano Music: The Forging of an American Composer, offering new insight into the transatlantic influences shaping American music.
- Timothy Koozin, professor at the Moores School of Music, was honored for Embodied Expression in Popular Music: A Theory of Musical Gesture and Agency, a study that deepens understanding of musical meaning and performance.
- Melissa Noble, director and lecturer at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, was honored for Collaboration Among the Arts, a work that explores the creative possibilities of interdisciplinary practice.
National Recognition Award
The National Recognition Award acknowledges faculty who have received major external honors—such as fellowships, awards, or distinctions from nationally or internationally respected organizations—that elevate both their field and the university’s reputation.
- Anna Mayer, associate professor in the School of Art, was recognized for receiving a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for artists and scholars. Her work continues to gain national and international attention for its innovative approach to contemporary art.
Together, these achievements underscore the College’s commitment to advancing creative research and scholarship that resonates both within and beyond the arts.
The 2026 President’s Circle Awards were presented to 232 faculty members at UH’s Wortham House. The event, hosted by UH President Renu Khator, provided honorees an opportunity to be formally recognized and to celebrate their accomplishments alongside colleagues from across the university.