3 Faculty Receive Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award

3 Faculty Receive Ohio Arts Council's Individual Excellence Award

Three University of Toledo faculty members in the Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education received the Ohio Arts Council's Individual Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments by 77 artists statewide in a variety of disciplines.

Dr. Ayendy Bonifacio, an associate professor of English specializing in U.S. ethnic literary studies, received the award for fiction; Dr. Matt Foss, a professor of theater, received the award for screenwriting; and Dr. Joey S. Kim, an assistant professor of English, received the award for poetry.

"These accomplishments are a direct reflection of the immense creativity and productivity of our talented faculty in the Judith Herb College of Arts Social Sciences and Education," said Dr. Melissa Gregory, dean of the Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education. "Not only are they experts in the classroom, they're successful and practicing artists who make valuable contributions to their fields. Our students and community are made better through their work."

"I am truly honored and humbled to be a recipient of the Individual Excellence Award for Fiction," Bonifacio said. "This recognition helps me complete 'ParaFlora,' a novel that examines Dominican anger as a force that binds together generations fractured by exile and marked by Haitian ancestry. The award, in my view, is also a testament to the support writers have in Ohio."

"The Ohio Arts Council Award is an incredible program where you not only get support, but fantastic and actionable feedback on your creative work in service of learning more and improving craft," Foss said. "We're incredibly lucky to have statewide agencies like OAC and our hometown Arts Commission that truly support and advocate for artists of all kinds.

My submission was a new indie feature that we will be shooting this summer in Toledo with Department of Theatre and Film students and faculty participating, and this award will be a great help."

"I'm honored to receive this award for my body of poetry," Kim said. "I am eagerly working on my next collection, 'Pork Belly,' which is an intimate yet clinical account of motherhood and the Korean American experience in Ohio."