蘑菇传媒

Welcome to the latest SAS in Focus, a newsletter that reports what鈥檚 happening in the School of Arts & Sciences.

 

, a professor emeritus of at the URochester whose pioneering work transformed how human motivation is understood and shaped generations of scholars, practitioners, and students worldwide, died in February at the age of 83.

He was best known for his work on self-determination theory, which he cofounded with his University colleague Richard Ryan. The theory became one of the most influential frameworks on human motivation and wellness in contemporary psychology, with its reach extending far beyond academic journals.

鈥淓d had a profound passion for understanding human motivation and for putting that knowledge into practice,鈥� says , a professor emeritus of psychology and longtime collaborator. 鈥淗e was remarkably generative as a scholar, but what mattered just as much to him was supporting younger scholars鈥攈elping them think clearly, work honestly, and grow into themselves.鈥�

Read the tribute to Edward Deci

 

顿耻谤颈苍驳听,听Eric T. Lincke 鈥�54, 鈥�57M (MD) has given $1.5 million to within the School of Arts & Sciences.

The endowed gift honors Randolph鈥擫incke鈥檚 late mentor鈥攁nd provides vital, permanent support for faculty in the math department. Maria 鈥淢asha鈥� Gordina has been named the inaugural holder of the professorship and chair of the department.

 

Congratulations to , an associate professor of Hebrew Language and Literature in the , and co-director of the at URochester. Andreatta was awarded finalist in Jewish Literature and Linguistic category听of the by the Association for Jewish Studies at the AJS Conference in December. AJS, the main academic organization for Jewish Studies in the United States, annually awards one winner and one finalist in each category of the annual book prize.

Andreatta was named a finalist for her book (Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies at the University of Toronto,2023). Completion of the book was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities individual fellowship (NEH Fel-267562-20). 听The book was previously selected for Honorable Mention (Best Translation) for the Mediterranean Seminar Prize for the Best Source Edition, Book Translation, or Essay Collection 2025. Hell Arrayed听is now available open access thanks to a dedicated grant by the Humanities Center at URochester.

 

New research from the听蘑菇传媒听has found that echo chambers might not need to be a fact of online life. Published in听IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing,听听argues that they are partly a design choice鈥攐ne that could be softened with a surprisingly modest change: introducing more randomness into what people see.

The interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Professor听听from the , created experiments to identify belief rigidity and assess whether introducing more randomness into a social network could help reduce it.

, a computer science PhD student, is first author of the paper. Other authors include Professor听听from the听,听, the Martin Brewer Anderson Professor of听, PhD student听, and听听鈥�16, 鈥�22 (PhD.

Take a look at the study’s findings

 

New book 听(Harper, 2026) is based on decades of research on happiness and human connection.

How to Feel Loved is co-authored by , a distinguished psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside,听and听 , a professor of at 蘑菇传媒 and Dean鈥檚 Professor in Arts and Sciences.

鈥淢any people believe that in order to feel love, they need to make themselves more lovable,鈥� Reis says鈥攂y becoming more impressive, more attractive, more successful. While these strategies can be effective in the short term, they鈥檙e more likely to create distance in the long term. The feeling people are after, he says, doesn鈥檛 come from polishing the surface. Instead, the way to feel more loved is to build a loving connection with another person.

Read more about feeling loved

 

蘑菇传媒 200 students attended the First-year Student Celebration on Feb. 10 Feldman Ballroom in Douglass Commons. 听The event hosted by the Dean鈥檚 office in the School of Arts & Sciences featured food, games, and more.

 

Production THOUGHT/CRIME, an immersive performance inspired by George Orwell鈥檚 1984听, will be presented by February 26 鈥� March 7 in Smith Theatre, Sloan Performing Arts Center, River Campus.

In this work conceived, co-written, and directed by guest artist , audiences navigate a world of surveillance, censorship, and fractured intimacy鈥攚here language is weaponized, bodies are policed, and connection carries consequence.听 As the performance unravels, so do the rules. What begins as control collapses into something else: a chance to gather, to question, to speak.听THOUGHT/CRIME asks what it means to feel, to think, to stay human when silence is the cost of survival.

Showtime is 8 p.m. The 2 p.m. matin茅e on March 1 is ASL interpreted. Go to the International Theater for more information and .

 

Send your SAS in Focus news tips to Director of Marketing and Communications Sheila Rayam at sheila.rayam@rochester.edu. Let her know about unique research, awards, publications, community collaborations and other interesting news. Please put 鈥淪AS in Focus鈥� in the subject heading.