School of Arts & Sciences

Department of English Writers Series

Megan Fernandes

Thursday, March 20, 6 p.m. | Humanities Building Commons, 2nd Floor

Megan Fernandes is the author of three books of poetry: The Kingdom and After (Tightrope Books, 2015), Good Boys (Tin House, 2020), and I Do Everything I’m Told (Tin House, 2023). She has published her work in The New Yorker, Chicago Review, Boston Review, and McSweeney’s, among other places. A South Asian American writer living in New York City, she was born in Canada and raised in the Philadelphia area. Her family are East African Goans. Fernandes is an associate professor of English and the Writer-in-Residence at Lafayette College. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.F.A. in poetry from Boston University.

A&S Student Symposium

Each April, we celebrate our diverse community of learners at the A&S Student Symposium, a showcase of student-led research projects from nearly 30 disciplines in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Student researchers share their scholarly work with the campus community and the public through oral presentations, poster sessions, performances, and art exhibits.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2025, 1 TO 6 P.M.

Meet the 2024-25 Beckman Scholars

A&S students Marcos Hendler, of Rye, New York, and Aine MacDermott, of Lexington, Virginia, have each been awarded a prestigious Beckman Foundation Scholarship to support faculty-mentored student research in the sciences.

Beckman Scholars are selected among undergraduate biology and chemistry students based on commitment to research, strong academics, and potential to become scientific leaders. UR has had 26 Beckman Scholars since 2006.

Hendler, a chemistry major, is studying computational chemistry focused on molecules related to anticancer, which has implications in possible treatments. Hendler’s faculty mentor is chemistry professor Carol Parish. MacDermott, a biochemistry & molecular biology major, is researching ancient DNA under the mentorship of biology professor Melinda Yang. MacDermott is focused on the evolution of the alcohol metabolism gene ADH1B in present-day and ancient East Asian humans.

Humanities Fellows Program Applications Due October 7

The Humanities Fellows Program is a selective, close-knit, and interdisciplinary community of students and scholars investigating critical and contemporary questions about human experience from diverse perspectives. Sophomores excited about humanities fields have the opportunity to explore their interests while developing skills that matter in and out of the classroom and preparing to live productive and purposeful lives. In 2023-2024 our focus will be on Power and Enchantment.

The program combines an interdisciplinary humanities seminar and field experience with the opportunity to apply for mentored summer research and continued professional mentorship, career development and community.