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Sara Poot-Herrera smiles for a portrait, wearing a red scarf and pearl earrings.

Sara Poot-Herrera receives Universidad Veracruzana's Medal of Merit

Distinguished professor emerita Sara Poot-Herrera received the Universidad Veracruzana Medal of Merit, recognizing her scholarship, teaching and cultural leadership.

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Silhouette of a young boy standing on beach driftwood at sunset, with one arm raised in the air.

Comparative Literature launches Childhood and Youth Studies minor

A new interdisciplinary minor will examine childhood and youth through courses from across the College of Letters and Science, culminating in a capstone experience.

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Artist Sarah Rosalena stands before a large red, blue, white and black textile work in LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries.

Sarah Rosalena creates monumental textile work for LACMA's new galleries

UC Santa Barbara artist Sarah Rosalena has created a 27-foot textile commissioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for its new David Geffen Galleries.

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Actors in period workwear and a prosthetic pig mask perform on a dramatically lit stage with hay bales in UC Santa Barbara's production of Animal Farm.

Three graduating Theater and Dance students earn 2026 Indy Awards

Costume and lighting design for “Animal Farm” and “The Tempest” earned student honors alongside recognition for Department of Theater and Dance faculty, staff and an alum.

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Book cover for Purity Culture, Bodies, and Beliefs featuring large white lettering over a dark purple, blue, and green floral collage.

Writing Program scholar Victoria Houser examines purity culture’s lasting effects

The assistant teaching professor co-edited “Purity Culture, Bodies, and Beliefs,” a collection examining religious trauma, bodily autonomy and pathways toward healing.

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Dean Daina Ramey Berry speaking at a University of California podium. She wears a blue doctoral gown and tam during the 2026 commencement.

The world is waiting: Daina Ramey Berry’s 2026 Humanities and Fine Arts commencement address

Addressing UC Santa Barbara’s Class of 2026, Berry calls on graduates to meet an uncertain world with rigor, imagination, ethical judgment and courage.

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UCSB historian Howard Chiang smiling in a dark blue suit and light pink tie, standing outdoors against a textured concrete wall.

Howard Chiang receives 2026 Dan David Prize for queer history and Sinophone studies

UC Santa Barbara professor and Center for Taiwan Studies director Howard Chiang is the first winner from East Asia to receive the world’s largest history prize.

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Cast of The Tempest posing outdoors on Lazzaretto Nuovo island.

Five HFA faculty and graduate students honored with 2025-26 Academic Senate awards

Recognizing excellence in teaching, diversity and student mentorship across UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.

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