THEATRE ARTS - Before “Stranger Things,” there was “She Kills Monsters,” a 2011 coming-of-age drama-comedy brimming with Mind Flayers and Bulettes, also known as landsharks, and an array of other monsters and heroes drawn from the popular role-play game Dungeons & Dragons.

THEATRE ARTS, GERMAN & SCANDINAVIAN - For the second time in University of Oregon history, a Duck has won the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship. Alex Mentzel, a 2020 graduate who majored in German literature and theatre arts, will be one of only 60 students nationally in the 2022 class of Gates-Cambridge Scholars.

THEATRE ARTS - Six years in the making, three powerful films by University of Oregon theater arts alumnus and award-winning documentary filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald raise awareness and shine stark light on the plight of their subjects. He calls the projects his “humanitarian trilogy.”

THEATRE ARTS - A unique partnership between a Department of Theatre Arts professor, director and playwright and a Grand Ronde tribal elder and actor has given Native theater a voice and a presence on campus.

THEATRE ARTS - After a year and a half of canceled, scaled back, and performed over Zoom, University Theatre is back with a full roster of in-theater productions.

THEATRE ARTS - It’s been a breakout year for Jana Schmieding. Star of the Peacock network’s hit show Rutherford Falls, the Lakota Sioux Native is shattering the glass ceiling and making room for Indigenous creatives in the entertainment industry.

PSYCHOLOGY, BIOLOGY, THEATRE ARTS - The Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement honored four faculty members this spring for excellence in mentoring students as they ask questions and seek answers.

Twenty outstanding faculty members, the most since 2007, have been selected for the sought-after Fund for Faculty Excellence Awards for the 2021-22 academic year. The fund is designed to reward, recognize and retain world-class teaching and research at the UO.

THEATRE ARTS - Michael Govier and fellow writer Will McCormick won an Academy Award for best animated short film for If Anything Happens I Love You, a 12-minute look into the world of parents whose marriage is suffering under the strain of losing their only child in a school shooting.

THEATRE ARTS - As a kid whose parents introduced him early and often to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sean Andries (BS ’06, theater arts) appreciates the value the arts can bring to rural communities.