Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Scholars & Artists Program

The Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Scholars & Artists Program has brought experts and leaders, across a variety of disciplines and fields, to engage in public forums and interact with students, faculty, staff, and other members of the community for over 25 years.

For information, please contact Zach Mendez.

2024-25 Schedule

The Department of Music (in collaboration with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park) brings several world-renowned performing artists to campus throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
The Rollins Museum of Art offers public artist talks/lectures, both in-person and virtually, throughout the 2024-25 academic year, including: Denise Bookwalter, Jordan Nassar, and Nicole Cromartie.
The Department of Theatre & Dance continues to work with Felichia Chivaughn, in collaboration with the Student Center for Inclusion and Belonging, on the implementation of their Anti-Racism Action Plan, the programming and initiatives of the Theatre & Dance Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Council, and the application of color-conscious and identity-conscious production principles. Learn more about IDEA efforts in the Department of Theatre and Dance and at the Annie Russell Theatre here. Additionally, they will welcome Guest Actor Clay Rivers, to play the role of "Death," in Everybody. Rivers’ career as an actor, artist, and author has taken him from Disney World to Hollywood and the stages of New York City. A graduate of Central Florida’s Jones High School and Rollins College, Rivers is the founder and president of Our Human Family, a nonprofit that advocates for racial equity, allyship, and inclusion.

Fall 2024

The Department of Anthropology brings anthropologist Michael Taussig on September 12 at 5PM (KWR, Galloway Room) to present on his ethnographic research in southwest Colombia on the themes of violence and the counter magic waged by families of the victims against perpetrators, and on the sacred nature of the corpse on these practices. Taussig has been working in Colombia since 1969 and is arguably one of the most foundational figures in anthropology in terms of his contributions to social theory and the importance of ethnographic description for these very modes of theory. He is the author of over seventeen monographs including Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man (1987), The Devil and Commodity Fetishism (1980), and Mimesis and Alterity (1993). Taussig is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University, and a former Guggenheim Fellow and Berlin Prize winner. His work continues to demonstrate the inseparability of fieldwork and writing; thought and image. This event is co-sponsored with the LACS, MLS, and SWAG programs.
The Department of Critical Media & Cultural Studies brings in-person and virtual options for the Rollins and the local community to experience The Global Peace Film Festival from September 17th-22nd, 2024.
The Rollins Museum of Art in partnership with Olin Library & The Art/Art History Department presents the exhibition Critical Reading: Book Arts in Dialogue. This partnership brings in Denise Bookwalter, an artist and author. Bookwalter works in a range of print media including traditional and digital processes, artist’s books, installations, and dimensional prints. She is an Associate Professor of Art at Florida State University and the founding director of FSU’s Small Craft Advisory Press. Bookwalter will deliver a Q & A session and conversation on September 17th, 2024 from 6-7pm in the Rollins Museum of Art. The Collection itself will be on view through January 5, 2025.
Felichia Chivaughn will direct Pride & Prejudice by Kate Hamill. Set in the stunning Regency period (a la Bridgerton), this spunky adaptation of the Jane Austen classic pokes fun at the “marriage mart” and the societal norms that fuel its madness. Click here for more information about the production and to snag your tickets. Ms. Chivaughn’s recent accolades include a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership with Patricia McGregor at the Geffen Theatre and the Orlando Sentinel’s Critic’s Choice for her work on Boulevard of Bold Dreams at Orlando Shakes.
The Rollins College Center for Career & Life Planning brings Carlos Navarro, actor (Marvel's "Hawkeye," AMC's "The Walking Dead"), media personality, comedian, and mindset coach to campus to share his success stories and insights from the world of entertainment. This energizing, motivational talk will help you use your passion to fuel your dreams and goals, no matter what profession or industry you want to work in or want to break into, and realize your full potential personally and professionally. Please join us on Thursday, Nov. 14th, 2024 @7pm in Bush Auditorium.
The Student Center for Inclusion & Belonging in collaboration with other departments presents "Intersex Empowerment: Challenging Norms & Embracing Change" with Pidgeon Pagonis. As an intersex individual, Pidgeon works tirelessly to educate others on the significance of bodily autonomy, informed consent, and the need for inclusive policies. Join us on October 29th @4:00-5:30pm in Bush Auditorium to hear their story and how you can advocate for change.

Spring 2025

The Rollins Physics Department & Pre-Engineering Program brings Eric Mitchell, a current engineering manager at Bose Corporation. He attended Western New England University for his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and Penn State University for his Master's degree in acoustics. He then sought and received his MBA while working as an engineering lead at Bose and has been involved in several areas of the corporation from research and design to the hiring of new engineers. Eric will join us in Bush 164 on Thursday, January 16th at 6pm to discuss the intersection between business and engineering.
The Political Science Department presents Layna Mosley, a prestigious Rollins graduate who went on to become a professor at Notre Dame, University of North Carolina, and now Princeton. Now a Professor of Politics and International Affairs at the School of Public and International Affairs, and in the Department of Politics, at Princeton University. She directs the Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab, part of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance. Mosley’s research focuses on the political economy of international finance, including sovereign debt and foreign direct investment. The presentation & keynote will be on Monday, March, 31st @7pm in Suntrust/Crummer Auditorium.
The Political Science Department presents Michael Gunter Sr, a specialist on Kurdish issues in the Middle East, traveling throughout the region and a frequent target for national interviews. The presentation will be on Monday, March 3rd, @7pm in Suntrust/Crummer Auditorium.
The Rollins Museum of Art brings Nicole Cromartie to present on her experience designing museum programs and exhibitions for young audiences. This program will be in connection with the museum’s spring exhibition of works from the collection collaboratively curated by the children at the Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center. The program will be held on February 4th, 2025 from 6-7pm in the Rollins Museum of Art. Cromartie is the Director of Learning and Engagement at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado. Her research interests include evaluating early learning in museums, sharing curatorial authority with children, and the benefits of museum experiences for our youngest visitors, from birth to 14 months. In 2021, Routledge published Cromartie’s first book, Evaluating Early Learning: Planning for our Youngest Visitors, which presents developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant practices for engaging young children and their families in museums. She is currently enrolled in the Leadership for Educational Equity, Early Childhood Education EdD program at the University of Colorado Denver. In the spring of 2025, she will be a Getty Museum Guest Scholar in Los Angeles, where she will conduct research for her next book on young children and the arts.
The Rollins Communication Department brings Dr. Stacey L. Connaughton. Dr. Connaughton is a Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University and the Director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute in Purdue's Discovery Park. Her public lecture will focus on 'Relational Approaches to Engaged Communication Scholarship'. In this lecture, Dr. Connaughton will highlight the importance of negotiating collaborative relationships through communication for peacebuilding efforts. Particularly, she will focus on how engaged scholars can be attentive to the ways their communication choices may impact, negatively or positively, the outcomes of their engaged scholarship. Using the Purdue Peace Project as a case, she will highlight how the relationally attentive approach (RAA) helped her team to empower local citizens in Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia to lead constructive actions to prevent political violence. The presentation & keynote will be on Thursday, February 27th, 2025 @6-7:30pm in KWR 300: Galloway Room.
The Crummer School of Business's Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership presents Raven Solomon, a global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion thought leader and nationally recognized keynote speaker who helps organizations get future-ready by understanding generations, racial equity, and their intersection. In this engaging program, Raven will captivate participants of all ages to explore both the differences and similarities across the various generations in the workforce. She will demonstrate how these insights are not only relevant but essential for building resilient, future-ready organizations. Please join us on April 8th, from 8:30-10:30am in Rice Family Pavilion.

Apply

Have a scholar and/or artist in mind for the next academic year? Submit your application by TBD for the TPJ Committee's consideration.

Apply Here

Thomas P. Johnson's ’34 ’82H ’99 generous endowment and thoughtful vision developed into the Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Scholars & Artists Program.