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The Daily Hub

A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute

  • Sofi Thanhauser, adjunct associate professor – CCE, was awarded a 2025 Whiting Award for Nonfiction. The Whiting Committee wrote that Thanhauser displays a “uniquely elegant intelligence…[Her] curiosity is a gift to the reader; her sentences are as layered as her investigations, which look with a devoted intensity at the objects around us that might otherwise escape our attention.”

  • Victoria Forbes, BFA Art and Design Education ’24, has been granted the honor of being the Graduate Speaker for Pratt’s class of 2025 Commencement. She will be acknowledged for this achievement at the Student Affairs Leadership Awards.

  • Graciela Carrillo, MS Urban Environmental Systems Management ’07, has been elevated to the prestigious College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). This honor recognizes their exceptional contributions to architecture and society. The AIA Fellowship is awarded to architects who have achieved the highest standards of excellence in the profession. 

  • Rodney Leon, BArch ’92, reflected on the 10th anniversary of the unveiling of the Ark of Return, a permanent memorial designed by Leon that honors the victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations. “The memorialization of public space allows often complex and contradictory needs to coexist simultaneously. It must provide space for individual reflection and contemplation of often tragic histories, and at the same time provide a place for collective gathering and celebration.”

  • A new short documentary about Edel Rodriguez, BFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’94, is featured in PRINT magazine. Freedom is a Verb, by filmmakers Mecky Creus and Adrienne Hall, “focuses on Rodriguez’s bestselling visual memoir of young life in—and treacherous escape from—Castro’s Cuba.”

More Pratt Institute News

A man stands in front of a building. He wears a suit and tie and glasses. There is greenery behind him.

Dr. Peter West Appointed Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences 

The accomplished writer, scholar, and academic leader joins Pratt Institute from Mercy University. He will assume the role on July 7, 2025.

Barbie, Houseboats, Book Arts, and Beyond

From Pratt Institute News

Class trips invite students to experience art, conduct research, and meet with industry experts in New York City and around the world.
A young man sits cross-legged on a grassy lawn in front of a modern, light-colored stone building with rectangular windows. He is wearing a navy sweatshirt, khaki pants, black sneakers, and holds a dark baseball cap. Tall buildings rise in the background under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Finding Form and Inspiration in Foundation Year

From Pratt Institute News

Foundation year at Pratt has introduced Massimo Brocchini, BID ’28, to friends and mentors and broadened his perspective as a designer.