Twenty-three Bard Graduate Center students—twenty-two MAs and one PhD—received their diplomas at Bard College’s commencement ceremony on May 23. We look forward to following the careers of these emerging scholars.
PhD dissertation titles and MA qualifying paper titles are listed below each student’s name.
Doctor of Philosophy
Emma Calvert McClendon, Washington, DC
“Sizing the Fashionable Body: Butterick Patterns, Standardization, and Normalcy 1860–1910”
CINOA Award for Outstanding Dissertation
Master of Philosophy
Angela Hermano Crenshaw, Providence, Rhode Island
“Delicate Cloth from ‘Oriental America’: Philippine Piña Textiles in the United States, c. 1840–1940”
Ellen Enderle, Stuart, Florida
“The Glyptic Revival: Gem Cultures in Medieval Europe”
Elena Kanagy-Loux, Brooklyn, New York
“Lace in Translation: The International Expansion of Lacemaking in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries”
Master of Arts
Debaleena Bagchi*, Barrackpore, West Bengal, India
“Between Local Art Traditions and Imperial Ambitions: Understanding the Multivalence of Two Eighteenth-Century Maps of Awadh”
Asha Crowe Bell, Nyack, New York
“Seat of Memory: The Object Biography of an Heirloom Rocking Chair”
Theodora Brown, Phoenix, Arizona
“Public Displays of Olfaction: Eugène Rimmel’s Perfumed Fountains, Almanacs, and Vaporizers”
Samuel Alexander Calloway*, Alpharetta, Georgia
“Imperial Edicts: South Korean Gifts, Collections, and Tensions at the Smithsonian Institution”
Tenesha Lynn Carter Johnson, Kansas City, Kansas
“From Our Heritage to Our Horizon: The Afro-American Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt as Public History”
Maeve Diepenbrock, Sacramento, California
“A History of La Nourrice: The Making and Meaning of Ceramic Wet Nurse Figures from Fontainebleau to Chelsea”
Sarah May Egan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Teaching Citizenship and Difference through ‘Cliff Dwellers’ in American Progressive Schools, 1901–1930”
Samantha Rose Fleischman, New Haven, Connecticut
“Adorning the Sacred: The Venetian Torah Finial as an Exploration of the Relationship Between Christian Silversmith and Jewish Community”
Madeline Fuentes, Lexington, Virginia
“Adorning the Log Cabin: Changing Narratives of Architecture and Appalachian Identity at Pine Mountain Settlement School”
Brenna O’Hara Gomez, Cape Charles, Virginia
“Adorned in Death: An Examination of Drilled Holes for Metal Jewelry Attachments on Athenian Funerary Stelae”
Clive Wainwright Award
Sybilla Loveday Griffin, London, United Kingdom
“Loving Madly: Women and Erotic Pathology in Visual Culture, from Victorian Britain to Art Brut”
Yaerim Hyun, Seoul, South Korea
“Negotiating Boundaries: ShinJa Lee and the Making of Korean Fiber Art in the Late Twentieth Century”
Charlotte Kasper, Lido Beach, New York
“Masking Men, Making Monsters: Prosthetics for Soldiers and Screen, 1914–1943”
Abigail Ann Kosnik*, Ann Arbor, Michigan
“The Afterlives of the Three Kingdoms: Politics of Collection and Display in American Museums”
Alexandra McKelvy, Greenville, South Carolina
“Crafting the Market: How Loewe and Louis Vuitton Use Craft in the Advertisement of Luxury Fashion Goods”
Mérida Campos Mehaffey*, Portland, Oregon
“A Partnership Ethic: Indigenous Artist-Led Collaborations in Museums”
Ryan Olson, New York, New York
“’Ajab (Wonder) in the Unseen: The Astrological Materiality of Amulets”
Ana María Orobio Pinzón, Bogotá, Colombia
“Francisca Caicedo y Florez, a Woman with a Taste for Chocolate”
Itamar Sitbon*, Vancouver, Canada
“Other Sachlichkeit: Situating Surrealist Play in Neue Sachlichkeit Paintings”
Gabriela Antonia Valencia*, Los Angeles, California
“Remembering and Performing Mexico: A Transnational Exploration of Women’s Baile Folklórico Costumes for Chiapas, Jalisco, and Veracruz”
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts Award
Meghan Watters, Columbus, Ohio
“Plaque by Plaque: Assembling Russian Identity from the Bol’shaya Blitznitsa Headdress”
Du Zhou, Huaian, China
“Beyond Nostalgia: The 1914 Chinese Fête, Chinese Embroidered Robes, and the Chinese Tea House”
* This student completed the requirements for the BGC concentration in museum practice, digital scholarship, and public engagement.
PhD dissertation titles and MA qualifying paper titles are listed below each student’s name.
2026 Bard Commencement. Photo by Karl Rabe.
Doctor of Philosophy
Emma Calvert McClendon, Washington, DC
“Sizing the Fashionable Body: Butterick Patterns, Standardization, and Normalcy 1860–1910”
CINOA Award for Outstanding Dissertation
2026 Bard Commencement. Photo courtesy of Keith Condon.
Master of Philosophy
Angela Hermano Crenshaw, Providence, Rhode Island
“Delicate Cloth from ‘Oriental America’: Philippine Piña Textiles in the United States, c. 1840–1940”
Ellen Enderle, Stuart, Florida
“The Glyptic Revival: Gem Cultures in Medieval Europe”
Elena Kanagy-Loux, Brooklyn, New York
“Lace in Translation: The International Expansion of Lacemaking in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries”
Master of Arts
Debaleena Bagchi*, Barrackpore, West Bengal, India
“Between Local Art Traditions and Imperial Ambitions: Understanding the Multivalence of Two Eighteenth-Century Maps of Awadh”
Asha Crowe Bell, Nyack, New York
“Seat of Memory: The Object Biography of an Heirloom Rocking Chair”
Theodora Brown, Phoenix, Arizona
“Public Displays of Olfaction: Eugène Rimmel’s Perfumed Fountains, Almanacs, and Vaporizers”
Samuel Alexander Calloway*, Alpharetta, Georgia
“Imperial Edicts: South Korean Gifts, Collections, and Tensions at the Smithsonian Institution”
Tenesha Lynn Carter Johnson, Kansas City, Kansas
“From Our Heritage to Our Horizon: The Afro-American Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt as Public History”
Maeve Diepenbrock, Sacramento, California
“A History of La Nourrice: The Making and Meaning of Ceramic Wet Nurse Figures from Fontainebleau to Chelsea”
Sarah May Egan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Teaching Citizenship and Difference through ‘Cliff Dwellers’ in American Progressive Schools, 1901–1930”
Samantha Rose Fleischman, New Haven, Connecticut
“Adorning the Sacred: The Venetian Torah Finial as an Exploration of the Relationship Between Christian Silversmith and Jewish Community”
Madeline Fuentes, Lexington, Virginia
“Adorning the Log Cabin: Changing Narratives of Architecture and Appalachian Identity at Pine Mountain Settlement School”
Brenna O’Hara Gomez, Cape Charles, Virginia
“Adorned in Death: An Examination of Drilled Holes for Metal Jewelry Attachments on Athenian Funerary Stelae”
Clive Wainwright Award
Sybilla Loveday Griffin, London, United Kingdom
“Loving Madly: Women and Erotic Pathology in Visual Culture, from Victorian Britain to Art Brut”
Yaerim Hyun, Seoul, South Korea
“Negotiating Boundaries: ShinJa Lee and the Making of Korean Fiber Art in the Late Twentieth Century”
Charlotte Kasper, Lido Beach, New York
“Masking Men, Making Monsters: Prosthetics for Soldiers and Screen, 1914–1943”
Abigail Ann Kosnik*, Ann Arbor, Michigan
“The Afterlives of the Three Kingdoms: Politics of Collection and Display in American Museums”
Alexandra McKelvy, Greenville, South Carolina
“Crafting the Market: How Loewe and Louis Vuitton Use Craft in the Advertisement of Luxury Fashion Goods”
Mérida Campos Mehaffey*, Portland, Oregon
“A Partnership Ethic: Indigenous Artist-Led Collaborations in Museums”
Ryan Olson, New York, New York
“’Ajab (Wonder) in the Unseen: The Astrological Materiality of Amulets”
Ana María Orobio Pinzón, Bogotá, Colombia
“Francisca Caicedo y Florez, a Woman with a Taste for Chocolate”
Itamar Sitbon*, Vancouver, Canada
“Other Sachlichkeit: Situating Surrealist Play in Neue Sachlichkeit Paintings”
Gabriela Antonia Valencia*, Los Angeles, California
“Remembering and Performing Mexico: A Transnational Exploration of Women’s Baile Folklórico Costumes for Chiapas, Jalisco, and Veracruz”
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts Award
Meghan Watters, Columbus, Ohio
“Plaque by Plaque: Assembling Russian Identity from the Bol’shaya Blitznitsa Headdress”
Du Zhou, Huaian, China
“Beyond Nostalgia: The 1914 Chinese Fête, Chinese Embroidered Robes, and the Chinese Tea House”
* This student completed the requirements for the BGC concentration in museum practice, digital scholarship, and public engagement.
