Widener University Humanities

07/15/2026

Alumni, Gabby Nye (Spanish/Biology), earns historic NCAA Scholar-Athlete Honor after perfect 4.0 career

Widener's Gabby Nye earned a 4.0 GPA, a doctorate and the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award, a first in school history.

07/14/2026

Mark Graybill, professor of English, is quoted in this article examining a selection of books that represent American identity.

The great American novels know that this is not an innocent country.

07/13/2026

Laura Polaski ’28, a secondary education and English major, worked on bringing the PMC story to life, which became an opportunity to connect with a part of Widener's history she hadn't fully known.

Widener’s roots as Pennsylvania Military College still echo across the university today. The newly launched PMC website honors its role in the university’s history and helps carry its story forward for future generations.

06/29/2026

Assistant Professor of History, Jordan Smith, is the featured guest on this podcast episode exploring the history of rum in the 17th and 18th centuries. Smith covers the production and transport of rum, and how it served as a vital commodity of the time.

In this episode, we discuss the rum industry in connection with grievances #16 and #17 in the Declaration of Independence: "For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world" "For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent" Topics include the following: -an explanation of rum production, from suga...

06/03/2026

This article features a review of Assistant Professor of History, Jordan Smith's, recently published book "The invention of rum: Creating the quintessential Atlantic commodity," which explores the history of rum around the Atlantic from 1640 to 1810.

In the November 1948 issue of Ebony, Langston Hughes wrote about Jamaica as an easily accessible, “prejudice-free” travel destination. On arrival at

05/26/2026

Sushi-Making event with Professor Mao and Fumiyo Batta - all students in attendance made a California roll and/or a Japanese roll.
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05/15/2026

Delaware Law School graduate Paula Yost '05 is the focus of this article from her undergraduate alma mater.

Paula Yost ‘02 once struggled to explain to her parents what she could do with a bachelor’s degree in English. Now, her impressive resume reads like three or four lifetimes wrapped into one.

04/22/2026

Undergraduate students, please consider supporting WAVE and participating in our end-of-year evaluation! We’d love to hear your feedback and learn about how WAVE has impacted our campus.

Your anonymous response helps WAVE continue to apply for grants and improve our programs for next year! Plus, you’ll be entered to win 1 of 3 $50 Amazon gift cards. Survey Link: https://widener.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_56WvnL6zF7hqNzU

04/22/2026

2026 Humanities Awards Ceremony - Congratulations to all of the students with a 3.5 g.p.a. and above!
Dr. Paul Goldberg, Associate Dean of Humanities
Distinguished Humanities Alumna Award Recipient: Samantha Przybylowicz
Remarks by Distinguished Graduating Senior: Phoebe Robbins

Presentation of Awards
English – Presented by Dr. Annalisa Castaldo
Allison Roelofs Award: Raven Garabo
Susan Hastie Award: Maura O’Brien

History – Presented by Dr. Richard Hopkins
The History Award: Anthony Stuardi

Art & Music - Presented by Dr. Sara Berkowitz
Robert Young Memorial Prize in the Power of Art: Lindsey Felker

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