October 19, 2026 | News & Press

Imagining America Announces Open Search for Next Faculty Director

Imagining America is pleased to announce the open search for the next Faculty Director. Imagining America will be hosted by Penn State University, starting July 1, 2027, and the Faculty Director will be a key leader in launching IA at Penn State and leading the next chapter of the national consortium. Read on for more information and share widely in your networks!

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Title slide. The background is scattered polaroid pictures with a blue wash over them. On the left side, white title text says, "TOOLS for the UNDERCOMMONS speaker series | IA Collaboratory organized by Jacqueline Barrios & Harris Kornstein". On the right side are portrait photos of 3 women. The photo on the left is a selfie of a mixed Black woman. Her hair is straight and goes past her shoulder. She is wearing a tan knit sweater and glasses. Below the picture is says, "Brandi Locke | Penn State University". The photo in the middle is of a woman standing smiling at the camera. She has reddish brown hair tied into a bun and she is wearing hoop earrings. She is wearing a grey trench coat dress. The photo is waist up. Below it says, "Amallia Orman | NYC Dept. of Education". The photo on the left is of a woman resting her arms on a railing. She is Black and has shoulder length black curly hair. She is wearing a denim button up shirt and glasses. Below the photo it says, "Judy Pryor-Ramirez | NYU".

October 13, 2026 | Events

Tools for the Undercommons Speaker Series: Nov 18

This IA Collaboratory is organized by professors Jacqueline Jean Barrios and Harris Kornstein (Public & Applied Humanities, University of Arizona), and each virtual event features guest speakers in a salon-style conversation with attendees. This month’s featured speakers are Brandi Locke (Just Transformations Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, The Center for Black Digital Research, Penn State University, University Park), Amallia Orman (Student Voice Manager at the NYC Department of Education), and Judy Pryor-Ramirez (Clinical Associate Professor of Public Service, NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and IA National Advisory Board member).

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Title slide. The background is scattered polaroid pictures with a blue wash over them. On the left side, white title text says, "TOOLS for the UNDERCOMMONS speaker series | IA Collaboratory organized by Jacqueline Barrios & Harris Kornstein". On the right side are two headshots. The one on the left is a selfie of a middle aged latina woman. She has long brown hair, half tied back. She is wearing a tan blazer over a red button down. Below the photo it says, "Sylvia Fernández Quintanillana | University of Texas at San Antonio". The photo on the right is of a middle aged latina woman taken from the side with her head turned to face the camera. She has dark her in a bun and bangs. She is wearing a coat with a flower pattern on it. The photo is in black and white. Below it says, "Lili Flores Aguilar | UCLA".

October 13, 2026 | Events

Tools for the Undercommons Speaker Series: Nov 4

This IA Collaboratory is organized by professors Jacqueline Jean Barrios and Harris Kornstein (Public & Applied Humanities, University of Arizona), and each virtual event features two guest speakers in a salon-style conversation with attendees. This installment’s featured speakers are Sylvia Fernández Quintanilla (Assistant Professor of Public and Digital Humanities at the University of Texas at San Antonio) and Lili Flores Aguilar (Associate Director of the Markings/Huellas project at UCLA cityLAB).

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Poster. The background is teal blue with a couple of cat tails, and a light pink blotch in the top left corner. There are seven small fairy shrimp scattered around the poster. Big magenta title text says "GATHERING WHISPERS", and below, "on our way to the 2026 IA National Gathering | A CONVERSATION WITH: Steering Committee Members Rachel Hartsough, Sarah McCullough, Jord Nelsen, and Sandy Holman."

October 13, 2026 | Gathering Whispers

EP3: A CONVERSATION WITH MEMBERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

In the third episode of Gathering Whispers for this season, we talk to a few members of the steering committee, an advisory body of university-community-student leaders who have been integral to shaping this year’s gathering. In this episode, you will hear from Rachel Hartsough (City of Davis Arts and Cultural Affairs Fund), Sarah McCullough (Feminist Research Institute), Jord Nelsen (Third Space Art Collective), and Sandy Holman (Culture Co-Op).

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Background is a firework and light circles, with a translucent pattern made from the Imagining America logo overlayed. In the center is the Imagining America logo and text that says, "NEW HOST CAMPUS | PENN STATE (starting July 1, 2027)".

September 8, 2026 | News & Press

Penn State selected as new host for Imagining America national consortium

Penn State was selected as the new campus host of Imagining America, a national consortium that connects scholars, artists and designers to promote public scholarship, humanities and the arts in higher education. As host, Penn State will collaborate with Imagining America in its ongoing efforts to build connected, informed and equitable communities, while expanding understanding of how art, design and the humanities impact health and wellbeing. Read the full press release for more details.

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September 1, 2026 | Events

Meet IA: September 2026 Session

Join Imagining America for this “Meet IA” session which brings together prospective, new, or current members for an interactive session to learn about IA’s mission, vision, and values.

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Register Here

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Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.