Connecticut
CT artists and scholars win prestigious Guggenheim awards
Of the 188 people chosen to be Guggenheim Fellows in 2024, quite a few have ties to Connecticut. The awards have been given annually since 1925 and are considered among the most prestigious honors given to leading figures in arts, sciences and humanities.
Most of the Connecticut-related names on this year’s list are affiliated with Yale University. Yale is second only to Harvard in the number of faculty members that have received Guggenheim fellowships over the years.
The Yale-based 2024 fellows are: Elizabeth Hinton, a professor of History, African American Studies, and Law at both Yale University and Yale Law School; Douglas Rogers, professor and chair of the Yale Department of Anthropology; Marta Figlerowicz, associate professor of Comparative Literature and of English; Ned Blackhawk, professor of History and American Studies; Tavia Nyong’o, chair and professor of Theater & Performance Studies, as well as professor of American Studies and professor of African-American Studies; Travis Zadeh, professor of Religious Studies and the program in Medieval Studies who is also on the Council of Middle East Studies and the director of the Yale Program in Iranian Studies; and Ben Hagari, a lecturer at the Yale School of Art.
Other Connecticut Guggenheim fellows include:
- Playwright Martyna Majok, a 2012 graduate of the Yale School of Drama (now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale). Majok’s play “Sanctuary City” is currently playing at TheaterWorks Hartford on Pearl Street through April 25.
- legendary jazz guitarist and composer Rodney Jones, a New Haven native and longtime Connecticut resident.
- Julia Wolfe, who co-founded the eminent neoclassical music ensemble Bang on a Can with two Yale School of Music graduates and who has been in Connecticut many times as a member of the group (including for performances at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas).
- Multi-faceted dancer and scholar Hari Krishnan, a Wesleyan University professor who has taught in the dance department as well as in Global South Asian Studies and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies programs. Krishnan is currently developing a new dance piece that will premiere at Wesleyan in December.
Among the many other 2024 Guggenheim awardees are Pulitzer-winning poet (and former U.S. poet laureate) Tracy K. Smith, political journalist Jonathan Alter, photographer Sara Bennett (known for her studies of incarcerated women), social activist Jessica Blinkhorn, indigenous artist Nicholas Galanin and octogenarian multi-disciplinary Boston artist Lorraine O’Grady.
The prestigious awards awards include monetary stipends. The exact amounts given to the awardees these year have not been disclosed, but are said to average between $40,000 and $50,000. Over the 99 years it has existed the Guggenheim Foundation has bestowed over $400,000,000 on thousands of artists, scholars, historians, writers and scientists. Major 20th century figures who received Guggenheim fellowships include environmentalist Rachel Carson, Black literary icon James Baldwin, modern dance innovator Martha Graham, poet e.e. cummings and chemist/activist Linus Pauling.
Connecticut
Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027
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Florida high school state bronze medalist Dajah German has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2027. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:
I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Connecticut! I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have pushed me to be my best throughout the years. And a very special thank you to Coach Chris and Coach Nicole for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. GO HUSKIES!
A rising senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida, German trains year-round with Swim Fort Lauderdale and primarily specializes in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.
German has improved each year of her high school career, most recently dropping from 23.78, 51.39, and 1:50.56 in the 50/100/200 free to 23.54, 51.35, and 1:49.69 during the 2025-26 short course season.
German’s top meet of the season was the Florida Senior Championships in March, where she recorded her current PBs in both the 50 and 200 free. She finished second in the 500 free (4:55.94) and 1650 free (17:02.78), third in both the 50 free and 200 free, and fifth in the 100 free (51.43). She set her current 100 free PB at a smaller holiday meet in December. In the 500 free, she clocked a season-best 4:55.21 at the Speedo Cup in January, with her lifetime best of 4:53.19 coming at the 2025 Florida Senior Championships.
German has qualified for the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Championships for the past three years, with her top performance coming at the 2025 iteration in November. She placed third in the 50 free (23.96), fifth in the 500 free (5:01.12), and helped Fort Lauderdale to fourth place in both the 200 free relay (24.64 leadoff) and 400 free relay (53.08 anchor).
Top SCY Times:
- 50 Freestyle: 23.54
- 100 Freestyle: 51.35
- 200 Freestyle: 1:49.69
- 500 Freestyle: 4:53.19
A Division I Mid-Major program, Connecticut competes in the Big East, with the women’s team placing second out of seven teams at this past season’s conference championships. German’s current lifetime bests would have placed third in the 200 free, fourth in the 500 free, eighth in the 50 free, and ninth in the 100 free, setting her up as an immediate contributor with two full seasons of training still ahead before her first conference meet.
German joins Anna Mumford, Lyla Devlin, Lena Brown, and Louisa Holda in committing to the Huskies’ class of 2031 so far.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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Here are the forecast details for northern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 80. Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: A chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 59. Southeast wind around 8 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
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