Appalachian State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to announce that Dr. Gina Grandi, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, has been selected to receive the Johnny Saldaña Outstanding Professor of Theatre Education Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). The award will be presented at AATE’s annual conference in Greenville, South Carolina on Saturday, August 1.
This national honor recognizes a college or university professor who demonstrates exceptional excellence across teaching, research and creative activity, and service — a trio of commitments that Dr. Grandi embodies with remarkable depth and heart. According to AATE, the award celebrates educators whose work meaningfully impacts students, colleagues, and the broader field of theatre arts and education.
Dr. Grandi’s career reflects a powerful blend of artistry, scholarship, and community engagement. Before joining App State, she taught at New York University and spent more than a decade as a public school teacher in San Francisco. Her ongoing work in arts integration, culturally responsive pedagogy, and anti-racist curriculum design continues to influence K–12 educators nationwide. She is also the co-founder and literary manager of The Bechdel Group, a theatre company dedicated to supporting writers creating roles for women, and she serves as an artistic associate and dramaturg for NYU’s New Plays for Young Audiences series.
Her creative and scholarly contributions — spanning mask and puppet design, directing, dramaturgy, fiction writing, and editorial work — reflect a career devoted to expanding access, representation, and imagination in theatre.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Grandi on this well-deserved recognition. Her leadership, mentorship, and creative vision enrich our students, our department, and the national theatre education and arts community.
We are so proud to celebrate her extraordinary work!
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About the Department of Theatre and Dance
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Theatre and Dance's mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative, and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community, and the region. theatreanddance.appstate.edu.
About the College of Fine and Applied Arts
Appalachian State University's College of Fine and Applied Arts is a dynamic and innovative group of seven academic departments, bringing together a variety of perspectives, experiences, and real-world education to provide unique opportunities for student success. The college has more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate majors. Its departments are Applied Design, Art, Communication, Military Science and Leadership, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, and Theatre and Dance. Learn more at cfaa.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,795 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio, and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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