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A pair of University of Arizona professors joined more than 200 people named Guggenheim Fellows by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation on Tuesday. The annual grant supports artists and scientists as they pursue new projects and scholarship.

Elaine Romero, award-winning writer of 120 plays and a professor in the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television, and Erika Hamden, director of the Arizona Space Institute and associate professor of astrophysics, were both named 2026 fellows.

A passion for plays

Romero called the award a “life-changing opportunity” that she will use to support the development of her latest play, “Diablos Aquí.”

“What I love most about this fellowship is that it is equally valued among both artists and scholars,” Romero said. “I feel so excited, not only for myself but for the University of Arizona, the College of Fine Arts and the School of Theatre, Film & Television. From my weird corner of the world, I am able to have an influence on my institution and how we are seen in the world. That is a gift. I love the U of A, our students and our faculty, and I am proud of who we are.”

After applying for the fellowship several times over the years, Romero decided on a different strategy when filling out her paperwork last summer. She wrote the words “Guggenheim Winner” on a sticky note and placed it on the altar outside her home office. Passing the small reminder each day, the slip of paper helped center her intentions and focus on her goal.

Whether it was the note, the altar or her renewed sense of purpose, Romero’s dedication paid off when the foundation contacted her earlier this year with the good news.

“This is an extraordinary moment for Elaine and for the College of Fine Arts,” said Hasan Elahi, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “Her work exemplifies the power of imagination and storytelling to transform how we understand the world. Achievements like this are rare, and we are thrilled to celebrate the contributions she continues to make to the arts.”

Romero’s upcoming play borrows its name from William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”: “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” The story will be told through the eyes of two characters: a father and daughter born on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border who must deal with the consequences of their political reality.

Romero said the story will also further her exploration of “vertical time,” a technique that allows the past, present and future to intertwine in unexpected ways and guide audiences through moral questions and life lessons.

“We never know where we are in the timeline of history, but as a writer I’m sitting right in the middle of it,” Romero said. “As a playwright, I am sorting through my predictions and looking at the past, present and future – all in one play. I am asking: who are we as a country? Who were we, and who do we want to be?”Mentors, memory and craft

Now a Guggenheim Fellow, Romero’s love of the written word began before she set foot in a classroom. She traces her creative roots to her family, particularly her grandmother, who guided her through the alphabet with drawings of letters in the shapes of people. Her mother taught her to write even as she was still learning to form letters. Before long, the young girl was compiling some of her earliest stories.

That passion took Romero from her native California to Japan, where she studied at Kanto Gakuin University while earning a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Linfield University and a master’s degree in dramatic art from the University of California, Davis.

A young writer with a lot to say, but lacking somewhat in confidence, Romero recalls feeling like her early work was never good enough to publish. She often refused to submit or made changes that were ultimately detrimental to her work.

Romero credits her shift in confidence and perspective to María Irene Fornés, a playwright, director and teacher who spent much of her career at New York University.

“She would often tell us to lend our plays our preoccupations, and I believe that’s what I’ve done over the years,” Romero said. “She and my other mentors – including people who weren’t playwrights – helped me find my voice. I learned not to try sounding like other writers, and that’s something I believe as a professor.”

After college, Romero found herself in Tucson in the early ’90s, the first step in a career that took her around the world before returning to the U of A in 2014. Now a professor of playwriting and dramaturgy within the Lived and Screened Performance program, Romero treasures the opportunity to help shape and guide the next generation of prolific writers.

Romero most recently closed out the New Directions Festival, an annual event that allows advanced dramaturgy students to develop, cast and perform their own short performances on a professional stage. Hosted at the Tornabene Theatre on the U of A campus, the festival featured nine performances by up-and-coming playwrights.

“What inspires me now are my students,” Romero said “The timelines they were born into, the country they’ve experienced, and the things they know that I don’t. I approach my work with a beginner’s mind, humility and curiosity. Each play has its own shape, its own language, and playwriting is the form I’m in love with. I haven’t uncovered everything it has to offer yet, and my voice hasn’t said everything that needs to be said. So, as long as that’s true, I’ll keep writing.”A journey through space and light

Hamden, who also serves on the State of Arizona Space Commission, investigates how stars and galaxies formed from primordial hydrogen by developing and creating space technology with a focus on detectors and telescopes. She is the principal investigator of the Eos Mission and deputy principal investigator of the Aspera Mission – both NASA astrophysics missions that will include space telescopes designed to observe distant stars and galaxies from low-Earth orbit.

Hamden will use the fellowship to continue her pursuit of finding better and more precise ways of sensing light “in order to measure every atom that exists.”

“Being named a Guggenheim Fellow feels pretty incredible,” she said. “The detector development we do in my lab is important for future astronomical observations, and it’s extremely cool to receive this kind of support. The full range of work the other fellow do is so comprehensive and world-spanning and can change people’s lives.”

Hamden’s pursuit begins with the hydrogen atom and is currently working with a silicone-based sensor called a Skipper CCD that she believes will revolutionize astronomy based on its ability to distinguish between individual photons as they arrive at the detector.

Hamden’s own academic journey at Harvard College, where she studied astronomy and astrophysics, before eventually earning a Ph.D. in astronomy from Columbia University and completing postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology.

She is also the author of the science book, “Weird Universe,” and hosts the television show “New Frontiers” on PBS.

“I could not be doing this work without the support of the university, the Steward Observatory and the Office of Research and partnerships,” Hamden said. “My lab setup exists because of funding from the university, and their support for my time has been instrumental.”

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, US universities must carefully and meaningfully look at alternative approaches to fostering student diversity within their campuses. Seb Murray writes.

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling against the use of race as a factor in college admissions has ignited a heated debate about the future of affirmative action in US universities. The landmark judgement has significant implications for underrepresented minority students and approaches to promoting diversity on US campuses.

In the aftermath of the ruling, schools are wrestling with its consequences, particularly the potential legal ramifications. Consequently, there is a growing urgency to explore race-neutral alternatives that can achieve diversity while preserving fairness in the admissions process.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s decision has unquestionably dealt a blow to affirmative action. “The ruling is going to severely constrain what schools can do to promote diversity in higher education,” says Reginald Oh, a Professor of Law at Cleveland State University.

Proponents of affirmative action argue that considering race is crucial for addressing historical disparities and promoting the societal benefits of higher education. However, the court ruling advocates a colour-blind approach, putting the spotlight on race-neutral alternatives to fostering diversity.

Oh says critics may attempt to challenge these alternative methods, however the burden of proof lies in demonstrating that these policies were implemented with racial discrimination in mind. “That is a very hard thing to do,” he says. “So, while there will be legal challenges, schools are in a strong position to defend against them.”

In the Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions, a non-profit organisation founded conservative legal strategist Edward Blum, challenged the use of race in admissions at the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, claiming it favoured black and Hispanic students over Asian Americans and others. The group aimed to overturn the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Grutter vs Bollinger, which permitted the use of race in admissions to promote diversity.

“Many international students looking at US admissions do find it puzzling that race is a factor that is directly considered in admissions,” explains Jamie Beaton, CEO of Crimson Education, an admissions consulting firm. Affirmative action can indeed make it harder for students from certain backgrounds to gain admission to US colleges, he claims.

Little wonder that affirmative action has long been the topic of heated discussion in US higher education. It aims to create equal opportunities by levelling the playing field for underrepresented communities. However, the practice has now been severely curtailed. Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean of Boston University School of Law and expert in Critical Race Theory, says: “The Supreme Court’s decision is a blow to affirmative action.”

Despite the court’s ruling, Onwuachi-Willig contends that racial bias against black and Latinx students will persist. She points out that implicit racial bias influences grade point averages (GPAs) in high schools, undermining the supposed objectivity of university admission criteria. “There are a plethora of ways in which race is invisibly operating in our society and in admissions for those who want to put their blinders on,” Onwuachi-Willig says, cautioning that the court’s decision may contribute to ongoing racial inequality.

The impact of state-level bans on affirmative action, though, is a subject of contention. Peter Hinrichs, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland who studied this issue, notes that such bans have resulted in decreased enrolment of underrepresented minority students at highly-selective public universities. However, he also observes that these students still attend college elsewhere. “State-level affirmative action bans don’t have a measurable effect on overall college attendance rates,” states Hinrichs.

Susan Brown, a sociology professor at the University of California, Irvine, delved into the consequences of the 1998 ban on affirmative action in Washington State. Her research revealed that while underrepresented minority enrolments experienced a temporary decline, they rebounded within a couple of years. She attributes more of the initial decline to reduced applications rather than actual admissions. “Many students view affirmative action as a welcome mat,” says Brown. “It’s easy to overlook how daunting college is.”

In response to the state-level bans, colleges have adopted various strategies. Some have implemented targeted scholarship programmes or increased outreach efforts to high schools, particularly those with significant minority populations. States like California, Florida and Texas have also introduced “percentage plans”, automatically admitting high school students near the top of their class to public universities. The idea is to improve access in racially segregated areas.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, US universities will be actively exploring alternative approaches to fostering student diversity, say experts. The options include using proxies for race, such as socioeconomic background, as well as eliminating standardised testing, which has taken flak for allegedly benefiting wealthier students who have tutors, and expanding outreach programs to engage students from underrepresented communities.

The ruling leaves room for universities to consider how an applicant’s race may have affected their life through discrimination, inspiration or some other means. “To achieve diversity in a post-affirmative action world, colleges will have to seek out race-neutral means, particularly socioeconomic status and a range of subjective traits like grit or determination,” says Adam Nguyen, founder and CEO of admissions agency Ivy Link.

As universities strive to attain diversity using race-neutral approaches, applicants are urged to delve into the nuances of their identity, inspirations, challenges and life experiences. “There’s no doubt that the recent decision striking down affirmative action will place more emphasis on an applicant’s personal story,” says admissions consultant Stacy Blackman, who has witnessed a surge in inquiries from business-school applicants about the Supreme Court’s ruling.

She advocates for a holistic evaluation of candidates, stressing: “There has never been just one single application bucket, such as race alone, that is a dealmaker.”

Universities will ultimately need to strike a balance between fostering diversity and ensuring fairness in the admissions process. As Beaton at Crimson Education says: “Advocates of affirmative action argue that the net benefit of considering race to society in the spirit of helping disadvantaged groups is worth it, but many disagree. The reality is that these US institutions are some of the ultimate global springboards of opportunity, and figuring out how to apportion this special resource is a challenging debate.”

Nevertheless, Raj Patil, CEO of Admissionado, is confident that universities will persevere in their pursuit of diversity. “Students by and large see diversity as a feature of an enriching educational experience,” he says. “So in order to deliver this opportunity to their consumers, colleges are heavily incentivised to develop any and all alternative means to help achieve diversity to remain desirable.”

This article was from the QS Insights Magazine, Issue 6. Read the full edition.

Tag: United States

U of A professors Elaine Romero, Erika Hamden named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows

In pursuit for diversity