Three faculty members will get a semester off from teaching so they can paint, write and compose music, which will enhance their students' learning environment when they return to the classroom — thanks to a UNT Institute for the Advancement of the Arts fellowship they each received for the 2013-14 academic year.

Robert Jessup, professor of studio arts, wants to develop and explore his painting, which has evolved from realistic figures to more abstract forms. He plans to show his works at UNT on the Square, and at shows in Dallas and Houston.

Bonnie Friedman, assistant professor of English, will continue work on her book of creative nonfiction essays, Kingdoms of the Bronx, which focuses on how a group of second-generation-immigrant Bronx residents imagine how they will escape their circumstances.

Claudia Howard Queen, assistant professor of music for dance, will travel to sacred Celtic sites in Ireland to compose a 20-minute music score for a new dance work based on Celtic mysticism. The music/dance work will premiere in New York.

"I see the UNT IAA fellowship as a great honor," Queen says, "and also as a responsibility to strive to create something of significance toward this goal."