March 27 ceremony features lecture, portrait signing by noted artist and eco-philosopher
Nearly four years after its final brushstroke was applied, the Inclusivity in Science Mural inside the Suter Science Center will get its long-awaited dedication ceremony on Friday, March 27.
The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in SSC 106 with a 30-minute talk led by Pinar Ateş Sinopoulos-Lloyd, one of the seven people featured on the mural. Sinopoulos-Lloyd (they/them) is an Indigenous eco-philosopher, artist, and wildlife tracker, and will speak about the way their work connects science and art with sustainability.
Following the talk, Nicole Litwiller ’19, MACT ’20 will host a panel conversation with Sinopoulos-Lloyd, mural artist and alumna Veronica Horst ’23, a current EMU science student, and Tara Kishbaugh, dean of faculty and student success. The program will also include reflections from Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus and Jenny Burden, executive director of the Arts Council of the Valley.
A formal dedication of the mural will proceed shortly after 5 p.m., with Sinopoulos-Lloyd signing their portrait. The event is open to the public and will include light refreshments.
About the mural
During the spring of 2022, students involved in EMU’s Art Club and the Earthkeepers group wanted to make the Suter Science Center more welcoming and reflective of who contributes to the sciences, said Dawn Neil, coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
“They noticed two things: the space felt visually sterile, and the sciences have historically centered white male voices while overlooking women, scientists of color, and queer scientists,” she said. “They wanted to highlight those hidden figures.”
Work on the mural, funded by an Inclusive Excellence Grant made possible by the generous support of Jose Koshy ’76 and Jean Koshy-Hertzler ’79, began that semester. EMU students Veronica Horst ’23, Asha Beck ’22, Grace Harder ’23, Molly Piwonka ’23, Afton Rhodes-Lehman ’24, and Jake Myers ’22 served as co-leaders at various stages of the project.
“STEM is a field in which, historically, gaining recognition and representation has been challenging for non-white, non-male, and non-heteronormative cisgender individuals,” reads an artist statement for the project. “This mural is intended to be a joyful statement of representation, emphasizing that we have, are, and will continue to make a significant impact on the world.”
“We want to recognize and celebrate these individuals and their contributions to the academic world,” the statement continues. “Our hope is that women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), and LGBTQIA+ individuals at EMU will experience a positive impact through increased awareness of successful individuals like themselves in STEM.”
The project leaders distributed a campus-wide survey to students, faculty, and staff asking whom they would like to see depicted on the mural and then took a vote to determine who those seven figures would be.
The mural features seven professionals who have made and/or are making an impact in STEM-related fields and are queer and/or BIPOC women. In addition to Sinopoulos-Lloyd, the portraits depict chemist Asima Chatterjee, mathematician Gladys West, mathematician Katherine Johnson, arachnologist Lauren Esposito, astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala, and admiral Rachel Levine.
For bios of each of these professionals, scroll to the bottom of this article.
Students from the Visual and Communication Arts (VACA) department designed and painted the mural. Although the project was completed during the summer of 2022, this is the first time it’s officially been dedicated, said Neil.
With sustainability serving as the university theme for the 2025-26 academic year, it seemed like the perfect time and Sinopoulos-Lloyd the ideal guest to help make it happen.
“Their work challenges the idea of what science is,” said Neil. “They’re exploring how the environment connects with things visually, artistically, and also scientifically. It’s a different side of science, one rooted in global and community contexts rather than a strictly data-driven one.”
“They would fit in perfectly as a student here,” she added. “What’s exciting is that their values really align with ours.”
About the speaker
Sinopoulos-Lloyd is an artist and scientist known for their powerful work at the intersection of sustainability, science, and art. They are the co-founder of Queer Nature, an interdisciplinary project focused on ecology, identity, and decolonization. Their work has been featured in The Guardian and The New York Times and archived by the Library of Congress. They lecture nationally at institutions including Stanford University, Colorado College, and the Guggenheim Museum.
In 2020, they were honored with the Audubon National Society’s National Environmental Champion award, as well as the R.I.S.E. Indigenous 2020 Art & Poetry Fellowship.
For more information, visit their website at queerquechua.com.
Sinopoulos-Lloyd will participate in several events throughout the day on Friday, March 27. In addition to the mural dedication, they will serve as a panelist at the second annual Mornings with the Mayor, a special edition of Convocation hosted by Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed, director of alumni engagement and community connections, at 10:15 a.m. in the University Commons Student Union.
They will also meet with students, faculty, and staff for a lunchtime discussion in the West Dining Room of Northlawn Dining Hall at noon.
Sinopoulos-Lloyd is one of seven people featured on the Inclusivity in Science Mural, located on the second floor of the Suter Science Center south of SSC 106 (Swartzendruber Hall). Biographies of each of the people featured on the mural are included below.
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