Assistant Professor Deanna Ibrahim Receives National Research Award for Youth Arts Programming Study
Ibrahim will examine how arts programming supports youth development in Pittsburgh
Deanna Ibrahim, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Development (HHD), has received the 2025 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, making her the sole faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh to receive the recognition.
The award will support her research into understanding the impact of out-of-school arts programs that encourage, amplify, and highlight youth voices.
“I’m really excited about the work ahead,” she said. “It’s personally and professionally central to my life.”
She will conduct a mixed-methods case study of a Pittsburgh-based youth arts program over the course of a year. The program she’ll be studying provides high quality training and performance opportunities to youth of color and offers year-round programming where participants engage in creating and performing their own artistic works using theater, dance, poetry, and music.”My goal is taking a deep dive into understanding how a particular arts program works,” Ibrahim explained.
Ibrahim’s interest stems from both her academic background and personal experience. She majored in theater and psychology in college and was involved in theater as a teenager in Brooklyn, New York, where she participated in a group for young girls that created art around social change topics that mattered to them.
“We know the importance of providing spaces for youth, especially youth from marginalized backgrounds who maybe don’t always thrive in traditional educational settings,” Ibrahim said.
Her past program evaluations have shown that arts-based programming creates “a sense of belonging and a sense of connection” and helps young people feel empowered to make a change in their communities and society at large.
The award provides $5,000 in seed funding from ORAU (Oak Ridge Associated Universities), and is matched by Pitt, providing Ibrahim a total of $10,000 to support her research.
The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards are highly competitive, with only two nominations allowed per institution. Eligibility is limited to full-time assistant professors who are within two years of their tenure-track appointment.
Research must fall within one of five disciplines. Ibrahim was awarded in the category of policy, management, or education.
“There is something really special about supporting young people and just doing the creating,” she noted. “And that is something that hasn’t really been the focus of a lot of research.”
