Virginia AndersonView profile
Associate Professor
Virginia Anderson is Associate Professor of Theater at Connecticut College, where she joined the faculty in 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2019. She serves as Public Health Pathway Coordinator and Interim Director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy, demonstrating her commitment to bridging theater with social issues. B.A., Carleton College M.A., Stanford University M.A., Goldsmiths College, University of London Ph.D., Tufts University Anderson's research centers on theater's response to social crises, particularly the AIDS epidemic. Her work examines how Broadway and theater more broadly have documented, responded to, and shaped public understanding of HIV/AIDS. She approaches theater as a vital tool for social change, connecting performance to broader public health and social justice issues. Her scholarship reveals how theater serves as both historical record and catalyst for social transformation, with particular attention to musical theater's role in representing marginalized communities. Her publications demonstrate consistent scholarly productivity from 2009 through 2023, with recent work focusing on contemporary representations of the AIDS epidemic, technology in theater, and activist musicals. Anderson's articles reveal a trajectory from historical analysis of AIDS representation to examining how theater documents contemporary crises like the pandemic. Helen Mulvey Faculty Award for Fostering Student Achievement Larry Kessler Scholar, AIDS Action Committee In the Spirit of Carleton Award for social justice work National HIV Prevention Sponsored Fellow Outstanding Foster Parent Award Anderson actively mentors students through courses like Theater of the AIDS Epidemic and her first-year seminar Performing Public Health. Her grant work includes the Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research Fellowship at Harvard University. As a scholar-artist, she directs productions that connect with her research interests, including Falsettos, Detroit, and The Cradle Will Rock. She has brought the AIDS Memorial Quilt to Connecticut College three times to provide students with direct engagement with this important history.