Dr. J. Lorenzo Perilo received the 2026 Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching

Jeffrey Lorenzo Perillo is an associate professor of theatre & dance in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters.

He reimagines performance as knowledge carried through the body, integrating creative practice with critical inquiry. Drawing on hip-hop, Philippine dance, and Indigenous performance, his collaborative classrooms intersect theory and practice. Students develop intellectual and embodied understanding through choreography and critical race studies. Perillo emphasizes relational learning and mentors students in advanced scholarship, challenging them to create boldly and engage ethically as artists and scholars.