Jam sessions, scholarship and excellence in the classroom

Fresh off an extraordinary year of teaching, publishing, and performing with his band, Cyril V. Uy II is building a bright future at JMU. Since arriving in 2021, the associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion has earned a reputation as an innovative scholar, dedicated educator and committed mentor.

This year Uy’s contributions were recognized with some of the university’s highest honors, including the Madison Vision Teaching Award, the Carl Harter Distinguished Teacher Award and two Provost’s Awards: one for Excellence in Research and Scholarship and another for Excellence in Honors Teaching and Service.

Rarely does a faculty member receive so many high-level awards, particularly in one year. Even rarer is earning those accolades simultaneously in all areas of a faculty member’s job — research, teaching, and service.

In practice, of course, Uy sees those areas as deeply connected. That begins with serving students. He continually adapts his classroom approach, working to understand students better as they build confidence in their abilities.

“I really enjoy helping students develop their voices as writers and thinkers,” he said.

Uy considers students not just learners but also collaborators. Class discussions often inspire new perspectives in his own scholarship.

“My students have been great, and they’ve been wonderful partners in thinking through ideas that are central to the research that I do,” he added.

It helps that JMU students are eager to learn. Even during the interview process, Uy was struck by their enthusiasm and engagement. “One of the things that really sold me [on JMU] was the teaching demo I had to do. The students were willing to buy in, do the exercises, and go along with me. My experiences in the classroom tell me that wasn’t just a one-off,” says Uy.

That enthusiasm continues to shape his experience at JMU, inspiring him to bring his creativity and curiosity to all of his roles: as a teacher and mentor, scholar and musician.

Uy’s recently published book, “Lost in a Sea of Letters: Sa’d al-Dīn Hamūya and the Plurality of Sufi Knowledge,” received high praise. His scholarship marries his interests in music and religious studies, using jazz performance and theory as a lens for understanding medieval Sufism.

His approach is both interdisciplinary and deeply personal. Music has been a constant throughout Uy’s life. He began studying classical violin at age four and later taught himself guitar, performing in bands across genres ranging from metal and funk to punk and ska. This summer, he toured Canada and the U.S. East Coast and Midwest with his ska-punk band, Kill Lincoln (a reference to the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”).

Uy took his time choosing a major as an undergraduate at Yale University, exploring a variety of subjects before finding his academic focus. That experience continues to inform his advice to students today.

“College is one of the only times in your life that you’re going to have the opportunity to learn from so many different people in all of these different fields and areas of expertise,” he said. “Take the risk, take the chance, learn something new.”