Emerson is committed to racial equity, accessibility, and social justice in education by promoting an inclusive culture and habits within the college that prioritize equitable living and learning environments. The fellowship is an honest partnership between the Schools’ leaders and our students. Those selected for the Dean's Fellowship will take an active role in Emerson’s efforts to ensure that our values are reflected in our pedagogy, co-curricular programming, and other academic initiatives. Fellows work closely with the Dean’s leadership team (department chairs, associate deans and program directors), faculty, BIPOC and other student organizations to facilitate dialogue and actions promoting racial justice, equity, healing and inclusion within the academic environment. Fellows are also committed to uplifting the voices of and being a resource to students of color on campus.
In order to learn about more academic and career opportunities, fellows will have a unique opportunity to engage with the Vice Provost of Internationalization and Equity and other administrators. These possibilities include (but are not limited to) workshops on intergroup dialogue, participation with the Teach-In on Race, and leadership mentoring with the Making Emerson IDEAS team.
See below for projects the Dean's Fellows are working on.
Past Projects
Harmony in Motion: A Culture Dance Festival, Spring 2024
Inspired by a Filipino American tradition called Filipino Culture Nights, this festival showcased traditional dances and performances from different cultures and ethnicities. Performances by Emerson students and the Boston community included Irish Step Dance, Bollywood-inspired dance, Filipino Tinikling (“Bamboo Dance”), contemporary dance films, Chinese Lion Dance, and many more.
Embrace Our HeArts Festival, Spring 2023
This festival was hosted by the SOA Dean’s Fellows to celebrate and uplift the many diverse voices here at Emerson. Students were invited to submit their work to be included in three events across three disciplines: Visual & Media (VMA), Performing Arts (PA), Writing, Literature & Publishing (WLP). Following each events was a network opportunity for all attendees.
POC Pride Mural, Spring 2022, art by David Teng Olsen
Location: Paramount Building, 3rd floor Atrium
This mural was commissioned by the Dean’s Fellows to showcase the beauty and power of Emerson’s diverse student body in an ongoing effort to create welcoming spaces on campus for students of color and to celebrate their role in Emerson’s community. The mural was made possible through the leadership of the Public Art Think Tank who helped identify and secure the site for the new mural and devised the initial groundwork for the mural project. Additional thanks to the support of the Emerson Contemporary, the Provost’s Office of Academic Affairs, the Dean’s Office for the School of the Arts, and the Department of Performing Arts.
If you want to reach out about our projects or have a concern regarding racial equity on campus, soadeansfellows [at] emerson.edu (please contact us).