Initiatives

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    SI 1: Academic Review and Future Visioning

    This initiative began in Fall 2024 to create a bold and future-focused academic infrastructure for Emerson’s future. The project involves mapping current educational programs and priorities and analyzing the future direction of arts and communication disciplines to provide recommendations for future growth and investments. This data-driven project engages faculty, staff, and students to review curricula, majors, minors, and interdisciplinary programs and consider programs to create, improve, change, or sunset. 

    Goals Supported

    • Goal A.1 : Increase innovation, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration throughout the academic enterprise
    • Goal D.1 : Increase financial strength through innovative academic and programmatic offerings, increased philanthropy, and operational efficiencies
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    SI 2: Faculty Research Hub

    Emerson faculty expands the boundaries of research in higher education, advancing knowledge, creating change in the world, investigating complex problems, and creatively bringing ideas to life. The Emerson College Faculty Research Hub initiative launched in Fall 2024 to improve synergies among faculty researchers, fund individual and collaborative research internally, and raise awareness of Emerson faculty research expertise externally.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal A.3 : Expand and strengthen career readiness for all students
    • Goal A.4 : Recruit, develop, and support an innovative and inclusive faculty
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    SI 3: Alumni Relations

    The Alumni Relations department and the Alumni Board have re-engaged to rebuild alumni relationships through alumni events and improved communication and engagement. Building and strengthening alumni relationships is paramount to achieving many of the College’s strategic goals and is necessary for many other initiatives to succeed.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal C.1 : Support a vibrant community culture and experience that fosters creativity, curiosity, belonging, accessibility, and well-being
    • Goal C.3 : Cultivate and strengthen robust alumni relations and engagement and increase campus involvement
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    SI 4: EmersonTogether

    EmersonTogether was created in Fall 2024 to help the community come together around solutions and shared values to address institutional silos and tensions. EmersonTogether is a living initiative supporting a spectrum of involvement across the silos that can sometimes form in higher education communities. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni at all of Emerson’s sites can contribute.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal C.1 : Support a vibrant community culture and experience that fosters creativity, curiosity, belonging, accessibility, and well-being
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    SI 5: Retention Initiative

    The Retention Initiative pulls together a cross-divisional council to analyze and address the first-year undergraduate student retention rate. This initiative will create retention goals across the institution (i.e. within individual majors, for specific populations, etc.) and will build both holistic and area-specific strategies to meet those goals. This initiative will locate and address key barriers to retention, including financial challenges; academic and curricular barriers; structural deterrents; and broad student concerns and needs. These efforts reflect a commitment to inclusion and belonging, as well as to creating a vibrant community where all students can be high-achieving scholars, creatives, and communicators.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal B.1 : Enhance Emerson Los Angeles and increase engagement and recruitment in targeted US cities and regions
    • Goal B.2 : Enhance Kasteel Well, global programs and partnerships, and increase international student recruitment from targeted regions
    • Goal C.1 : Support a vibrant community culture and experience that fosters creativity, curiosity, belonging, accessibility, and well-being
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    SI 6: Emerson Branding Initiative

    Through external and internal research involving deep engagement with Emersonians, the Emerson Branding Initiative will allow the College to evaluate Emerson’s position in the marketplace and impact on cultural and prospective student conversations. This initiative will craft an updated expression of the Emerson College brand that authentically represents the College and effectively highlights the unique value of an Emerson education. The process will allow the College to refresh the key messaging and creative expression of the brand, inform all of the College’s communication platforms and materials, and provide clear guidelines and tools for Emersonians as brand ambassadors.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal D.3 : Refine and elevate Emerson’s branding, positioning, marketing, media, and engagement with priority audiences
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    SI 7: Emerson Career Readiness Initiative

    The Emerson Career Readiness Initiative will gather, assess, review, and analyze current career development programs to improve and expand career initiatives at Emerson. This initiative will document current programs and resources, curate data on each program, and assess its effectiveness (job placement, salary, internships, etc.). It will also benchmark Emerson’s programs against peer institutions. This initiative will develop plans for potential investment, realignment, new programs, program integration, potential staffing, and targets for new comprehensive and coordinated career readiness programs, emphasizing increased alumni involvement and mentoring.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal A.3 : Expand and strengthen career readiness for all students
    • Goal B.3 : Develop and diversify industry, organizational, and community collaborations and partnerships
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    SI 8: Strategic Enrollment Plan

    This initiative involves developing a new comprehensive strategic enrollment plan for Emerson College focused on its mission, fostering growth, and ensuring excellence. It emphasizes strategic recruitment in key markets, utilizing data analytics to enhance enrollment, optimizing financial aid, and strengthening Emerson’s positioning. Key aspects include promoting inclusive access while boosting success through innovative programming, improved partnerships with high schools and communities, and retention strategies for undergraduate and graduate students. The strategic enrollment plan will attract, enroll, and retain an inclusive student population, supporting Emerson’s long-term goals and priorities.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal B.1 : Enhance Emerson Los Angeles and increase engagement and recruitment in targeted US cities and regions
    • Goal B.2 : Enhance Kasteel Well, global programs and partnerships, and increase international student recruitment from targeted regions
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    SI 9: Media Arts and Ventures

    Emerson College is advancing and elevating the arts and media that serve, support, and enrich our campus and local communities. Through the Division of Media Arts and Ventures (DMAV), we will strengthen, coordinate, and strategically align our constellation of arts and media assets, positioning Emerson as Boston’s preeminent cultural destination and serve as a national model for arts-integrated higher education. DMAV will also explore and develop new opportunities for sustainable revenue generation, ensuring that Emerson’s distinctive creative assets are leveraged to their fullest potential.

    Goals Supported

    • Goal B.4 : Expand external engagement and integration with our local communities through arts, media, service, and civic engagement