2 awarded for Inclusive Excellence

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion has announced that an Emerson faculty member and a program director at ArtsEmerson have been honored with the Inclusive Excellence Awards for the 2012-13 academic year. The honorees are selected based on their commitment to social justice and the demonstration of creativity, innovation, and extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change.

Tamera Marko, lecturer in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing, is honored for her extraordinary work instructing the Maintenance Worker Conversational English/Spanish course. Marko, who is also assistant director of the First Year Writing Program, brings together Emerson maintenance workers and students in the spirit of community, mutual respect and personal empowerment. The group collaboratively produced writing for a presentation at the fifth-annual First Year Writing Showcase and will publish a book online. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is pleased to honor Marko and the students of the course for their commitment to inclusion at its highest level.

David Dower, director of Artistic Programs for ArtsEmerson, is honored for his creativity and leadership in developing authentic ways to engage Boston’s communities of color in the performing arts through the ArtsEmerson Ambassadors Project. Moving beyond traditional approaches to enhancing audience participation in the theater among communities of color, the Ambassadors Project develops opportunities for the exploration of barriers, as well as the discovery of new access points for communities of color through an innovative form of participatory action research. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is pleased to honor Dower and the participants of the Ambassadors Project for their commitment to community collaboration and innovation.