Emerson Prepares for the Fall and Plans for the Future

Emerson College leadership and staff have been hard at work this summer getting ready for the new semester and the return of students and faculty to our campuses. This year, a considerable part of that work has been learning from the events of last spring while laying the foundation for a strong future for Emerson as the leading college of arts and communication. 

“As I begin my second academic year as the President of Emerson College, I remain extremely honored to serve this special institution and excited for what lies ahead. Even during the most challenging moments for our community last semester, there was a consistent call for increased dialogue and more meaningful engagement,” said President Jay Bernhardt.

“The College leadership team and I spent the summer applying the lessons we learned from the spring semester to create greater opportunities for communicating across differences and increasing the clarity of our policies and expectations.” 

Several initiatives and policies introduced this fall will create new pathways for sharing diverse perspectives with leadership and each other, supporting respectful campus speech, and rebuilding and strengthening the College’s sense of community.  Throughout the process of engaging in these initiatives, the College leadership team is hopeful that community members will remember and reflect on the values that make Emerson what it is: respect for one another, openness to diverse and creative ideas, empathy and kindness. 

“We all have an important part to play in Emerson’s future success, and the goal of coming together as Emersonians in an inclusive and supportive community is one we can all share,” said Bernhardt. “We take on this work bolstered by what binds us together as Emersonians: our shared belief in the power of arts and communication to advance our society and enhance our world.”

Developing Emerson’s Strategic Plan 

Emerson College began working on its new Strategic Plan last year, which will continue this fall semester. All members of the Emerson community are invited to participate in the strategic planning process, which has moved into the next phase of work. The strategic plan will focus on refining the mission, vision, and values for the College and will include the key pillars and goals to set the course for Emerson’s future, said Jon Derek Croteau ‘98, the College’s new Vice President of Strategy, Innovation, and Institutional Initiatives.

“The strategic planning process is a dynamically inclusive process that engages all of our community’s constituencies: faculty, staff, students, administrators, trustees, advisors, alumni, donors, industry partners,” Croteau said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to engage and build community and to create a shared vision and a common set of aspirations for our institution.”

There are multiple ways for stakeholders to give additional feedback, including upcoming focus groups, a planned campus-wide survey, and an anonymous feedback form on the Strategic Planning website. The more people who are involved and share their input in the planning process, the better and stronger the final plan will be, Croteau said.

A draft plan is scheduled to be completed in December 2024.

Focus on Enrollment

Recruiting world-class students and making Emerson more accessible are among the College’s top priorities. This fall, according to Matt Boyce, Emerson’s new Vice President of Enrollment Management, that division has a renewed and re-energized focus on recruiting and retaining the best, brightest, most creative Emersonians.

While it’s the Enrollment team’s job to recruit each new class of Emersonians, he said there are things that everyone in the community can do to help the cause. 

“The true strength of our institution lies in the collective effort,” he said. “Every interaction — whether a warm welcome during a campus visit or tour, personalized messages from faculty in our distinguished programs, or the guidance we offer as students prepare to join our campus community — contributes to the unique Emerson experience.”

Increasing Engagement and Shared Governance

The College has also created additional avenues for input and feedback from faculty, staff, and students on many college priorities. Beyond the community involvement built into EmersonTogether, announced earlier this week, and three new workgroups created to support the Strategic Planning process, the College has established additional approaches for community input to help inform decisions. 

These new engagement opportunities include two new presidential advisory groups, one for students and one for staff, are being created this term. A new “art on campus” advisory group will expand opportunities for exhibiting student work and other creative works on our campuses. In addition, a new task force to lead our work in artificial intelligence, and a group to reimagine future commencement ceremonies will offer new opportunities for community engagement and feedback. Information on ways to get involved with these efforts will be available soon.

“We have essential work to do together as Emersonians to realize our potential as the world’s leading college of arts and communication, and this will only happen if we effectively leverage the ideas, talents, and passions of our entire community,” said Bernhardt.