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1: FROM THE DEAN
2: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
3: FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS
4: COMMENCEMENT 2026
5: FEATURED STORIES
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To our students, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends—
With the end of another academic year comes the opportunity to reflect. As I look back on my first academic year, I’ve been humbled by seeing just how much time and effort go into making our School of Communication so dynamic. It’s not lost on me the work that you all do to make our community so vibrant, supportive, and inclusive. I want to offer thanks to:
Our faculty, for your commitment to providing world class learning environments, and for you scholarship and creative practice that moves Emerson forward in the world.
Our students, for your endless energy, critical lens, passion, and joy. Your presence in our halls is all the motivation we need.
Our staff, for your tireless work and commitment, mostly unseen and unheard, to ensure that our systems and processes function so well.
Our community, for your commitment of time and resources to support opportunities that allow for our students to go above and beyond.
With summer also comes time for rest, reflection, and rejuvenation. I know the work doesn’t end, but I hope we all find a little time to be with family, friends, and loved ones, and to engage in our scholarly and creative passions.
The SOC Dean’s Team will be here for anything you need this summer! Although, between work you may find me in the garden, on a basketball court, out on a run in the forest, or playing in the middle of a heated family wiffle ball game….
With respect and gratitude,
Paul Mihailidis, PhD
Interim Dean, School of Communication
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2026 SOC Awards Reflect Record-Breaking Nomination Year
They covered important stories, built web resources, launched campaigns, and organized communities across state lines. They debated, created, and connected, and in doing so, made Emerson a richer place for everyone around them.
In April, the School of Communication honored these 24 students for their contributions and achievements at the annual SOC Award Ceremony. READ MORE
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Graduate Student Amber Ho honored for “Spirit of Emerson”
Meng-Hsuan (Amber) Ho, a graduate student in the Strategic Marketing Communication program and leader in Emerson’s Taiwanese student community, is the winner of this year’s Tom Cooper Spirit of Emerson Award. It is presented to individuals or groups within the Emerson community who meet at least 3 of 10 criteria, including building morale, making Emerson a better place, or working to advance inclusiveness. READ MORE
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Press Club awards Sabrina Lam its 2026 Lewis Scholarship
Journalism major Sabrina Lam ’26 was awarded the prestigious 2026 Lewis Scholarship from the National Press Club.
The award provides housing stipend to support a student journalist of color interning at a news media outlet in Washington, D.C. Lam plans to intern with POLITICO magazine, writing long-form digital stories exploring disruptions in national politics, policy, and power. READ MORE
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The Best of Emerson: 45 Years of The EVVYs
On Friday, May 8, the curtain at the Cutler Majestic Theatre closed on the 45th Annual EVVY Awards. Minutes later, informal planning for EVVYs 46 was underway.
As the nation’s largest entirely student-run live multi-cam production, it's a machine of extraordinary scale. It involves two ceremonies, 250 student producers, 40 presenters, 68 categories., 90 judges, and 1,400 submissions. That’s not to mention the live performances, video packages, fundraising, marketing campaigns, and myriad other moving pieces.
READ MORE about the history of the EVVYs.
Watch the 45th EVVY Awards
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The Board of Trustees has officially approved the tenure and promotion to Associate Professor for Carol Ferrara (Marketing Communication). Carol has also been appointed Associate Dean for the School of Communication, in addition to her role as director of the Strategic Marketing Communication graduate program.
A sociocultural anthropologist by training, Carol draws upon her diverse academic and professional expertise to encourage students to explore the ways that the social sciences can be leveraged to help make marketing and business better, smarter, and more socially and environmentally responsible.
| | The Board of Trustees has officially granted Emeritus status to the following retiring faculty, honoring their many years of service to their students and Emerson College: | |
Phil Glenn, Professor, Communication Studies
Joanne Lasker, Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders
Heather May, Senior Lecturer, Communication Studies
Paul Niwa, Professor, Journalism
Doug Struck, Senior Journalist-in-Residence, Journalism
Michael Tucker, Senior Executive-in-Residence, Marketing Communication
| | Scholarship & Creative Work | | “Who counts when we count?” is the root question of a study co-authored by Zhao Peng (Journalism), and published in Communication Methods and Measures. The research team interviewed applied data analysts to understand how they navigate one of the most consequential (and overlooked) decisions in their work: how to represent smaller demographic groups without erasing them. | | As the recipient of a 2026 Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation fellowship, Kimberly Dahl (Communication Sciences & Disorders) will spend two weeks in Minnesota for an immersive observational study to support her project, “Enhancing clinical expertise through immersive observation at Mayo Clinic Rochester.” The trip is intended to elevate the quality and clinical relevance of her teaching in her graduate-level motor speech disorders course. | | | |
Henry Winkler Tells Graduates to Find Their Gift and Give it to the World
At the College’s 146th Commencement, award-winning actor and Commencement speaker Henry Winkler ’67, LHD ’78, gave the Class of 2026 one final assignment.
“You are powerful. And in you is a great gift. Your job is to figure out what your gift is. Because this world needs every single one of you,” he said. “Your job is to find that gift and give it to the world. It doesn’t matter what it is. We need it!” READ MORE AND WATCH
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Moments From Commencement 2026
Sights and scenes from the undergraduate ceremonies, as members of the Class of 2026 celebrated the culmination of their Emerson experience and the beginning of their next chapter. SEE MORE
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Undergraduate Diploma Ceremonies Filled with Excitement and Hope
Reflections from some of the approximately 1,000 undergraduate students who received their diplomas at individual school ceremonies, held at the Wang Theatre. READ MORE
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Master’s Graduates Celebrate Hard Work, ‘Possibility,’ at Hooding Ceremonies
Takeaways from speakers and the nearly 500 students who received their graduate hoods at ceremonies held Friday, May 8. READ MORE
| | 5: FEATURED NEWS & STORIES | | | |
Taking Stock and Moving Forward with the Class of 2026
As their Emerson journey comes to a close, Emerson Today talked to students in the Class of 2026 about what they learned, what they’ll miss, who they’ve become, and where they’re headed. READ MORE
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Gen X Creatives Urge Students Not to ‘Sell Out’ in AI-Driven Industry at BCE Showcase
Technology will keep changing. But your creative identity shouldn’t.
That message echoed throughout a discussion at the Business of Creative Enterprises Showcase on April 16. As students prepare to enter industries rapidly transformed by AI and emerging technologies, panelists emphasized that originality, not optimization, will set them apart. READ MORE
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Mascobetto Supports Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Ukrainian Refugees
When Matt Mascobetto MA’26, traveled to Poland in January to support deaf and hard-of-hearing Ukrainian refugees, the experience felt deeply personal, shaped by his own upbringing in a multilingual immigrant household. READ MORE
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Entrepreneurship Minor Pivots to a New Format
Over the last three years of teaching E3, Emerson’s intensive full-year entrepreneurship minor, Shannon Rose McAuliffe (Marketing Communication) has been going through a little “entrepreneurial prototyping process” of her own.
After observing what works well, what could use tweaking, and what students want to focus on, she’ll be introducing a new iteration of the signature program next fall, allowing for a greater number of students to participate. READ MORE
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Alumni Discuss Embracing Dynamic Career Paths in Creative Industries
Being a creative person opens many career paths—some that you may not even know exist. So how does an Emersonian with a creative mindset decide which path to follow?
This question lay at the heart of a Creativity@Emerson event featuring short talks from alumni who’ve embraced dynamism in their careers, including: Greg Almeida, MA ’02, co-founder of the creative agency Collossus; Bridgit Brown ’94, MFA ’98, writer, communication strategist and cultural leader; and Nicholas Medvescek ’13, transdisciplinary creative producer. READ MORE
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Emerson CSD Leads the Conversation at the 2026 Meeting on Language in Autism
Twelve Emerson faculty, staff, and graduate students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders joined nearly 200 other professionals at the third biennial Meeting on Language in Autism (MoLA) at Emory University. READ MORE
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Research Hub Celebrates Emerson Scholarship, Creativity
Faculty, students, and staff came together to share their research and creative scholarship and celebrate the curiosity and innovation that drives them to make new discoveries, connections, and works of art at the 2026 Celebration of Research. READ MORE
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