Dr. Christopher Emdin, Professor of Science Education, will return to Teacher’s College this fall as the Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education after serving two years at USC Rossier School of Education, where he served as the Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Director of Youth Engagement and Community Partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center.
Emdin, the creator of HipHopEd and best known for his two bestsellers, Ratchetdemic and White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…And the Rest of Ya’ll Too, is widely recognized for moving science education with culturally inclusive education. He currently serves as the Director of the STEAM, Drewam & IdeaLab/Schupf Family IdeaLab.
“After a challenging season dealing with the passing of my father, being honored in this way at TC is extremely heartwarming. It gives me the amazing opportunity to continue a number of incredible projects and partnerships, not just at TC but across New York State,” says Emdin, who joined the TC community in 2007.
Maxine Green, an education philosopher, founded the Maxine Greene Foundation for Social Imagination, the Arts, and Education at Teachers College in 2003. She also mentored Emdin earlier in his academic career at the college.
“To hold a chair in [Maxine Greene’s] name is a full circle event,” says Emdin in a press release from Teacher’s College. “She took the time to mentor me. She wrote the foreword to my first book. The emotional connection makes this not just a title but an opportunity to celebrate her life’s work while forging my own intellectual path.”
Apart from his academic scholarship, Emdin collaborates closely with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to offer enriching programs to New York City’s public school students. He also engages directly with schools to assist in the redesign of both curriculum and physical learning environments. Emdin would become the second faculty member at Teacher’s College to hold this prestigious role.
“TC is so very excited to have Professor Chris Emdin back and inspiring us with his impactful scholarship yet again. There are so many things to admire about Dr. Emdin’s work,” said KerryAnn O’Meara, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost and Dean of the College. “To just point to one is hard but I will say that his work reimagining education as emancipatory– drawing on hip-hop as text, theory, philosophy and practice is so exciting. #HipHopEd is just one shining example of how an educational leader can rally together communities of activists, educators, and youth to reimagine traditional norms in education, exactly the kind of impact and change we strive for at TC.”
