Christopher Emdin, Professor of Science Education, returns to TC this fall as the Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education after nearly two years of service at the USC Rossier School of Education where he served as the as the Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Director of Youth Engagement and Community Partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center.
Honored as a 2023 fellow for the American Education Research Association for his exceptional contributions to the field, Emdin is widely recognized as a leading education scholar — guiding intersectional discourse and scholarship across culturally inclusive education and science education. He is the Director of the STEAM, DREAM & IdeaLab / Schupf Family IdeaLab and the visionary behind Hip-Hop Ed, which incorporates popular culture and hip-hop into learning.
“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.
Emdin’s named professorship honors the renowned Maxine Greene, an education philosopher who similarly captured the collective imagination of the TC community and the broader public, and who served as a key mentor to Emdin earlier in his academic career.
“To hold a chair in [Maxine Greene’s] name is a full circle event,” says Emdin. 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.”
In addition to his academic scholarship, Emdin works closely with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to provide programming to New York City’s public school students, and works directly with schools to help reimagine curriculum and physical spaces. More broadly, his best-selling books and robust online presence have united a network of educators invigorated by a unique passion for truly connecting with students.
“If young folks are taught to dream,” Emdin says in a recent online video, “and if they are taught what they learn in school is a tool to help achieve your dreams, their relationship to disciplines like STEM completely shifts. And that’s what we need in the world we have right now.”
Emdin is just the second faculty member to hold the chair, which the Board of Trustees established in 2004.
“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.”