News and Events
Douglas Holloway '76 honored at the Black Alumni Heritage Awards
02/08/10
Emerson Trustee Douglas Holloway '76 will be honored by the Black Alumni Council of Columbia University and the Columbia University Alumni Association at the Black Alumni Heritage Awards Reception at Columbia University on Thursday, February 25.
Holloway received his Master's in Business Administration from Columbia University in 1978.
The program will include an address by Claude M. Steele, the 21st provost of Columbia University and professor of psychology; and Michele Moody-Adams, dean of Columbia College and Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor.
Holloway most recently served as the President of NBC Network
Distribution Partnerships and Affiliate Marketing.
Along with being a member of the Emerson College Board of Trustees, Holloway is also on the Board of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), the NAMIC Foundation, and the T. Howard Foundation.
Holloway has been recognized with numerous awards, including the NAMIC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, the 2000 Vanguard Award for marketing by the National Cable Television Association, the Patrick Mellon Award in 1999, and the Affiliate Relations Award from NAMIC in 1988.
Jennifer Coolidge '85 advises Emerson students to get good at being uncomfortable
02/05/10
Video shot and edited by Matt Figler '11
The audience of Emerson students in the Bill Bordy Theater were laughing before she even took the stage. The highlight reel, which served as an introduction for alumna Jennifer Coolidge, included clips from some of the funniest movies of the past decade: American Pie, Legally Blonde, and Best in Show. The clips captured the versatile character actress and comedienne doing what she does best—making people laugh.
Emerson students were recently treated to an hour-long candid discussion with Coolidge '85 and Kevin Bright '76. Coolidge talked with Bright about her experiences in Hollywood. Bright and Coolidge worked with Coolidge worked together on his shows Friends and Joey. Coolidge was in Boston for the week to perform a stand-up show at the Wilbur Theatre on February 6.
Known for her comedic roles such as Sherri Ann Cabot the lesbian partner of Jane Lynch in Best in Show Bright asked Coolidge about her experiences working with directors such as Christopher Guest and comedians such as Lynch.
"Each time you do a take someone says something different," she said of the Guest movies, which are known for not having a script and giving comic actors complete freedom. "And sometimes it's hilarious and it's hard not to laugh."
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| Coolidge and Sophomore Alex Moorman '12 demonstrate the infamous "Bend and Snap" from Legally Blonde |
She talked about her big break in 1990, when Jerry Seinfeld happened to be in the audience of a show she was performing in with The Groundlings comedy troupe. "You never know who's going to be in the audience," she said. "You can be in the crappiest show and someone is always in the audience." Coolidge said she was lucky to work with amazing people in The Groundlings, including Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, and Chris Kattan.
But Coolidge confessed that she wasn't always that comfortable doing stand-up. "Even though there was a stand-up scene at Emerson when I was in school, I didn't like to do uncomfortable things like that." She said she didn't try stand-up until later on when she moved to New York and then Los Angeles.
"My advice to you, if you want to be actors or comedians," she said, is to "get good at being incredibly uncomfortable all the time. If I had just done stand-up earlier on in my career, and faced those fears, I think I would have made it sooner."
Coolidge, who is from Norwell, Massachusetts, moved to New York City after college and later to Los Angeles. She told the audience she feels part of her success came from perseverance. "I just hung in there longer than everyone else," she said. "There were other people I knew that were just as talented, if not more…but they got discouraged sooner and moved home. I just stayed out there longer, and kept trying, and finally got a break."
Zaniboni named to ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District team for 2009-2010
02/05/10
Emerson College dual-sport star Lauren Zaniboni '11 (San Diego, CA) has been named to the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District team for her performance on the Emerson College women's basketball team and in the classroom. Zaniboni is a third-team All-District selection.
Zaniboni is a Marketing Communication major with a Business minor, and has made the Dean's List. When not busy demonstrating academic prowess, she finds time to display basketball prowess, by being the Lions' second leading scorer and top rebounder. A transfer from North Carolina State University, Zaniboni was the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2008–2009, and was also a first-team All-Conference selection. In 2009–2010, she has scored in double figures in both points and rebounds nine times in the team's 20 games.
Zaniboni was also an Academic All-District selection in volleyball in the fall of 2009, making her the first Emerson College student-athlete to receive the honor in multiple sports. In addition to her activities in the classroom and on the court, Zaniboni is a member of the College's student-run marketing group EmComm, and a member of the Athletic Department's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
To qualify for Academic All-District, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.3. Emerson College is located in District 1, which encompasses the New England States, New York State, and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Student-athletes are nominated by the sports information directors at their respective institutions, and voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America in their individual districts. Student-athletes who earn first-team Academic All-District honors are then forwarded to the national Academic All-America ballot.
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders celebrates 75 years
02/05/10
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year with a special event during Alumni Weekend on June 5, 2010.
Department Chair Dan Kempler says the department's roots go back even further than 75 years.
"Emerson College has addressed communication disorders from the time of its founding in 1880 as the Boston Conservatory of Elocution, Oratory and Dramatic Art," he said. "The 1880 the catalog listed one 'course of instruction' titled Defects of Speech. Those roots blossomed into a full-fledged department 75 years ago—and have remained a central component of the College since."
U.S. News & World Report currently ranks Emerson's master's program in Communication Disorders among the top 30 graduate programs of more than 250 of its kind nationwide. The program is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
"Remaining a vital and leading department at the College—and in a growing professional field for 75 years—means we've covered a lot of ground and changed significantly," Kempler said. "Despite the fact that our primary goal, to improve the lives of people with communication disorders has remained the same throughout the years, the field itself, and therefore our training program, has evolved considerably over 75 years."
Emerson has been a pioneer in the increasingly vital field of speech-language pathology and has earned a reputation for excellence in clinical preparation. Kempler said the department has seen dramatic increases in the range and severity of disorders treated, the variety of locations where pathologists work, and the sophistication of the technologies used.
"Seventy-five years ago our faculty and graduates would not have even thought of doing many of the things we now undertake routinely, from being a primary resource for patients with swallowing problems or autism, to working with cochlear implants.
"It's awe-inspiring to me to be part of this, and to have the opportunity to lead a department that has made these transitions with such great success," Kempler continued. "The credit, of course, goes primarily to our faculty and our students. The stability and the dedication of the faculty has been remarkable and given the department a stellar and lasting reputation. And, of course, we owe much of our success and respected status to the high quality of students we attract and who graduate to become the country's top speech-language pathologists."
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders also operates the Robbins Speech, Language and Hearing Center. Since 1953, the Robbins Center has provided evaluation and treatment for children and adults with communication problems, as well as education programs for family members and caregivers.
Two teams of Emerson students vie to cover the Oscars for MTV
02/04/10
Click to view and vote.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU (MTV's 24-hour college network) recently selected videos created by Emerson students Terry Stackhouse '12, Zach Cusson '12, Dean Dimitruk '11, and Tyler Weinberger '12 as semifinalists in the 2010 Oscar Correspondent Contest.
The student journalist and cameraperson teams submitted videos in which they plead their case as to why they should be selected as the college correspondent and documenter for the 2010 Academy Awards.
Dimitruk said once he and Weinberger saw the videos from last year's competition, they felt they could come up with something unique. "We only did three takes," Dimitruk said of their video, "but I think it comes off more organized than it was."
Three of the semifinalist teams will move on to become finalists. The final three teams will be flown to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards pre-events, including the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award media op, the Makeup Artist and Hairstylist Symposium, and the Governors Ball preview.
"If we get to do this, we'll have gone farther than some journalists get to go in a lifetime," Cusson said. "I think about winning every day. I can't believe we might get to go to the Oscars."
Stackhouse said the facilities and experience that Emerson provides its students have given them an advantage. "The technology we have access to here is unparalleled and The Emerson Channel gives us so many opportunities to practice."
From February 16 to March 2 voting will take place online. The grand prize-winning team will be revealed on Saturday, March 6, at an Academy press conference. The reporter and videographer will be awarded a spot on the red carpet for the 82nd Academy Awards, as well as credentials for access to backstage pressrooms. The winning team's coverage will be aired on MTV News and mtvU.
If chosen, Casson and Stackhouse say they are most looking forward to meeting James Cameron, director of Avatar and Titanic; and Quentin Tarantino, director of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and Inglourious Basterds. Dimitruk and Weinberger say they would like to meet actors Jim Carrey and John Travolta.
"It would be a dream to go to the Oscars," Dimitruk said. "I have never really met a celebrity before, and there you meet every A-list celebrity in the world. It would be unreal."
Video entries from the semifinalist teams are posted at http://oscars.mtvU.com. Voting for the top 10 semifinalists is currently going on and will end Wednesday, February 10, at 5:00 pm.
