Congratulations Endalyn Taylor!

DTH Alumna Endalyn Taylor Appointed New Dean’s Fellow at the University of Illinois

Congratulations to former DTH Principal Ballerina and School Director Endalyn Taylor who has been appointed the next Dean’s Fellow for Black Arts Research at the University of Illinois. As a Dean’s Fellow, she will help the leaders in their area develop a strategy going forward for making the University of Illinois a destination for both those looking to benefit from the strength in their area, and those looking to support it. Ms. Taylor shares more on what her new position entails and what she is looking forward to in this brief interview below:

Can you share more details about your role in this new position?

“As an advocate for racial equity and member of the Dean’s cabinet, an essential part of my role as Fellow will be to bring faculty of color voice’s to the table where a team of scholars will convene to envision and construct, best practices, new policies and strategies to support and foster anti-racial approaches towards scholarly research. Research, retention and the promotion and tenure process is quite daunting and are areas where evidence of racial disparities persist. My position and the Black Arts Research Initiative seek to develop a system that addresses these inequities, thereby making space for all manners of cultural ideas and projects to be brought to fruition. On the ground, this will include attending meetings, identifying and bolstering philanthropic and organizational partnerships, surveying and collecting data analysis on what the field is doing, delivering presentations and disseminating information on these findings as well as working with a team to build a community of researchers through formal and informal gatherings and public engagements.” 

What are you looking forward to in your new position?

“I’m most looking forward to the opportunity to intimately be part of this initiative from the ground up as well as working with my  colleagues to capture their experiences and learn in-depthly about the work they aspire to do. As creatives, we are fueled by the passions and purpose of both like-minded and disparate perspectives. Creativity and brilliance are contagious. Fostering relationships between the faculty and with external organizations towards potential collaborations excites me. “