Professor Yeidy Rivero, Chair of Film, Media, and Television and a Core Faculty Member in Latina/o Studies, is a recipient of this year's Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Awards.  She has been committed to amplifying Latinx and other minority voices throughout her entire career. 

Rivero’s work sits at the juncture of media studies, Latino/a studies, feminist theory and communications, addressing critical issues around identity, race, gender and class in modern media. She has played an important role in building the subfield of Latin American and Latina/o television studies through attention to understudied regions of the world and interdisciplinary methods of research and analysis.

Riverso was director in the Latina/o Studies Program and as department chair has made significant strides in diversifying the film, television and media faculty.

She has organized events to address the needs of diverse communities. For example, she recently hosted an innovative event that brought together a critical studies scholar and a production artist-practitioner who engaged in an in-depth discussion about how race and gender influence access to Hollywood. She also implemented a forum series in which faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and community members discussed contemporary critical issues affecting Latinas/os.

Rivero’s commitment to bringing attention to otherwise unheard voices is reflected in her undergraduate and graduate teaching. She created a Wolverine Pathways summer program for K-12 students from under-resourced backgrounds who are interested in film and TV.

“Dr. Rivero has made broad, long-lasting, varied, innovative, and impactful accomplishments in advancing DEI through her leadership, scholarship, teaching, mentorship, and outreach. She is committed to addressing events of deep, personal significance for marginalized communities,” wrote Fiona Lee, associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion and professional development, professor of psychology and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, LSA.

Read more here: https://record.umich.edu/articles/five-honored-with-harold-r-johnson-diversity-service-awards/