Emory University has awarded over $600,000 through its new AMPLIFY: Emory Faculty Impact Fund for Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences to support 20 projects centering on publicly engaged arts, humanities and social science research.
Launched in summer 2026, the program provides three types of grants to Emory faculty in various stages of their careers. Impact Grants support newly tenured faculty research, Events Grants support community-engaged events and Humanities Seminar Fellowships follow a cohort-based structure for advancing scholarship and community-building among faculty.
The connective theme in the AMPLIFY projects is the arts, humanities and social sciences in action. Scholars are using meaningful public engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration and creative forms of storytelling to address real-world challenges surrounding public policy, immigration, healthcare, climate justice and artificial intelligence. The awarded project outputs include podcasts, documentaries, musical performances, symposia, visual exhibitions and graphic novels.
“I’m thrilled to see a variety of projects that reinforce Emory’s place as a leader in humanities, arts and social science-based scholarship. When we invest in our faculty and the external community benefits, that’s a powerful outcome,” says Badia Ahad, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “The projects are global in scope and interdisciplinary in nature, with a focus on storytelling using unique formats. They touch locations as close to home as rural Georgia and as far away as Yugoslavia. What is most heartening to see is the curiosity and collaboration that fuels each one.”
Some examples of projects include:
- A screenplay for a feature film titled, “The Rings of Saturn,” that connects black hole imaging to family history, displacement and memory.
- A comparative study of COVID-19 commemoration and memorialization in 11 countries that analyzes public mourning, memorial sites, artistic works and commemorative rituals.
- A free, public concert, “Jazz Meets Classics” that pairs Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite with Duke Ellington’s jazz music.
“Collaborative scholarship expands the reach and visibility of Emory’s work,” says Pearl Dowe, senior vice provost for academic affairs. “These projects showcase the impact of our faculty’s work while strengthening the university’s engagement beyond campus. I look forward to seeing how these initiatives evolve and the impact they will create over time.
See the full list of projects below.
