The School for Cultural and Social Transformation is pleased to announce that Andrea Baldwin (she/her), associate dean of research, was recognized as a recipient of the 2024 Afro Utah Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Excellence Award. This program aims to validate and respect the significant contributions from individuals of Afro descent working toward the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Utah communities.
Dr. Baldwin was nominated primarily for her work with the Black Feminist Eco Lab (BFEL) —a project which focuses on Black feminist geographical and ecological study and publishes “Standpoints,” the number two ranked Black feminist podcast nationally. Additionally, this summer, the BFEL held its inaugural Working at Aliveness workshop. Over the course of the workshop, a collective of scholars, artists, activists, and policy makers gathered from across the nation to engage in conversations around to exist in relationships of care, love and joy.
Acting Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner noted, “The Black Feminist Eco Lab, and the conversations happening there, are crucial to Utah, the nation, and even the world. There are many issues facing decision makers across the globe and a Black eco feminist perspective plays an important role in reaching normatively well-informed decisions. I was so impressed that she was able to attract globally-important thinkers and scholars to Utah.”
Dr. Baldwin believes that creating this kind of interactive dreaming space is vital when striving to capture the full aliveness of Black people. “Oftentimes when we hear about Black people and Blackness, it is to tether our identities and communities to oppression, death, and deficit. The Eco Lab is a space where Black people, our lives, experiences, communities, and futures are celebrated as more than that.” She continued, “Black and brown communities are too often on the frontlines of injustice, stuck in a system set up to kill us.” This project is one of the ways she is working to create more boundless imaginative space for Blackness.
Given how important this work is, Dr. Baldwin knows it’s equally as important to enjoy doing it. “I love working with the SLC community,” she said. “I love seeing my work make a difference or potentially make a difference in real time. As an academic our work sometimes feels removed from the real work of making immediate and lasting impacts—academic work actually often feels underwhelming.” She continued, “It is amazing to work with community to find real time solutions for real world problems.”