Utah Business and Living Color Utah recently honored Dr. Edmund Fong at their sixth annual Living Color gala. These awards honor individuals who are doing the work to create a more equitable and inclusive future for Utah, an enterprise Dr. Fong was actively engaged in during his six-year term as chair of the ethnic studies division in the School for Cultural and Social Transformation and as a professor in ethnic studies and political science.
In her nomination, Dr. Kimberly Jew, Dr. Fong’s successor as chair of the ethnic studies division, noted Dr. Fong’s organizational level impact while chair. Dr. Fong was been a crucial voice in the development and maintenance of a number of high impact grants, including the competitive Mellon grants and an instrumental part of the division’s recent faculty growth. “His work as a leader has raised the level of conversation at the University of Utah and has helped our campus expand into formalized areas such as the Pacific Island Studies program and has expanded our innovative forms of Native American, Pacific Islander, and Black Studies research, teaching, and community engagement.” She continued, “He has helped build intersectional bridges among our diverse communities.”
Dr. Fong is grateful he was able to help shape this positive growth within the School. “I am honored to have helped build a more diversified faculty while working with community partners to make the university a more supportive place for students, one better able to serve the needs of all Utahns.”
In addition to his insightful direction at a structural level, Dr. Fong was also a valued mentor for campus and community partners. “New faculty have consistently raved about the strong mentorship that he has provided them, often through difficult experiences of overt racism in the classroom and on campus,” said Dr. Jew. She continued, “Dr. Fong has earned a high level of respect among his colleagues for his efforts to protect, extend, and nourish our local diversity at both the U and in our community. He is a builder of a better and forward-looking Utah.”
Acting Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner agreed. “Dr. Fong very deserving of this recognition given his outstanding commitment to serving vulnerable communities across Utah and the country,” she said. “As Chair of the Ethnic Studies department at the University of Utah for six years, he is a tremendous example of how one individual can help so many.”
Much of that impact has happened in the classroom—in Dr. Fong’s opinion, the best part of his position. “Without question, working with new students is my favorite part of this work. Students undoubtedly have preconceptions about the university, about their place and their future, and of course, about the subjects I teach, while trying to expand their horizons beyond any obstacles they hold. I hope to empower them to see that the future of their country is open for them to forge and the patterns of the past need not be binding.”
Thank you, Dr. Fong, for the ways you are using your talents and influence to shape a better future for Utah.