Emerson College Suspends 2 Programs, Cuts 'Dedicated' Staff: Report

BOSTON, MA — Emerson College laid off 10 "dedicated" staff members and eliminated two programs in an attempt to keep the institution's "financial focus," the school's student-run newspaper the Berkeley Beacon reported Tuesday, citing an email sent by Emerson officials.

Emerson College is a Boston-based private school offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in communication, the arts, and the liberal arts. The decision to cut the staff and the programs, which includes the Engagement Lab and the Bright Lights Film Series, was made due to budget cuts that resulted from an enrollment decline, the Berkeley Beacon added.

Back in June, the college's president Jay Bernhardt announced the upcoming layoffs, citing one of the reasons as "negative press" following 118 students' arrests at pro-Palestine protests, Boston.com noted.

While no additional layoffs are expected at this time, programs may be "changed or eliminated In the future based on the need or opportunity for structural and functional improvements," Rosemary Lavery, director of external strategic communications at Emerson, told the Beacon.

"We are grateful for the contributions these dedicated staff members have made to the college, and we have made arrangements to support them in this transition," an email from college officials read, in part, according to the outlet. "All affected employees are being informed privately and offered severance packages as part of a separation agreement."

Emerson's Engagement Lab was founded in 2010 by Professor Eric Gordon and initially "focused on the creation of games and playful systems for public engagement," according to its website.

"In 2015, as the Lab brought on additional faculty investigators, including Paul Mihailidis and Catherine D’Ignazio, the name was shortened to the Engagement Lab, and the focus expanded to more broadly include a range of media and technologies," the website continued.

The Bright Lights Film Series program was presented by the Visual and Media Arts Department at Emerson College and offered free film screenings to the public.

"Emerson College is fully committed to filmmaking and storytelling and we will continue to screen films and media, especially from our students and alumni, in the Bright Family Screening Room and our other screening locations in Boston, Los Angeles, the Netherlands, and beyond," the program said in a statement on its website.