Professor Yeidy M. Rivero, Chair of Film, Television, and Media, is one of five recipients of this year's Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Awards.  Rivero has been committed to amplifying Latinx and other minority voices throughout her entire career. Her work sits at the juncture of media studies, Latino/a studies, and 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. Rivero was previously the director in the Latina/o Studies Program, and, as the current Department Chair of FTVM, she has made significant strides in diversifying the film, television, and media faculty.

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.

Text extracted from University Record's "Five honored with Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Awards," June 1, 2021. Read the full article here