Dr. Tasneem Khaleel Award for Mentoring Young Female Professionals
Emily J. Arendt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History
Dr. Emily Arendt’s instruction and subject matter has been described as “compelling”
and as a “transformative intellectual experience” by her students, often challenging
the dominant narrative of top-down history.
Her intellectual interests as a historian shape the courses Dr. Emily Arendt teaches and the scholarship she pursues, all of which embrace a social-historical approach that privileges the experiences of those whose voices have been drowned out in traditional narratives, particularly women.
“Telling the stories of self-empowered people provides inspiration for those students who can increasingly recognize their own disadvantaged status and, hopefully, become agents for change,” Emily said.
An agent of change herself, Emily has been a key collaborator in the American Association of University Women’s $mart $tart program, helping to give young professional women the tools needed to negotiate a more equitable salary.
Emily, along with her colleague Joy E. Barber, writing instructor at City College, have been named this year’s Faculty Excellence awardees of Dr. Tasneem Khaleel’s award for Mentoring Young Female Professionals, for the countless hours researching, training and preparing for the $mart $tart workshops they’ve introduced.
“Teaching young women how to advocate for their salary and benefits is a perfect example of the mission of the award which reaches across disciplinary boundaries and impacts the campus and larger community in a very positive way,” her nominator said.
Emily said her commitment to contemporary women’s issues has taken on fresh life since becoming a $tart $mart facilitator.
“It has been an absolute privilege to help young women to recognize their worth and provide them with the tools needed to achieve financial success as they graduate college and move on to successful careers,” Emily said. “To provide a service that advances the career opportunities of women while shining a spotlight on how our campus serves the larger community has been one of my greatest points of pride in my short time here at MSU Billings.”