Taylor Center names professorships in social entrepreneurship

Three Tulane professors will provide universitywide, interdisciplinary support for learning in social innovation and social entrepreneurship as the newest Social Entrepreneurship (SE) Professors of the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking.

The 2018 appointees are Cordula Roser Gray, a professor of practice in the School of Architecture; Dr. Anjali Niyogi, a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics in the School of Medicine; and Christopher Oliver, a professor of practice in the sociology department and environmental studies program in the School of Liberal Arts.

SE Professors support the Taylor’s programming by teaching courses, facilitating workshops and pursuing research connected to social entrepreneurship. Appointees are selected by committee from open nominations and serve two- to three-year terms.

“We are excited by the appointment of these accomplished professors who will help the Taylor Center continue to reach across disciplines to promote social innovation and social entrepreneurship at Tulane,” said Kenneth Schwartz, the center’s director.

As an SE Professor, architect and educator Roser Gray plans to identify opportunities to connect academia with entrepreneurship and develop interdisciplinary concepts for urban place-making through citizen-focused prototyping and master planning.

Using her experience addressing health inequities locally and globally, Niyogi will create a peer support group for formerly incarcerated women at the Formerly Incarcerated Transitions (FIT) Clinic, which she founded in 2015. Her SE professorship will also fund training at a forensic asylum clinic with the future goal of organizing the first conference in the region for professionals who work with asylum seekers.

Oliver will use the professorship to continue his work examining social and environmental justice issues. Drawing on design thinking and visual and spatial analysis techniques, Oliver will study the relationship between access to safe, affordable housing and economic opportunity, and the creation of policies and regulatory frameworks that protect communities from environmental and social injustices.

SE Professor nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more here.