Dr. Nia Nunn is a dynamic character within the Ithaca community, not only is she a professor of education at Ithaca College and a mother of three but she also serves as the president of the Southside Community Center, while simultaneously holding the position of director at the Community Unity Music Education Program. Dr. Nunn’s research interests such as exploring anti-racist-feminist pedagogy along with the educational experiences of marginalized youth have enabled her to become a local leader and a voice for those who need it the most.

Nia engages the community through her advocacy of emancipatory learning and humanizing research, both of which are concepts integral to the future of public health. By embracing the subject of “emancipatory learning,” Nia illustrates the importance of students examining what brought them to the point of examining and questioning their current positions or values. Nunn describes emancipatory learning as a “curriculum of liberation,” and emphasizes that every researcher should conduct a self-study before entering the field. Overall, Dr. Nunn’s contagious zeal for the advancement of emancipatory learning and humanizing research is most apparent when her trademark phrases such as “we are 100% human” can incite an entire crowd.

This exposé was written by Emily Dalton, a student in Cornell’s MPH Program with a concentration in Food Systems for Health. She recently graduated with a BS in Environmental Science and Policy from Saint Edward’s University where she conducted two federally funded research projects through the Ronald E. McNair Program. Emily’s research takes an interdisciplinary approach in order to identify and implement the most cost-effective and ecologically sustainable solutions. Learn more.