Gene Andrew Jarrett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gene Andrew Jarrett
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| Born | April 21, 1975 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Princeton University (AB) Brown University (AM, PhD) |
| Organization | Princeton University |
| Title | Dean of the Faculty and William S. Tod Professor of English |
| Predecessor | Sanjeev Kulkarni |
| Awards | Walter Jackson Bate Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University; ACLS Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies; Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism |
Gene Andrew Jarrett (born April 21, 1975) is an American professor and a leader in education. He works at Princeton University as the Dean of the Faculty and a Professor of English.
Before joining Princeton, Jarrett was the Dean of the College of Arts and Science (CAS) at New York University. He was also a Professor of English there. Earlier, he worked at Boston University. At Boston University, he led the English Department from 2011 to 2014. He was also an Associate Dean for the Humanities from 2014 to 2017. Before that, he taught at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Jarrett has written three books about African American literature. He has also edited or co-edited eight other books on the topic. He is the main editor for the Oxford Bibliographies on African American Studies. This is published by Oxford University Press. He has won several awards for his writing. One major award is the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism.
Contents
Early Life and School
Growing Up in New York
Gene Andrew Jarrett was born on April 21, 1975. His family lived in New York City. His parents had moved there from Jamaica. They taught him that hard work and education were very important. "They always talked about how education opens doors," he said in an interview. His father often told him, "The harder you work, the luckier you get."
High School Years
Jarrett went to Stuyvesant High School. This school is known for being very challenging. He studied both English and Mathematics there. The long trip from his home in the Bronx was tough. The schoolwork was also very hard. He remembered that "you just had to keep going." Despite the challenges, he liked Stuyvesant High School. He said, "Many people there were great at their studies. It made me realize how important it was to be smart and energetic in everything I did."
College at Princeton
In 1993, Jarrett started college at Princeton University. Princeton only lets students focus on one main subject. So, he earned three special certificates. These were in American Studies, African American Studies, and Applied and Computational Mathematics. He earned his main degree in English. His senior project was 95 pages long. It was about how race is shown in the novels of William Faulkner. His professor, Eduardo Cadava, guided him.
Jarrett was especially interested in African American studies. He explained, "Because I am a person of African descent, I was interested in race and culture. It helped me understand the world and learn more about myself."
Influential Mentors
While at Princeton, Jarrett joined the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. This program helps students prepare for careers as professors. He said, "The professional friendships I made through Mellon Mays have lasted for many years." He was greatly inspired by Princeton professors who studied African American lives. These included philosopher Cornel West and writer Toni Morrison. Morrison was one of his teachers for two years.
He remembered her office had blackboards. "She would write these beautiful words," he said. After she passed away in 2019, Jarrett shared a memory. He said Morrison wrote a recommendation letter for him. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be where I am today," he stated.
Graduate Studies
After graduating from Princeton, Jarrett won a special fellowship. It was called the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship. He decided to study English language and literature further. He went to Brown University for his doctorate. After five years at Brown, he earned his PhD in English in 2002.
Teaching Career
Starting as a Professor
As Jarrett was finishing his PhD, he received job offers. He could become an assistant professor of English. Offers came from Boston University and the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2002, Jarrett chose the University of Maryland. He started his teaching career there. Within five years, he earned tenure. This meant he had a permanent teaching position. He was only 32 years old.
Moving to Boston University
After he earned tenure, Boston University contacted him again. They offered him a permanent professorship in English. He would also work in the African American Studies Program. This offer convinced him to move to Boston University. Within five years, in early 2012, he became a full professor. He was 36 years old. This made him one of the youngest full professors at the university.
Teaching at NYU
After ten years, Jarrett left Boston University for NYU. At New York University, he became a Professor of English. He also took on a big leadership role. He was named the Seryl Kushner Dean of the College of Arts and Science.
Academic Leadership Roles
Leadership at Boston University
Throughout his career, Jarrett has held many leadership roles in education. At the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences, he was a leader in African American Studies. He then became the Chair of the English Department from 2011 to 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Humanities.
As an Associate Dean, Jarrett spoke up for the humanities. He often went to Washington D.C. to ask for more government money for these subjects. He explained that groups like the NEH and NEA help students and communities. They support libraries and museums. He said cutting their funding would hurt education and free speech.
Jarrett also helped lead a special group at Boston University. This group worked on making the university more diverse and welcoming for professors. They talked about how to find and keep excellent professors from different backgrounds. The group held many meetings with faculty and students. Their work led to the university hiring new leaders. These leaders would focus on diversity and inclusion for professors.
Dean at New York University
In June 2017, Jarrett became the Seryl Kushner Dean at NYU's College of Arts and Science. He started this job on September 1, 2017. As Dean, Jarrett helped guide the college. He worked to set academic standards for students. He also helped create new study programs. He raised money to make college more affordable and better for students.
Under his leadership, CAS started new degrees in data science. These were the first of their kind on the New York City campus. CAS also partnered with NYU Stern School of Business. This partnership helped CAS students get into the MBA program at Stern. CAS also helped NYU win a grant to improve STEM education. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Jarrett also served as Vice Chair of the Deans Council at NYU. This group discusses important education policies. In 2021, he was set to become the Chair of the Deans Council. However, he decided to take a new role. He became the Dean of the Faculty at Princeton University. His work at Princeton began on August 1, 2021.
Scholarly Work
Books on African American Literature
Jarrett's first book is called Deans and Truants: Race and Realism in African American Literature. It was published in 2007. He believed that people often judge books based on the author's skin color. His idea of "racial realism" explores how writers of color have faced challenges. He says that the way stories are told can make it hard to show racial experiences.
His next book, Representing the Race: A New Political History of African American Literature, came out in 2011. This book looks at common ideas about African American activism. It talks about myths of being "authentic" and ideas about popular culture and nationalism.
Biography of Paul Laurence Dunbar
Jarrett recently published Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird. This book came out in 2022. It is a detailed story of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar was an African American poet from the early 1900s. To help write this book, Jarrett won two important fellowships. These were the Walter Jackson Bate Fellowship in 2010 and the ACLS Fellowship in 2014.
His biography of Dunbar won the Truman Capote Award in 2024. This is a big award for literary criticism. The award committee praised Jarrett's work. They noted how he showed the challenges Dunbar faced. They said his book told a "tragic" story in a "novelistic detail."
Editing and Anthologies
Jarrett's three books have led to eight more books. These include the Wiley-Blackwell Anthology of African American Literature. This is a major collection of African American writings. It is used for both classrooms and online learning. Jarrett is also the main editor for Oxford Bibliographies in African American Studies. This online resource provides articles about many areas of African American Studies. These include culture, politics, history, and more.
Notable Awards and Honors
- Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism, 2024
- ACLS Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies, 2014
- Walter Jackson Bate Fellowship in English Literature, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, 2010
- Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 1997
Personal Life
Gene Andrew Jarrett is married to Renée Boynton-Jarrett. She is a professor at Boston University School of Medicine. She is a pediatrician and studies public health. She also leads the Vital Village Community Engagement Network. Gene and Renée met as first-year students at Princeton University. They got engaged there a few years later. They married in 1997. They have two daughters and a son.
