Jacqueline Emery, an associate professor and department chair of English at SUNY Old Westbury, is among a select group of faculty and staff members across the State University of New York to be asked to serve in the inaugural cohort of 24 Academic Momentum Campaign Fellows.
As fellows, these professionals will provide support to campuses implementing evidence-based strategies to increase college persistence and completion as part of the SUNY-wide Academic Momentum Campaign announced in November 2025.
“With the inaugural cohort of Academic Momentum Campaign fellows, the Academic Momentum Campaign is off to a strong start and building on initial successes that will benefit SUNY campuses and students,” said SUNY Chancellor John King. “Through the Academic Momentum Campaign and our ongoing student success programs, we know that our students will be better able to reach their full potential and thrive at SUNY, and after graduation.”
A member of the Old Westbury faculty since 2012 and chair of the English Department since 2023, Emery brings to her fellowship experience in academic recovery models; designing, teaching, and supervising structured first-year writing courses; using early alert systems and degree maps; course scheduling; comprehensive, integrated academic advising models; and using student-level outcomes data to inform course design and teaching practices.
“I am deeply invested in supporting first-year students and look forward to collaborating with Academic Momentum planning teams across SUNY campuses.”
Emery’s fellowship will also be informed by her experience with gateway English completion strategies and corequisite developmental education reform models. She was the campus lead and faculty facilitator for two SUNY grants: a $20,000 SUNY Developmental English Learning Community award in in 2018 and a $20,000 “Strong Start to Finish Grant” award in 2019.
Additionally, through spring 2024, Emery recruited, trained, and supervised faculty who taught Writing Workshop and piloted a portfolio that was then adapted to all English composition classes on campus.