Framingham State University Education Professor Folashadé Solomon and Nutrition and Health Studies Professor Marianella Herrera have been selected to participate in a prestigious faculty fellowship program designed to support their professional growth and advancement.

The North Star Collective is an initiative of the New England Board of Higher Education created to support BIPOC faculty, who continue to be underrepresented at colleges throughout the country. The North Star Faculty Fellowship Program is focused specifically on supporting fellows' writing and publishing endeavors and overall wellbeing, which are both essential to advancement, tenure and promotion. The Fellowship provides a support network for BIPOC faculty to help navigate the challenges they face in their academic careers, to promote wellness and healthy work-life balances, and to foster a community of care for Fellows' holistic growth.

"We are honored to have Dr. Solomon and Dr. Herrera as part of the Framingham State University community," says FSU President Dr. Nancy Niemi. "I congratulate them on this wonderful opportunity."

Framingham State University is one of 16 institutions in New England that is part of the North Star Collective. The name "North Star" pays homage to the fact that enslaved Africans and African Americans used the North Star in the night sky to guide them to freedom. It is also a nod to The North Star, the antislavery newspaper published by African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

To learn more, visit https://nebhe.org/reparative-justice/northstarcollective/.