Stony Brook University’s vice provost for Academic Affairs, Amy Cook, will be the next dean of Emerson College’s School of the Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, according to an announcement sent to the community last week.
Cook will assume the role on July 1, taking over for Jan Roberts-Breslin, who served as interim dean this past academic year. Cook has worked at Stony Brook University for over a decade in roles such as chair of the art department and an English professor. As she embarked in her new role, Cook sat down with The Beacon to discuss what she brings to the role, her views on higher education in the technological age, and her deep-seated love of Shakespeare.
“[Higher education is] sort of my North Star,” she said. “I feel like that is what I’m here for.”
Cook said that even with the challenges these kinds of institutions face today, she believes artists and communicators like the students at Emerson have what’s needed to transform academia.
“I’m particularly focused on learning and listening and listening with intention … to what is working and what makes Emerson special, and to celebrate that and lean into that first and foremost,” she said.
Cook, a California native, said she’s not used to the kind of cold Boston brings in the winter, though she is looking forward to exploring the city as a whole with all it has to offer.
“To be honest, I know clam chowder, I know the Red Sox, and I know that it’s cold, and I don’t love those three things,” she said. “But I’m convinced that there are many, many great things about Boston, and I can’t wait to explore and learn about it.”
Stony Brook and Emerson are, in many ways, very different schools. The former is public, research-focused, and has a student population of around 27,000.
Stony Brook also prides itself on being “one of America’s most affordable” universities. For the 2025-2026 academic year, Stony Brook costs $57,988 in tuition and fees and fees for out-of -state students and $34,012 for in-state students. At Emerson, tuition and fees cost around $84,000, varying by room type and other factors.
When it comes to Emerson, Cook is interested in the tailored and personal educational experience this college provides to its students.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking about how higher education needs to tell a better story about the value of what it brings to the careers and lives of students,” she said. “I’m looking forward to learning more about how we can continue to think about serving Emerson students and helping them thrive in really valuable, meaningful careers.”
But students today worry that those careers will be in jeopardy due to the rise of generative artificial intelligence, which has also made its way into classes, and the “Extraordinary Emerson 2030” strategic plan. The email announcing Cook’s position stated that she had been part of “leading the academic affairs response to GenAI” while she was at Stony Brook.
Cook said it’s important to “avoid a uniform response” when it comes to AI usage.
“It is here, it’s not going anywhere, and I think it provides an actual opportunity for Emerson to provide the kind of individualized education … so that the students are capable of thriving in this world that does now contain AI,” she said.
As dean of the School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, Cook will also oversee the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, and both performing arts and writing, literature, and publishing majors.
Cook has published several books on Shakespeare throughout her career, combining her research on cognitive science with her knowledge of theater. She also has a background in publishing, directing, and performing arts — a wide array of experiences that she says will be crucial for her to oversee all three departments at Emerson.
“It feels like home to me,” she said. “I feel like I belong in any [department] to whatever degree.”
She says her research on Shakespeare specifically has taught her lessons she brings to her leadership approach, mainly by showing her what not to do.
“Shakespeare was very interested in bad leaders,” she said. “And Shakespeare is often unveiling some of the mistakes that leaders make.”
Cook cited the author’s famous play King Lear, a tragedy centered around a king who divides his kingdom among his three daughters based on their declarations of love. He is betrayed by his two eldest, who “make him feel good about himself,” and shuns his youngest, who is actually the most devoted because she tells him the truth.
“I think … the value of listening with courage, even when it’s difficult, and making sure that you’re constantly reaching out to the voices that are likely to say things you don’t want to hear. That’s an intentional act,” she said.
She also recalled Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” a chronicle of the king’s reign and invasion of France, and how his “idol” leadership is constantly undercut in the play. She said those two characters have taught her the importance of good storytelling, as well as humility, and the recognition that words carry power.
“I think there is a real value both in listening, but also telling vibrant, powerful stories that will make people come together, to act in ways for the greater good,” she said.
