Dr. Harvey Young
Critic, Historian, Arts Advocate
Critic, Historian, Arts Advocate
Harvey Young is a scholar, cultural critic, and advocate for the arts, He has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, NPR, CBC Radio (Canada) as well as within the pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe,Vanity Fair and People. .
He has published eleven books, including Embodying Black Experience, winner of “Book of the Year” awards from the National Communication Association and the American Society for Theatre Research. He recently published an updated edition (2026) of Theatre & Race,
He is Vice President for the Arts ad interim, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and Professor of Theatre, English, African American & Black Diaspora Studies, and American Studies at Boston University. He previously was Professor and Chair of Theatre at Northwestern University, where he held appointments in Radio/Television/Film and African American Studies.
He is a past president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the former editor of the academic journal Theatre Survey. He has served on the boards of numerous arts and educational organizations, including Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Company One (C1) Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), African American Arts Alliance of Chicago and the Yale Club of Chicago.
A former Harvard and Stanford faculty fellow, Dr. Young graduated with honors from Yale and holds a Ph.D. from Cornell. His career achievement accolades include the American Society for Theatre Research's Distinguished Scholar Award and election into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.
He has published eleven books, including Embodying Black Experience, winner of “Book of the Year” awards from the National Communication Association and the American Society for Theatre Research. He recently published an updated edition (2026) of Theatre & Race,
He is Vice President for the Arts ad interim, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and Professor of Theatre, English, African American & Black Diaspora Studies, and American Studies at Boston University. He previously was Professor and Chair of Theatre at Northwestern University, where he held appointments in Radio/Television/Film and African American Studies.
He is a past president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the former editor of the academic journal Theatre Survey. He has served on the boards of numerous arts and educational organizations, including Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Company One (C1) Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), African American Arts Alliance of Chicago and the Yale Club of Chicago.
A former Harvard and Stanford faculty fellow, Dr. Young graduated with honors from Yale and holds a Ph.D. from Cornell. His career achievement accolades include the American Society for Theatre Research's Distinguished Scholar Award and election into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.