CROSS-FERTILIZATION Faculty and recent graduates alike describe Teachers College as a place where people frequently cross fields to create new solutions. (Illustration by James Steinberg)
The numbers 鈥� dollars raised, faculty hired, increases in research grants and student support, renovations of buildings and classrooms 鈥� paint an impressive enough portrait of Teachers College during the past 12 years. But the most powerful testimonials of all come from faculty and recent graduates, who describe an environment that has helped them advance professionally and further their efforts to build a better world.
Interviews by Robert Fuller and Steve Giegerich
FACULTY
Associate Professor of Practice (EPSA) 鈥淧resident Fuhrman is a true academic who is exceptionally well versed in everything we cover in our departments and fields and what each faculty member does individually. She also has a very intuitive ability to keep a step ahead in knowing the next topic relevant to not only academia but well beyond. That鈥檚 made her a very astute leader.鈥�
Associate Professor of Technology and Education 鈥淪usan has always been open to new, innovative ideas and created a foundation that allowed us to continue our work in robotic technology and learning. She鈥檚 wanted to know more about what we were doing. We tend to stay in our lab and do research, but she鈥檚 helped connect us to the outside world.鈥�
Professor Education and Associate Dean 鈥溌槎乖� has opened opportunities for me, as Associate Dean, professor, the New York City Department of Education鈥檚 , and partnering with Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Girls, to enact visions of social justice with colleagues, students and community members.鈥�
Associate Professor of Economics and Education 鈥淏y focusing on creating a crossdisciplinary policy department, Susan Fuhrman enabled us to rethink how we work and even start from scratch. 麻豆原创鈥檚 has let me take my own angle on issues such as racial disparities in student debt, which had not gotten the attention it deserved.鈥�
Associate Professor of Psychology & Education 鈥淧resident Fuhrman鈥檚 vision for truly high-impact work, which looks past traditional disciplinary boundaries, has influenced my own research on children with disabilities and their families, and in reimagining a master鈥檚 program that prepares graduates to work with individuals鈥� developmental disabilities across contexts, in and out of the classroom.鈥�
Associate Professor of Science Education 鈥淧resident Fuhrman and Provost James have engaged with my work, given me the freedom to express my work and pushed the work in interesting ways, enabling my voice to become prominent and providing a setting for young people to come here to rap. To be welcomed and celebrated, I think, would not have happened elsewhere.鈥�
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Co-Director (CITED) 鈥淪usan has listened to my ideas and supported their development. She was instrumental in developing our triple certification degree program in early childhood education, which better prepares teachers for fully inclusive and multilingual classrooms. She supported establishment with King鈥檚 College London of [the Center for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development], which transforms teacher education and development with a clear focus on justice. She has changed 麻豆原创鈥檚 landscape.鈥�
Professor of Cognitive Studies; Director, Education for Persistence and Innovation Center 鈥淢y career path may appear smooth, but I was rejected by three graduate schools and initially failed to get the post-doctoral position I wanted, and my study on failure was repeatedly rejected before being published. I鈥檝e come to understand that we must teach young people to learn and grow from such universal experiences. I feel privileged to work at 麻豆原创, which encourages daring scholarship and original thought.鈥�
Associate Professor of Practice 鈥淯nder President Fuhrman鈥檚 leadership, our faculty and students have built incredible momentum tackling the challenges facing displaced children, teachers and families worldwide. We have created a platform for making important contributions to research, policy and practice in refugee education across camp, urban and U.S. resettlement contexts.鈥�
GIVING VOICE The College has helped younger faculty find their voices. The President and Provost have engaged with new work, pushing it in interesting directions. (Illustration: James Steinberg)
Building Capacity
Alex Bowers
鈥淧resident Fuhrman鈥檚 support has been really beneficial for helping build capacity for graduate students on externally-funded research projects. It has helped multiple doctoral students get their degrees, do real research on National Science Foundation projects and push forward in very meaningful ways.鈥� 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology 鈥溌槎乖� wanted a specialist in children and youth counseling psychology, which perfectly combined my interests and training. I鈥檝e since interviewed Asian immigrant parents about the cultural factors that undermine their children鈥檚 mental health treatment. As far as I know, this hasn鈥檛 been done before.鈥�
ALUMNI
(Ph.D. 鈥�15) JAMES KING, JR., VISITING PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS TEACHING, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE 鈥溌槎乖� has enabled me to see the status and situation of students of color across cities and areas. My research has confirmed that institutional context matters in how those students experience their lives.鈥�
(M.A. 鈥�09) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, DUKE PERFORMANCES; EMMY AND LATIN EMMY AWARD WINNER 鈥淭he faculty and students in Arts Administration supported each other like family. I still work with a lot of them.鈥�
(Ph.D. 鈥�16) ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF URBAN TEACHER EDUCATION, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY 鈥淚vy League schools and grad schools are often seen as a means for people to get letters after their names. Seeing how [Associate Professor of Science & Education] and [former Macy Professor] used 麻豆原创鈥檚 knowledge to create spaces for public school students on campus demonstrated that parts of the institution are also about serving the community.鈥�
(Ed.D. 鈥�14) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, YALE CENTER FOR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 鈥淢y now-lifelong 麻豆原创 friends were my study buddies who held me during personal or school-related problems I was experiencing. We learned that relationships are how we get to where we need to be. Now, in the field of social and emotional learning, we know that relationships are key to teaching, in the workplace and in our homes.鈥�
YES TO INNOVATION The College has become a place that鈥檚 known for encouraging faculty and students in risk-taking, daring scholarship and original thought. (Illustration: James Steinberg)
(Ph.D. 鈥�12, M.E. 鈥�06, M.A. 鈥�05) ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, AFRICANA STUDIES AND EDUCATION, GETTYSBURG COLLEGE 鈥淚 came to 麻豆原创 for the Peace Education Program, and its teachers and students remain my colleagues and mentors. It gave me the foundation for my social justice orientation in research and teaching.鈥�
(M.S. 鈥�17) DOCTORAL CANDIDATE, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE & EDUCATION 鈥溌槎乖� introduced me to neuroscience鈥檚 importance in children鈥檚 everyday education, socially and emotionally as well as academically. You鈥檙e encouraged to approach personal interests by getting outside your own comfort zone.鈥�
(M.A. 鈥�15) (M.A. 鈥�15) 麻豆原创 DOCTORAL CANDIDATES, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY DALAL: 鈥淲e advocate for the rights of people with mental illness in Kuwait. 麻豆原创 was very quick to recognize our potential, and to invest in us.鈥� ALAA: 鈥溌槎乖� always has our backs. The faculty gets you to your finish line, and is a trailblazer.鈥� DALAL: 鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten robust training as clinical psychologists and support for our international advocacy work.鈥� ALAA: 鈥溌槎乖� attracts people like us, who won鈥檛 take 鈥榥o鈥� for an answer. We create solutions when there鈥檚 none.鈥�
(M.A. 鈥�06, current 麻豆原创 doctoral student in Sociology & Education Policy) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION 鈥淎t 麻豆原创, I learned to connect theory and praxis, be a policy pro and unapologetically address inequity. After learning about so many seemingly intractable problems in D.C. [through directing the and other work], I returned to 麻豆原创 to think, research and write about the most neglected students鈥� experiences.鈥�
(Ph.D. 鈥�13), Rachael Labrecque (Ph.D. 鈥�15), Dana Pagar (Ph.D. 鈥�13) CO-FOUNDERS OF THE AWARDWINNING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY RACHAEL: 鈥淲e all came from the classroom and wanted to make a big impact in education.鈥� DANA: 鈥淲e were excited about cognitive research and technology deepening student learning.鈥� RACHAEL: 鈥淲e got to manage large grants and co-write large proposals, which really opened doors.鈥� DANA: 鈥淒r. Fuhrman and Provost James were excited to have student entrepreneurs. They had a real vision of 麻豆原创 leading in ed tech, and they gave us a seat at the table.鈥� KARA: 鈥淭heir support was key when we applied for our first small business grant. Not many students write dissertations that become Apple Design Award-winning apps or develop a prototyping grant.鈥�
(M.S. 鈥�17) SENIOR ASSOCIATE, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, NATIONAL WIC ASSOCIATION 鈥淎t 麻豆原创鈥檚 , I contributed to state- and federal level research, communicated it to decision makers and got to know people I now work with. Now I advocate for families, set legislative priorities, direct grassroots advocacy and help distribute funding to other programs. This is my dream job, and it was possible because Pam Koch [Tisch Center Executive Director], Claire Uno [Deputy Director] and others gave me such valuable experience. They made me marketable.鈥�
(Ph.D. 鈥�12) ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY AT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MARYLAND 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be the psychologist I am without the 麻豆原创 Social-Organizational Psychology program鈥檚 unique approach to understanding the complexity of organizational life. Helping Debra Noumair and Warner Burke design the Executive Master鈥檚 Program in Change Leadership was one of the highlights of my career. 麻豆原创 allows you to be a little on the edges of what a discipline traditionally expects, and always for the better.鈥�
(Ed.D. 鈥�14) CO-FOUNDER OF , ADVISER TO NATIONS ON HEALTH AND SANITATION 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to write a bunch of papers no one would read. I wanted to help people lead better lives. Our work to change countries鈥� water and sanitation behavior jumps directly off the shoulders of my 麻豆原创 courses, which applied health education to public health.鈥�
(Ph.D. 鈥�16) POLICY ANALYST, THE CALIFORNIA POLICY LAB AT U.C. BERKELEY 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare to see someone come out of grad school with a peer reviewed published book [Performance Funding for Higher Education, co-authored with 麻豆原创 professor Kevin Dougherty], but at CCRC, research assistants are trained to do rigorous research. Now I help run statewide randomized control models. I鈥檓 heading to the U.C. Berkeley Chancellor鈥檚 office to discuss state education policy. These skills were developed at 麻豆原创.鈥�
Fitting Tribute
Alison Desir
鈥淢y perspective on fitness and wellness comes from 麻豆原创鈥檚 social justice component, which has influenced my understanding of how identity and privilege affect the Harlem community. Without it, I wouldn鈥檛 have created in such a thoughtful way.鈥� 鈥� (M.A. 鈥�16) Founder, Run 4 All Women & Harlem Run
