Alumni & Friends

"[TC has given me] excellent friends and colleagues. As a member I remain active in promoting cutting edge activities and have direct access to TC's scholarship." 

TC Degree & Graduation Year: Ed.D. 1994
Alumni Council Committee(s) you serve on: International Outreach, Programs & Resources and Nominating.  
Number of years on Council:  7

Connect with Patrick.

TC Degree & Graduation Year: M.A. 1978, Ed.D. 1991 (Both: College and University Administration)
Alumni Council Committee(s) you serve on: Co-Chair, International Committee & Member of the Nominating Committee
Number of years you’ve been on Council: 8

Connect with Fred.

"Personally I have met outstanding people, found the relationships enriching, and have felt good that I could give back to TC-- an institution that opened the door for a professional career I never dreamed I would be so fortunate to have. As a member of the Alumni Council I've served several terms including as its chair in the mid-80's. I value staying connected to TC professionally, socially, and value having access to excellent and timely events and programs. "

TC Degree & Graduation Year:  M.A. 1967
Alumni Council Committee(s) you serve on: Co-chair, Nominating Committee and Awards & Recognition Committee
Number of years you’ve been on Council: Can't count them. My first term on the Alumni Council was 1979! 

Connect with Susan.

TC Degree & Graduation Year: Ed.D. Curriculum and Teaching 2003, M.A. TESOL 1995
Alumni Council Committee(s) you serve on: Co-Chair, Programs & Resources Committee
Number of years you’ve been on Council: 6

Connect with Peter. 

"Teachers College, Columbia University has been invaluable to my growth and development personally, professionally, and academically. Now, my honored service on the TC Alumni Council is my treasured time to give back.  For Teachers College, Columbia University becomes part of one’s being. I feel to the fiber of my being that Teachers College launches one to achieve and perform anywhere in the world for the common good and the public trust."

TC Degree & Graduation Year:  Ed.D. 1981; M.Ed. 1971.
Alumni Council Committee(s) you serve on: Wants & Needs and Programs & Resources
Number of years you’ve been on Council:  1

Connect with Harriet.

"It has enabled me to connect with fellow TCers and hopefully contribute to TC."

"My involvement in TC alumni activities has been valuable to me personally in that it has rekindled my idealism after many years away from teaching."

"My involvement with TC has been worth the time and effort it requires.  I am [also] delighted to host events and equally pleased to connect with our alumni, both here and abroad."

"My involvement with Teachers College is both long and rewarding. My first visit to TC was during my senior year at college, when I came to New York to be interviewed for the Teachers for East Africa (TEA) program, which was administered by TC and with which I then spent a year studying at Makerere University and two years teaching in Tanzania. At the two-week orientation for American "Group B" participants (those who went to Makerere to study for the Graduate Diploma in Education before being assigned to a school in Uganda, Kenya or Tanzania), I met such TC luminaries as Karl Bigelow, R. Freeman Butts, Lawrence Cremin and David Scanlon (and also a young and talented Jim Shields, whose association with TC pre-dates even my own and with whom I am happy now to be serving together on the Alumni Council). After TEA and then teaching at a private school in New Jersey, I returned to TC to enter an EdD program in African History and International Affairs. In my first semester, I happened to take a course with Harold Noah, a life-changing event that convinced me to switch my focus from history to economics. For my PhD research, I returned to East Africa (Kenya), after which I went to the University of Michigan as an economic researcher. In 1973, I was hired by the Department of Philosophy and the Social Sciences to join Harold Noah and teach economics and education at TC. I did this for ten years before leaving teaching to join the World Bank as an education economist. Recently, having retired from the World Bank, and working as an independent consultant, I have been part of a TC-led technical assistance team hired by the Asian Development Bank to assist the Government of Mongolia on issues of education reform and poverty alleviation. I look forward to serving on the TC Alumni Council. I see it as an opportunity to pay back, in small part, my debt to the College."

"Teachers College challenged me to look at all of the assumptions behind what we do in education and not take any of them for granted. While at TC the resources – especially the libraries around campus – that I was given access to were second to none and exposed me to documents I might not have ever seen, documents that in several cases didn't exist elsewhere. Since leaving TC I have felt confident as a classroom science teacher and blessed that I was given a strong set of tools. I have also enjoyed keeping connected with people I worked with at TC and meeting new TC alumni around the country."

When I began the M.A. program in Organizational Psychology at TC back in 2000, I had already been in the working world for almost 20 years.  I found it exciting to be learning the theory behind the organizational dynamics playing out in front of me from my position in the corporate world.   I was able to use the Master’s program as a learning laboratory and to apply in real-time the leadership and change models I was studying.  I believe this provided a clear return-on-investment for my company and provided a strong foundation for my eventual career as an OD consultant.

"My involvement keeps me up to date on relevant trends and issues in education.  It is also a great networking avenue as I meet people with great ideas and knowledge they are willing to share."

TC Degree & Graduation year: Ed.D. 1993
Alumni Committee(s): TBD
Number of years on Council: New Member to the Alumni Council

Connect with Carla.

"TC has brought a significant amount of enriching experiences in my career and being a part of the Alumni Council has enabled me to give back and support others as they continue and grow in their career paths."

TC Degree & Graduation year: M.A. 2000 (Social-Organizational Psychology)
Alumni Committee(s) you serve on: Programs & Resources
Number of years on Council:  1

Connect with Bernardo.

"I am so grateful for the lifelong friendships and cherished colleagues I have found as a result of my time as a TC student and Alumni Council member."