Since its inception, Teachers College has served the needs of urban and suburban schools, in this country and abroad, with a commitment to disadvantaged children and urban schools. Teachers College was founded by a group of caring philanthropists who saw that a new kind of teacher was needed who could educate the flood of immigrant children coming to New York City at the turn of the last century. While the conditions facing educators today are more challenging than ever, the College remains faithful to its mission, which is to focus on education in and out of the classroom and across the lifespan.

For more than 100 years, the College has been preparing educators, psychologists, policy makers and planners for the challenges they will face, whatever those challenges may be. Through support from donors for scholarships, renovation projects, new faculty, research and technology as part of the ongoing Capital Campaign, the work of the College can continue to thrive. As of June 2003, the total amount of gifts to the Campaign reached $147 million bringing it beyond its $140 million goal.

Five ways that TC carries out its mission:

1. Engaging in research on the central issues facing education;
2. Preparing the next generation of leaders for education;
3. Educating the current generation of leaders in practice and policy to meet the challenges they face;
4. Shaping the public debate and public policy in education; and
5. Improving practice in educational institutions.

Through institutes, conferences, outreach, technology and one-on-one interaction with the local and international community, Teachers College is still working toward social change for the better. Our students, who are most likely to have completed their undergraduate degrees from the best universities in the country, come from all over the United States and across the globe. The impact that we can make on them here through the work that we do, is spread throughout the world in the work that they do once they leave.

Published Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2003