Working at TC

Dear Colleague:

‌Welcome to Teachers College, Columbia University, one of the world's premier graduate schools of education, psychology, health, and leadership. If you don't yet know about our remarkable history, then rest assured: you're in for an extraordinary and potentially life-changing experience as you become a part of our history. 

It starts with our mission. The College was founded in 1887 to create a new kind of educator, with the tools and cultural understanding to help immigrants arriving in New York City find a place in a new society. However, our work very quickly expanded to bringing the benefits of education to people of all ages, from all backgrounds and cultures, across a range of fields. TC was the birthplace of the modern K-12 classroom and the community school; of comparative and international education, education psychology, nursing education, nutrition education, special education, conflict resolution; gifted education, urban education, education anthropology, spirituality in psychology and more. Today, with more than 5,000 students, more than 160 full-time faculty, and more than 500 staff members, we are among the nation's top-ranked graduate institutions focusing on the intellectual, emotional, and physical development of learners of all types and ages.

Through it all, as fields and disciplines have changed, our focus has been on building a better educated and more just world. Prior to the Civil Rights era, TC was the primary destination for aspiring African-American teachers from the South, who could not gain admission to education schools in their home states.  A program at TC, to train teachers in East Africa, was the forerunner to the Peace Corps. TC has played a major role in the design or redesign of education systems in countries ranging from China to Jordan, and here in our neighboring community of Harlem, we support a network of public schools, anchored by our own Teachers College Community School.

What does all of this have to do with you? Quite simply, you will find that it makes a difference to work at an institution where people care about the world and each other. You'll discover the richness and strength of our diversity, and the spirit of mutual respect that governs all our interactions and conversations.

You'll find, too, that TC has a way of becoming a part of you. Many of our employees end up taking classes here, earning degrees and, ultimately, redirecting their lives and careers – so be sure to learn about our generous tuition benefits.

In 2013, as we celebrated the 125th anniversary of TC's founding, New York City officially renamed our street "Teachers College Way." Of course, we're very proud of that, but the Teachers College Way has come to mean something much bigger: a code of behavior, a passion for debate, a concern for others, a commitment to community, and an abiding belief in the values of this great institution.

So welcome not only to Teachers College, but also to the Teachers College Way.

Thomas Bailey
President