Dear Members of the TC Community,

I have said many times that I draw on our students, faculty, and staff for many reasons, including as a source of community during difficult times. This past week was no different as we gathered under the leadership of our Advancing Community Together (ACT) initiative to process the killings of protesters in Minneapolis and shootings in other cities, amid continued violence and intimidation at the hands of our federal government. 

I was encouraged while listening to Maddy Gitomer, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement. Maddy gave a presentation at a faculty meeting yesterday, “Education and the Law: Fighting for the Promise of Opportunity for All.” While she provided a sobering overview of the federal government’s attacks on education—including attempts to restructure institutions around ideology, destruction of data, dismantling of the federal education infrastructure, demolition of a pipeline for high-quality research, and much more—she reminded us that small steps, along with big steps, add up. She shared that the courts are ruling against the administration’s cases; their loss rate is between 70 and 80 percent and these decisions are from judges appointed by presidents of both parties, including Trump appointees.

I often struggle with how to meet the needs of TC and address this very challenging moment in our history, and I appreciated hearing support for individual actions we can all take if we so choose, according to our own beliefs and values. They matter. Maddy emphasized the importance of continuing a focus on critical inquiry, of community, and providing trusted avenues of open communication. Staying in touch with our community members is helpful to me—again as a source of strength, but also to hear your concerns in your own voices. A series of student chats has given me a good view of their particular perspectives, and ACT is now initiating similar small-group monthly chats for faculty and staff with members of my cabinet. I will start these off on February 12. Faculty and staff should look for an opportunity to sign up through an ACT email coming soon. Provost KerryAnn O’Meara will host a chat in March, General Counsel Tamara Britt will host one in April, with more to follow.

While we work to address the attacks on higher education, the weather has also presented some significant challenges. We have experienced many days of freezing temperatures these last weeks, along with a major snowstorm that shut down parts of the east coast on January 26. We held classes online that day, and many of our staff worked remotely. I was able to brave the cold, snow, and ice to commute 100 yards from my TC housing and had the opportunity to see the extraordinary efforts of our facilities staff who cleared pathways quickly and kept us safe. I am grateful for their hard work and for everyone’s flexibility as we took those precautions.

Even on the coldest of days, I have felt the warmth of our community and that has meant a great deal. 

With best wishes,

Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University