Dear Members of the TC Community,

I am pleased to see our campus full of students again this week after the winter break and it feels good to have everyone back together. Welcome back all, especially to our new students joining us for their first semesters. Each of our community members has much to accomplish over the course of this semester, including those who will finish up their degrees for our May convocation ceremonies. Our world needs your collective engagement and contributions, particularly as we watch the continuing evolution of a concerning geopolitical landscape. 

Two trips this month affirmed my belief in TC’s ability to meet these challenges. In early January, I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend a reception at the National Press Club. This was part of our annual Federal Policy Institute run by Sharon Lynn Kagan, TC’s Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy and Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families. In addition to the 24 students who participated in the FPI, we hosted more than 100 alumni at the reception. The program included Professor Kagan’s vivid summary of the week’s activities and students’ deep engagement with policymakers across the political spectrum; I provided an update on TC and Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education (ACE), gave the keynote address on how that association of colleges and universities is supporting institutions like ours as we continue to fulfill our mission of education and access. It was great to hear our students and alumni as they shared their appreciation for the connection between theory and practice as policy is developed or thwarted, ultimately affecting millions. 

While on Capitol Hill, I met with some Congressional staff from the House Education & Workforce Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (the HELP Committee) on the subject of restoring TC grants and addressing federal loan limits and Grad PLUS loans.

Last Sunday, I returned home from visits to Beijing and Shanghai, joined by Executive Director of Global Engagement, Amine Mechaal; Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Global Affairs, Portia Williams; and Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Roberta Albert. We met with current and potential university partners, alumni, and donors. The whirlwind trip included visits with Shanghai and Nankai Universities. The latter was founded by TC alum, Zhang Boling, who worked with TC professors John Dewey and Paul Monroe before founding the school in 1919. It was a productive visit, and we felt our hosts’ tremendous appreciation for TC throughout our many meetings.

One highlight was a visit with TC students participating in a study abroad program under the leadership of Randall Allsup, Professor of Music Education, and we were treated to a wonderful recital. Our visiting TC students and those based in China all expressed much enthusiasm for the cultural exchange and TC’s approach to the program. Indeed, our visit overall enabled us to reflect on the College’s strategic expansion of graduate study abroad at a moment when global engagement and mutual understanding are particularly vital. 

I often talk about the opportunities we have for TC students to explore areas beyond their particular program or course of study. Both the FPI and the study abroad program included students from different disciplines across TC, and reinforced the impact of these interdisciplinary efforts on their learning and development. 

I encourage everyone at TC to take advantage of these kinds of offerings, including lectures and programs on our campus as well as nine study abroad options that will be offered this year across multiple regions. 

With best wishes for a successful semester,

Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University