Dear Members of the TC Community,

Next week, our TC Convocation, Breaking New Ground and Columbia University Commencement ceremonies will take place—as much a time of reflection as it is of celebration. I want to take a moment and thank our students, faculty and staff for your very hard work and contributions to our campus life over the academic year.

I have appreciated dropping in to the many year-end events on campus over the last weeks: listening to the musical performances, attending multimodal presentations and joining in many impromptu conversations about how the year has gone and what you’re looking forward to. 

Even as some 1,900 students will soon receive their degrees, we also look forward to greeting our entering classes, including students who are launching their educational journeys in a few weeks during the summer session. In a year of high anxiety about our global stability, economic outlook, and graduate funding, I want to express appreciation to those in “high-touch” operations who spent extra time reaching out to potential students. Faculty, staff and current students who joined our new TC Connectors program as TC ambassadors successfully engaged hundreds of students who have committed to joining our TC community. 

We are all here at Teachers College because we are mission driven and eager to make a mark on the world, and that makes for the most compelling engagement with each other and with new students. I am grateful to have so many community members who serve as the best spokespeople for our fine institution. That includes: 

• Our Enrollment Management Team, who used every tool at their disposal, from early notifications of financial aid packages, to hosting a range of admitted student events, to social media campaigns, to working closely with our faculty and TC Connectors to coordinate ongoing, personalized outreach.
• Our team in the Office of International Students and Scholars, who worked hard to shorten the time for our international students to receive their I-20 forms and process their visas.
• Our Institutional Advancement team, who worked together to execute our fantastic May 5 gala, which raised $1.3 million to support student scholarships from donors who were well engaged and very appreciative of the work of all our community members.
• And of course, our faculty, who time and again are cited as the key reason our students come to TC in the first place.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all those who work together to ensure our excellence, achievement and intellectual rigor. I look forward to the celebrations continuing, and sharing a wrap-up, next week. In the meantime, my best wishes for the weekend ahead.

Warmly,

Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University