CAMPAIGN PRIORITY No 1
SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
TC’s future begins with the leaders of tomorrow: our students. Supporting scholarships and fellowships through the campaign helps free our students from the burden of student loan debt so they can make a positive difference in schools and communities in New York City and around the world. Following is a look at how campaign giving has a real-world impact on students and the lives they touch.

From the Peace Corps to NYC Classrooms

It’s an idea so good scores of other urban universities replicated it: The Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Peace Corps Fellows Program, which has enriched the educations and lives of thousands of students in New York City’s high-need schools for more than 25 years.

As part of the campaign, the Jaffes have renewed their commitment to the program that supports returned Peace Corps volunteers, who receive alternative certification as they teach full-time in New York City schools and pursue TC master’s degrees. In turn, the Fellows create meaningful learning experiences for children in some of the City’s most disadvantaged schools and communities.

“The program inspired me to think creatively about how to make content relevant and better engage my students,” says Fellow Tiffany Williams.

The program has produced more than 800 public school educators, says Director Nicolas Stahelin. Its alumni retention rate in public schools is among the nation’s highest.

Elliot Jaffe says he and his wife created the program to harness the idealism and expertise of former Peace Corps members who wanted to become teachers. “New York City was willing to give them teaching certificates,” Jaffe says, “and TC had the courses, so we stepped up with some scholarships.”

New Solutions to Early Math Learning

Helping young children learn math is tough, but the solution — inspiring them to love it — takes magic and solid research that spurs student achievement.

TC Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation Fellow Azadeh Jamalian and her fellow researchers in math education and early childhood development are providing just that spark for kids in local public schools and beyond. “I felt passionate about researching new solutions to issues in teaching and learning, and the Fellowship empowered me to do just that,” says Jamalian, a Ph.D. student in TC’s Cognitive Studies in Education program.

Jamalian is a member of a team that’s using the MathemAntics educational software developed by Herbert Ginsburg, TC’s Jacob H Schiff Foundations Professor of Psychology & Education, to make groundbreaking discoveries about how very young children understand mathematical concepts. Their research could help future generations learn more effectively —and at younger ages — especially in underserved schools.

Bill Rueckert, TC board Co-Chair and Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation President, believes their work is central to TC’s mission. “Everything the College does, from our work on educational equity to producing the best-prepared teachers, flows from our research. That’s the unique advantage we’ve had from the beginning.”

WHERE THE FUTURE COMES FIRST ON THE ROAD

The Campaign is engaging TC’s 90,000 alumni and friends around the world with the College and each other. President Susan Fuhrman and TC faculty and staff have been on the road this year spreading the news about the campaign and building a powerful global network of TC ambassadors.

Stops on the campaign trail this year have so far included Florida, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul, Hong Kong, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Madison, Wisconsin — with more destinations to come.

EVERY GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

The Campaign offers a variety of ways to give at all levels to support our extraordinary students.
• Create an Endowed Scholarship with a minimum of $50,000 gift.
• Give to an existing Endowed Scholarship Fund.
• Support the TC Fund Scholars Program by establishing a one-year scholarship for a student with demonstrated need.

ENHANCE THE POWER OF GIVING TO TC STUDENTS

TC’s Board of Trustees will generously match dollar-for-dollar any gift of $2,500 designated to financial aid. That means a gift of $2,500 becomes a named $5,000 TC Fund scholarship for the academic year. And you’ll meet your scholar and hear about the work you’re supporting.

To learn more about how to support TC students, please contact:

Scott Rubin
sr2670@tc.columbia.edu
212-678-3722

Please visit tc.columbia.edu/future for campaign updates and more stories about how giving to TC is changing the world — from one child to entire nations.

Published Monday, Jun. 2, 2014