Connect
Welcome
Alumni Profile
In the late 1940s, a journeyman carpenter and former Navy cook with the resonant name of Ulysses Byas (M.A., 1952) left New York City because he couldn’t find a decent paying job.
“They did me a favor, and I’m glad of it,” Byas, now 85, says in his deep Southern accent.
The beneficiaries would ultimately include thousands of southern black children and their families. To make a long story short—a phrase Byas often uses—he returned home to Georgia, excelled at an all-black college despite having twice dropped out of high school, was offered an elementary school principalship, went back to New York City to earn his master’s degree in Educational Administration at Teachers College, and eventually became principal of all-black Fair Street High School in Gainesville, Georgia, where he convinced the white public that the school—supposedly among the best black institutions in the state—was woefully under-resourced on every level.
To continue reading, click here.
Upcoming Alumni Events
Mark your calendars!
| 2/8/2010 | Equity Symposium, Teachers College |
| 2/12/2010 | Phoenix Alumni Reception in conjunction with the AASA Conference |
| 2/23/2009 | Tisch Lecture featuring Robert Siegler |
| 3/4/2010 | Alumni Reception, Chicago in conjunction with the NASPA & NASP Conferences |
| 3/12/2014 | National Conference of State Legislators, Teachers College |
| 3/25/2010 | TESOL Conference, Boston, MA |
| 4/8/2010 | ICCCR 6th Annual Morton Deutsch Awards for Distinguished Contributions to Social Justice |
| 4/16/2010 | Los Angeles Admissions Reception |
| 4/17/2010 | San Francisco Admissions Reception |
| 4/23/2010 | Nursing Luncheon |
| 4/24/2010 | Academic Festival 2010 |
| 4/28/2010 | London Alumni Reception |
| 5/2/2010 | Denver A lumni Reception in Conjunction with the AERA Conference |
| 7/15/2010 | Boston Admissions Reception |
| 7/25/2010 | Atlanta Admissions Reception |
Recent Alumni Events
To view photos please click thumbnail below
 |
| Sarasota Alumni Reception January 6, 2010 |
 |
| International Education Week Alumni/Student Mixer November 19, 2009 |
 |
| Higher & Postsecondary Education Alumni Reception November 12, 2009 |
 |
| Bergen/Rockland/Orange County Alumni Reception November 11, 2009 |
Sign up now for free email forwarding for life! You will be able to use your @Columbia.edu address, no matter where you go. CLICK to find out more.
Connect Links
2/12: Phoenix Alumni Reception
3/25: Boston Alumni Reception
4/28: London Alumni Reception
Community College of Philadelphia's Tagliareni Elected President of NLN
Elaine Tagliareni, RN, EdD, is the first community college professor to be elected president of the National League for Nursing. (Courtesy of the Community College of Philadelphia)
Peace Corps bring global skills to classrooms, immigrant children
About 600 former Peace Corps members have worked in high-needs city schools since 1985 through the Peace Corps Fellows program at Columbia University's Teachers College. About 300 are in classrooms now.