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Alumni News
Alumni Council President’s Message
 
Dear Fellow Alumni,
 
Let me introduce myself. I am the new president of our alumni association. I received my Ed.D. in Organization and Leadership in the middle of my career at IBM, and found my experience at Teachers College to be transformative. It seems even better as those dissertation chapter redos and bureaucratic hassles fade from my memory. I have served on the Alumni Council for six years with a great group of alums from every TC department.
 
I am following in the footsteps of Alice Wilder, who is now president emerita. Alice led alumni involvement in the transition to a new administration. She led with energy and humor that was greatly appreciated by all she touched. I’m very glad that I will have her counsel during my first year in office.
 
The new administration is now well established and is already making its mark on the prowess and reputation of the College. This past summer, your alumni association officers met with President Fuhrman and other administrators to better understand their goals and vision for TC’s future. We also analyzed alumni demographic data and held a planning session to align the work of the Alumni Council with TC’s direction and alumni wants and needs.
 
The results of that session and the follow-up activities of the Alumni Council are expected to help us better serve you and allow you to better serve TC. In a nutshell, the 35 members of the Alumni Council intend to focus our energies on providing ways to connect, or perhaps reconnect, you with the College. We established a new committee called, simply, “Alumni Wants and Needs.” The results of its work will provide the foundation for the work of the other committees. If we have your e-mail address, you are likely to hear from them in the not-too-distant future. I ask that you please respond to their overtures. We really want to make our connection with you and your connection to the college meaningful. (If we don’t have your e-mail address, please send it to tcalumni@columbia.edu.)
 
Your wants and needs will drive the activities and products of our other committees: “Programs and Resources,” “International Outreach,” and “Awards and Recognition.” Each in its own way will provide lines of connection for you.
 
In keeping with that theme, I hope that during my two years as your president, I have an opportunity to connect with you at upcoming TC alumni events and to enjoy our common bond to an institution we so admire.
 
Sincerely,
 
Robert Weintraub (Ed.D., 1998)

Education Update
Honors Alumni
 
TC alumni Dedria Lacy (Ed.M., 2004) and Margarita Rosa (Ed.M., 1995) have received Education Update’s Outstanding Educator of the Year award. Rosa teaches at The IN-Tech Academy in the Bronx and Lacy at P.S. 335 Granville T. Woods School in Brooklyn.

Education Update
, an award-winning publication focused on New York City education, is published by TC alumna Pola Rosen (M.A., 1973). The awards it bestows focus on New York City educators.
 
Lacey and Rosa were honored at the publication’s seventh Outstanding Educators of the Year Awards Breakfast Ceremony, at the Harvard Club in New York City. Also at the breakfast, TC President Susan Fuhrman introduced Randi Weingarten, former president of the United Federation of Teachers and now President of the American Federation of Teachers, who was receiving presented a Distinguished Leader in Education Award from Education Update.
 
And still another TC alumna, Regina Peruggi, (Ed.D., 1991) shared special Education Update honors with David Steiner, then Dean of the School of Education at Hunter and now New York State Commissioner of Education.
 
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN ESTABLISH AN ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP AT TEACHERS COLLEGE WITH FUNDS FROM YOUR IRA?
 
The Pension Protection Act, approved by Congress, provides for tax-free gifts to charities made directly from one’s Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
 
To take advantage of this opportunity, the following must occur:
 
• You must be 70½ or older.
 
• You transfer funds directly from an IRA or Rollover IRA with the help of your plan administrator. 401(k)s and 403(b)s are not eligible giving vehicles.
 
• The gifts are not more than $100,000 in total.
 
• You make the gift to Teachers College to establish an endowed scholarship in your name or in honor of a loved one or esteemed professor.
 
Please note that these gifts cannot be used to establish a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust, and these gifts are not eligible for a charitable deduction.
 
For more information, please visit the giving pages on our Web site at www.tc.edu/supporttc or call the office of Development and External Affairs at 212-678-3231.

Teachers College Alumni Council
 
The Teachers College Alumni Council consists of 35 members who represent all 90,000 graduates. The Council partners with the Department of Development and External Affairs to advance the goals of the College by providing alumni with opportunities to remain involved in the life of the College through social activities, volunteer efforts and financial support.
 
Executive Committee
 
Robert Weintraub, President
 
 
Standing Committee Chairs
 
Awards Committee
 
Adam Vane, Co-chair
 
Jeffrey Putman, Co-chair
 
 
Dean’s Advisory Committee
 
Elaine Heffner, Co-chair
 
International Committee
 
Patrick McGuire, Chair
 
 
Program Committee
 
Michael Passow, Chair
 
 
Student Relations Committee
 
Jeffrey Putman, Chair
 
 
TC Annual Fund
 
Terri Nixon, Chair
 
 
Historian
 
Christopher Scott
 
 
Members-At-Large
 
Constance B. Green
 
Kate Moody
 
Madelon Stewart
 
Alice Wilder, Immediate Past President
 
Joyce Cowin, Trustee Representative to the Alumni Council
 
 
For more information about the Alumni Council, please visit our Web site: www.tc.edu/alumni.

 

Published Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009

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