Making History

Teachers College is founded by the philanthropist Grace Hoadley Dodge and philosopher Nicholas Murray Butler to provide a new kind of schooling for the teachers of disadvantaged children in New York City, one that combined a humanitarian concern to help others with a scientific approach to human development. The founders recognized that professional teachers needed reliable knowledge about the conditions under which children learn most effectively.

Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler is appointed as the first president of TC, serving from 1889 to 1891. An advocate of peace through education, Butler helped to establish the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, of which he was a trustee and later president (1925--45). His efforts on behalf of disarmament and international peace won him international prestige, and he shared with Jane Addams the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize. Butler was also the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States under President William Howard Taft in 1912, when the nominated vice presidential candidate James S. Sherman died in office a few days before the election. In 1901 Butler was installed as acting president of Columbia University and formally assumed the presidency in 1902. He remained in that office for forty-two years.

Walter L. Hervey becomes president of TC, serving until 1897. He oversaw the first formal alliance with Columbia College in 1892-93, the raising of the College’s standards between 1893 and 1894, and the removal to the site on 120th Street and the opening of the new building.

Teachers College moves from 654 East 11th Street to its current location at West 120th St. 

Teachers College becomes affiliated with Columbia University as a professional school for the training of teachers while retaining its legal and financial independence.

James Earl Russell becomes President of the College, serving until 1926. He set about transforming TC into a center of advanced scholarship and educational training, advocating that teaching was a professional career of experts, similar to the fields of medicine, law, and engineering. Russell oversaw an increase in student enrollment from 169 students to nearly 5,000, a tenfold expansion in budget, and the growth of the College's physical plant from two buildings to 17. By 1900 Russell had developed four goals of teacher education that would guide TC in its work: general culture (liberal education); special scholarship (the content area of teaching); professional knowledge (theory, psychology, and history of education); and technical skill (study and practice of pedagogy).

Russell's strong belief in the importance of research in education resulted, during his tenure, in TC's establishment of two experimental schools: the Speyer School (1902) and the Lincoln School (1917). In 1921 the Institute of Educational Research was created to promote the scientific study of education in cooperation with several departments of TC. Two other research institutes -- the International Institute and the Institute of Child Welfare Research -- also were established during Russell's presidency.

First Ph.D. degree is conferred on a Teachers College student.

Edward Lee Thorndike, who pioneered the field of educational psychology, joins the faculty.

John Dewey, influential proponent of the progressive education movement, joins the faculty.

Established as the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College Press becomes one of the most distinguished publishers of educational materials in the United States. Its primary purpose has been to publish works that respond to, examine, and confront issues and change pertaining to education and the educational process.

Mary Adelaide Nutting joins faculty to direct the Nursing Education program, the first experiment in university-based nursing education.

In 1914, Georgia O'Keeffe, enrolled at Teachers College to study under Arthur Wesley Dow, whom she later credited as the strongest influence on the development of her art.

The Lincoln School opens as a laboratory school for experimentation with progressive education methods and curricula. Much of the curriculum integrated teaching the arts with standard methods.

First Ed.D. degree is conferred.

In April 1939, Frank W. Cyr organized a conference at Teachers College that drew transportation officials from each of the then 48 states, as well as specialists from school-bus manufacturing firms. At the conference, participants established national school-bus construction standards, including the standard color of yellow for the school bus.

Some early participants in both the Teachers for East Africa and Peace Corps program leave for Africa after completing training at Teachers College. The Teachers for East Africa program recruited and trained American teachers for service in African schools. The program supplied and supervised secondary school teachers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. 

The institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) is established.

Lawrence Cremin begins his presidency, serving until 1984. He was known as one of the foremost historians of American education, chiefly as a result of his three-volume study, American Education. In it, he proposed a broad understanding of education that includes not only the work of schools and colleges, but also the efforts of families, churches and synagogues, libraries and museums, and the media to convey knowledge and advance certain values. Cremin was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for The National Experience.

Cremin came to Teachers College in 1949 and became the Frederick A. P. Barnard Professor of Education, teaching for more than 30 years. During his presidency, he maintained his teaching course load and oversaw the establishment of the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Center for Independent School Education; the Institute of Research and Service in Nursing Education; the Hollingworth Center for the Study of the Gifted; the AEGIS Program in adult education; and the Center for Infants and Parents. TC also renovated the Milbank Memorial Library, created six endowed professorships, and quadrupled its fundraising.

At various points in his career, Cremin also served as President of the Spencer Foundation, the National Academy of Education, the History of Education Society, and the National Society of College Teachers of Education.

The Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Center for Independent School Education is established.

The Hollingworth Center for Study of the Gifted is established.

The Peace Corps Fellows Programs is created.

The National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) is established.

The National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and TEaching (NCREST) is established.

With the aid of the national Peace Corps office in Washington, D.C., and several private philanthropic organizations, the Peace Corps Fellows Program is replicated in American colleges and universities from coast to coast.

Arthur Levine becomes president of TC, serving until 2006. He served as Chair of the Higher Education program and Chair of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education before coming to TC, and he is now President of the Woodrow Wilson National Scholarship Fund. The author of numerous books, he is currently in the midst of releasing a four-part series of reports on the condition of education schools in the United States.

During his tenure at TC, Arthur Levine significantly increased the size of the College's faculty, more than doubled its research grant activity, and conducted the largest capital campaign ever completed by a school of education, while also undertaking a thoroughgoing renovation of its physical plant. The Levine years saw the establishment of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media; the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation; the Heritage School, an arts-themed public high school in East Harlem; the Center for Chinese Education; the Office of the Special Counsel for Diversity and Community; and The Campaign for Educational Equity. The College also proclaimed educational equity as its institutional mission.

Teachers College is rated #1 graduate school of education in U.S. News and World Report. TC holds the #1 slot for three-years in a row.

Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media is established at TC. The goal of the institute - named in memory of Fred M. Hechinger, former education editor of The New York Times and Teachers College Trustee - is to improve the coverage of education in the media by helping journalists to understand the intricacies of educational policy and school leaders to comprehend the pressures of media deadlines. Gene Maeroff, who was a national education correspondent for The New York Times, was named the Institute's first director.

The Heritage School opens its doors as a laboratory school, in conjunction with the NYC Board of Education, that integrates the arts into all subjects. The high school, in East Harlem, starts out with only ninth grade students.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at TC as the inaugural lecturer of the Jill and Ken Iscol Lecture series.

The Campaign for Teachers College kicks off with a goal of raising $140 million in five years. Work begins on renovating the 100-year old physical plant.

The Schools of Education Research Project, The National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education (NCSPE), the Community College Research Center, the Center on Chinese Education, and The New Teacher Institute are established.

Darlyne Bailey becomes the first African-American female Vice-President and Dean of Academic Affairs of Teachers College.

Teachers College holds a Teach-In for Teaching and Learning in a New Global Environment in response to the attacks of 9/11. More than 500 tri-state educators, parents and graduate students attended to find answers on how to respond to the terrible events of that day.

The newly formed Grace Dodge Society meets at the home of then President Arthur Levine for an inaugural luncheon honoring its founding members.

Work begins on the renovation of the Milbank Memorial Library, renamed the Gottesman Libraries. Construction also begins on a new two-building dormitory on 121st Street.

The Campaign for Teachers College ends, having raised $154.6 million, a record amount for a graduate school of education.

Teachers College reestablishes a presence in Afghanistan to aid in reconstructing the country’s

educational system. Former President Arthur Levine travels to Kabul to meet with the Afghan Minister of Education, Yunis Qanooni, and comes away with an agreement to develop a National Academy of Education there. TC worked with educators in Afghanistan as part of the Afghan Proejct in the 1960s to develop curriculum, textbooks, and teacher training before the war.

TC works to improve teacher education in Afghanistan

Teachers College celebrates the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. This landmark event featured a study on the effect of this decision from the students’ perspective and an evaluation of the No Child Left Behind Act.

To honor Arthur Zankel and his contributions to education, Teachers College renamed Main Hall as the Arthur Zankel Building. Zankel was a dedicated Trustee, a valued advisor, and a generous contributor of his time, wisdom, and resources to the mission of Teachers College. A bequest from the Zankel estate established the Zankel Urban Fellowships – 50 scholarships ($10,000 each) for students who will serve internships in the College’s programs for underserved New York City school children.

President Susan Fuhrman begins her tenure as tenth president of TC.She is founding Director and Chair of the Management Committee of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), and President of the National Academy of Education. Before coming to TC, she served a term as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She is a former Vice President of the American Educational Research Association as well as a former Trustee Board member of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and a current non-executive Director of Pearson plc, the international education and publishing company. Her research interests include accountability in education, intergovernmental relationships, and standards-based reform, and she has written widely on education policy and finance.

TC initiates a long-term partnership with the Ministry of Education of Jordan, conducting an evaluation in Jordan of the needs of the country’s public school system and then hosting a delegation of Jordanian public school teachers in its summer certificate program for the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

TC’s Japan Campus is officially accredited by the Japanese government. The new status, awarded by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, means that Japanese graduates of the 20-year-old institution, now officially known as a “Foreign Graduate School, Japan Campus” can use the credits they’ve earned to apply for higher degrees at Japanese universities.

In a project bringing together TC, The Rockefeller Foundation, and HBO Documentary Films, a 100-page curriculum addressing racial issues is distributed free of charge by TC Press to high school, college, and community educators. The curriculum is linked to the HBO Film When the Levees Broke.

The College establishes its Office of School and Community Partnerships, providing a single point of access to its resources for public schools and other New York City organizations.

Trustee John Klingenstein endows TC’s Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership with a $20 million gift for ongoing support – the largest gift in TC history. Mr. Klingenstein, who made his gift on the 30th anniversary of the Klingenstein Center, received a lifetime achievement award from the College.

With funding from The Global Education and Leadership Fund (tGELF) Teachers College collaborates with educators in India on a long-term project to create and assess a leadership development curriculum for Indian high school students.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks at TC.

TC admitted the first cohort in its new Teaching Residents@Teachers College (TR@TC) program, funded by a $9.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The program recruits academically talented, diverse individuals from under-represented groups to become exemplary, high qualified teachers who can capably meet the needs of youth in high-need, urban school districts.

TC gathers its education policy faculty across a range of disciplines into a new centralized unit called the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis (EPSA), serving as a central academic hub for the College’s education policy work across all phases of educational and human development with both a national and global focus.

Teachers College partners with and the New York City Department of Education to open Teachers College Community School (TCCS), a new public elementary school. TCCS is a university-assisted, non-selective, community school that applies state-of-the-art knowledge and best practices in teaching, learning and child development. The educational program is designed to develop each student’s knowledge and skills, love of learning and individual strengths as the foundation for academic and life success. A focus on global awareness celebrates the diversity of the community and prepares students for the social demands of the 21st century. The school's vision also integrates delivery of services for children and families that help students optimize educational opportunities. Supplementary educational services including early childhood programming, family literacy, after school programming, as well as social and health services are provided.

TC celebrates its 125th Anniversary