Providing more and more scholarships is a priority for Teachers College. Since the Campaign for TC started, 60 new scholarships have been created. Not only does this ensure that the College gets the best and brightest students, but it serves the future by creating teachers, administrators, and psychologists who will touch many lives.

On March 13, more than 50 scholarship recipients and their donors met, some for the first time, at a luncheon in the Columbia Club on West 43rd Street. The program included remarks from TC President Arthur Levine, Dean Darlyne Bailey, scholarship donor Ken Boxley and scholarship recipient Jan Valle.

"Without scholarships, we would lose a lot of great leaders, we are making a brighter world for education and a brighter world in general," said President Levine who opened the program. "What stands out is that the people who have done this, both the givers and those that received, are making dreams come true."

Both the donors and the scholars will impact many people, Levine added. Since each teacher works with a minimum of 25 kids a year, and as many as 1000 during their career, these scholarships will brighten the futures of more than just this one scholar.

One of the donors, Ken Boxley, ate lunch with nine students who receive funding from the Tess Magsaysay and Ken Boxley Scholarship Fund. Boxley's wife, Tess, passed away recently. He discussed how her spirit lives on through these students.

When Dean Bailey came to the podium, she said in her two months at TC she has learned something new everyday and it's been an incredible journey. "Everyone needs to understand his or her value and be able to work through the system easily," said Bailey, whose key area of focus is building community. "I want to thank everyone here for their time, energy and support."

Bailey introduced Jan Valle, who is a Diana Brewster Clark Fellow. "I couldn't imagine a better experience than this and I feel like this is where I've been heading all along," said Valle who is a full-time doctoral student specializing in learning disabilities in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching. "I owe this all to being a recipient of this fellowship."

"Diana Brewster Clark was from TC and she had a passion and spirit for TC," she continued. "I think of her as my muse and this makes my journey possible."

Clark, a graduate and lifelong friend of the College, served on the Alumni Council from 1986 until her death in 1993, and as its Moderator from 1988 to 1989. She was a co-founder of the TC Alumni Reading and Disabilities Group, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education in the Department of Special Education.

Established in 1995 by Clark's children-Ashley, Brewster, and Elise-with a grant from The Wellspring Foundation, the Diana Brewster Clark Fellowship program honors their mother's commitment to research involving dyslexia and other learning disabilities, and her professional contributions to the preparation of teachers for people with special needs.

Two students in the Organizational Psychology Department, William Honore and Maria Villar, share the same enthusiasm as Valle does for their studies in psychology. Honore and Villar, who are Pfizer Minority Fellows, met Joseph Bonito, Vice President, Group Leader Worldwide Organizational Effectiveness and Consulting Services at Pfizer Pharmaceutical Group. Bonito asked the students how their studies are going and mentioned the possibility of an internship for them this summer.

"I came to TC straight after my undergraduate degree in Florida," said Honore who hopes to apply his learning to faith-based organizations. "This is one of the only programs in the nation that is targeted towards applying techniques right away and not just learning theory."

Villar, who wants to work for a consulting firm or a corporation, agreed with Honore. "Getting this scholarship was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me," she said. "After graduation, I would like to work in a big company and make things happen-this Fellowship from Pfizer will make it possible."

The Pfizer Minority Fellowship Fund was established in 2001 by Pfizer, Inc., to provide scholarship support to two outstanding minority students enrolled in a Master's degree program in Organizational Psychology at Teachers College.

"TC's Organizational Psychology Program is one of the best in the country to prepare people to enter consulting in a corporate setting," said Bonito. "We are glad to help support the development of future students and leaders."

Published Friday, May. 3, 2002