The TC Provost's Investment Fund backs promising faculty work

The late TC education philosopher Maxine Greene said, "There is always more to see, to learn, to feel." Since 2007, TC's Provost's Investment Fund has nurtured the vision and creativity of TC's faculty with seed funding for more than 100 innovative, cross-disciplinary projects -'" including the archiving of Greene's papers.

Projects supported by the Fund address major societal issues, unite TC faculty across disciplines and often generate substantial external funding or collaboration. Past work has included helping New York City accommodate special needs students entering general education classrooms; collaborating with Columbia University's Neurological Institute of New York; and mainstreaming sexuality, women and gender issues into courses at TC.

During the past year alone, Provost funded work has included:

The development of school-based literacy initiatives that treat health and learning as integrated issues for urban minority youth.

A working group on environmental and sustainability education seeking to create a concentration, certificate program or degree program in this important field.

A proposed center to provide languageand social development interventionsfor young children, especially those with autism,deafness and developmental disabilities,and their families.

The Provost's Fund is perhaps best exemplified by a group of younger faculty who are rebuilding TC's Center for African Education, which was founded and led by the late TC anthropologist George Bond. Says TC Provost Thomas James: "Creating thriving communities of educational innovation -'" beginning at TC itself -'" is what the Provost's Investment Fund is all about."

The TC Provost's Investment Fund

Inclusion

Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz has facilitated working groups of New York City teachers as part of the Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project.

Identity

Faculty members Aurelie Athan, Melanie Brewster and Riddhi Sandil launched the Sexuality, Women & Gender Project to mainstream these issues into courses at TC.

Inquiry

Ann Rivet is working on an interdisciplinary science project that includes reviewing the research on the overlap between earth sciences and geography curricula.

Published Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015